Traveling to Milan

Milan has long been a crossroads for travel between the continent and the peninsula, and there are plenty of options for getting in and out of town. The Malpensa airport handles almost all international flights. It's about 50km (31mi) northwest of the city. Most domestic and some European flights use Linate airport, about 7km (4.5mi) east of the city centre. Public transportation links both airports to the city centre. Train lines from Stazione Central in the city centre run to all parts of Italy and Europe. There are two other stations, Nord and Porte Garibaldi, that may offer better deals. Many of Italy's main motorways converge at Milan's ring road, known as the Tangenziale Est and Tangenziale Ovest. Prepare to deal with unexpected traffic on your way into and out of Milan, particularly on the busy A4 west to Torino.

Traveling to Milan by air

There is a computerised information service with details about flight departures only (tel: 02 585 83 497) for both airports. Or you can visit their sites on the Internet: see www.malpensa.com and www.sea-aeroportimilano.it respectively.

The Malpensa Express train links Stazione Nord with Malpensa airport (40mins, every half hour). Some early morning and evening services are provided by bus instead; the stop is on Via Paleocapa. The airport is also served by Malpensa Shuttle coaches, departing from Piazza Luigi di Savoia, outside Stazione Centrale. STAB runs buses to Orio al Serio airport near Bergamo. A taxi from Malpensa airport to Milan city centre is expensive so consider the other options first. From Milan's Piazza Luigi di Savoia, in front of Stazione Centrale, STAM buses run to Linate airport. Tickets are sold on board by the driver. You can also get a local ATM bus from Piazza San Babila (on the corner of Corso Europa). If you want to take a taxi from Linate airport to Milan city centre, it's very affordable. The city has a large international airport known as Malpensa International Airport (MXP), located near the industrial towns of Busto Arsizio and Gallarate and connected to the downtown with the "Malpensa Express" railway service (from Cadorna Station). Malpensa was designed by the famous Ettore Sottsass. Milan also has the Linate Airport (LIN) within the city limits (for European and domestic traffic), connected with bus line 73 (from S. Babila). A third airport is Orio al Serio (BGY), close to the city of Bergamo. Vergiate, Venegono, Bresso, Voghera and Montichiari are further airports in the region.

Traveling to Milan by bus

Bus stations are scattered across the city so unless you know exactly where you're going, you're better off travelling by train. Buses (which are operated by numerous companies) to many national and international points leave from the bus station (tel: 02 63 79 01; Piazza Sigmund Freud) opposite the main entrance to Stazione Porta Garibaldi.

Traveling to Milan by Train

You can catch a train from Stazione Centrale (Piazza Duca d'Aosta) to all major cities in Italy. Check schedules at its information office (tel: 147 88 80 88). Daily trains run to and from Venice (3.5hrs), Florence (3.5hrs), Genoa (1.5hrs), Turin (1.5hrs), Rome (6hrs) and Naples (8hrs).

This is also a good point to pick up international connections to and from Switzerland (with the Cisalpino train) and France (with the TGV). Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) trains from Stazione Nord (Stazione Cadorna, Piazza Luigi Cadorna) connect Milan with Como (1hr, hourly) and Desanzano (1.5hrs, hourly). Regional services to many towns northwest of Milan are more frequent from Stazione Porta Garibaldi (Piazza Sigmund Freud).