By plane

Milan's (MIL IATA) two main international airports are Malpensa (the biggest, and 40 km away) MXP IATA and Linate (7 km from the city center). Orio al Serio airport near Bergamo (45 km east) and Parma airport (100 km south), sometimes referred to as Milan's additional airports, mostly host budget airlines. To get to and from the airports and Milan, buses are a cheap and popular option.

Malpensa airport

Main article: Milano Malpensa Airport

The main international airport is 1MISSING WIKILINK Milano Malpensa Airport, about 40 km northwest of the city center. There are flights from many countries around the world. From Malpensa you can get into central Milano by train, shuttle bus or taxi.

Linate Airport

2 Linate Airport (LIN IATA). A small, efficient one-runway airport close to the city centre (7 km). Its focus is on domestic and intra-European flights, and on business travellers. ITA Airways has a major base there. Other European flag carriers also operate connections to Linate instead of, or in addition to, Malpensa. Connecting flights in Linate might take much longer than elsewhere because there is no through passage: you get off the airplane, get out of the security area, go through security again together with the passengers who have just arrived from Milan and not with a connecting flight, and only then can you board the new plane. If you're making a connection from outside of the Schengen zone it doesn't make much difference, because in these cases you have to go through security again (e.g. London to Palermo via Linate), but if both flights are within the Schengen zone then you don't have to go through security again if the airport has a through passage (e.g. Palermo to Genova via Linate).

As the airport is close to the city, it is served by Metro Line 4, which runs every 7 minutes and crosses the city from east to west, with interchanges available to all three other Metro lines. The price is €2.20, like normal public transport. Tickets are available from the newsagent inside the airport terminal. This bus is not a dedicated service: it is regular city transport with many stops en route, and may get crowded during peak hours. This also means that the same things apply as for any public transportation in the city (see #Get around for more detail).

There are also buses from this airport. Autostradale operates a shuttle bus just outside the Terminal Entrance 6 connecting Linate airport to Milan Central Railway Station (Milano Centrale) east side (Luigi di Savoia square) running every 30 minutes; tickets cost €5 per adult (ticket sold at local newsagent and on board). This bus also stops en route at Lambrate railway station. The journey takes approximately 27 minutes. Another bus service, operated by Malpensa Shuttle, connects Malpensa airport to Linate airport with a few stops en route enabling you to connect to downtown by metro (timetables, fares and ticket booking available online). The journey takes about 1 hour, depending on traffic conditions.

Taxis from Linate to the city centre cost around €12-20 depending on traffic conditions. The minimum charge is €12. If you are going to the centre, ignore all the guys standing at the exit to the terminal saying "taxi"... they are for destinations outside central Milan (i.e., outlying cities) and will charge a minimum of €70. Queues for regular taxis can get long during peak commuter hours (early evening) and are particularly bad during Fashion Week.

Orio al Serio Airport

Some budget airlines fly to 3 Orio al Serio Airport (BGY IATA), about 45 km north-east of Milan, near the city of Bergamo. Ryanair refers to this as Milan Bergamo Airport. Orio al Serio is actually closer to Milan than Malpensa and getting from there to Milan takes about the same time. A taxi will cost at least €100. A bus (coach) is much cheaper. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the airport website starting at €7 but mostly €10 (Mar 2026). It is slightly cheaper to buy tickets online beforehand, however it is advisable not to do this, because then the passenger has no choice but to wait for the bus that he/she has booked. Buying at the airport gives flexibility to choose the next departing bus.

All buses leave for Milan from immediately outside the arrivals section of the airport, and to go back to the airport from Ferrante Aporti on the east side of Central Station in Milan. The journey takes a little over 1 hour. However, beware of cutting things too fine, because traffic can be bad at rush hour.

Coaches are run by Orio Shuttle, Flibco, Autostradale and Terravision.

The Orio Shuttle, from Orio Airport to Milano Centrale station is probably the best choice. Departure times may vary, but buses generally run every half hour during the day, less often at night. Adult one-way fare is €12 on the door (Mar 2026). Tickets are sold at the bus stop in Orio Al Serio Airport in Bergamo and at the Central Train Station in Milan. Be at the Milan bus stop at least 15 minutes before the nominal departure time, or you may get left behind. Tickets can be purchased online for €10, but sellers at the airport and train station will offer 3 tickets for price of 2.

Flibco runs up to 22 times per day. Tickets start from €10 if booked in advance.

You can also take a shuttle bus, a regular bus or taxi to Bergamo railway station (about 15-25 minutes from the airport), and a train from there to Milan. Buses to Bergamo are run by the local transport agency ATB at a cost of €2.60. Trains from Bergamo to Milan run every 30–60 minutes and take around 1 hour. Adult one-way fare is €5.80 (faster and more direct train, arrives in Milano Centrale) or €4.50 (arriving in Milano Porta Garibaldi) depending on the chosen route.

By train

Milan is served by two major national companies: Trenitalia and NTV (usually known by its commercial name Italo), both of which are based at Milano Centrale. It is also served by other long-distance companies, such as SNCF. Finally, regional transport is managed by Trenord, which runs the entire regional train network.

Milano Centrale

The main railway station is 4 Milano Centrale (or Centrale FS). Regular express and fast trains serve all Italian cities including Turin, Venice, Rome, Naples, and Florence. There are international services to Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Vienna, Marseille by Trenitalia and NTV (but for Paris Gare de Lyon use Porta Garibaldi station). Trenord runs regional trains to Lecco, Sondrio, Tirano, Bergamo, Brescia and other cities.

(Trains from Paris normally take seven hours, but the route is blocked by a landslide at Modane in French Savoy. Workaround routes, eg via Annecy, take much longer. This is expected to continue to summer 2024.)

The station building itself is worth a visit being a masterpiece of rationalist architecture, and was extensively renovated in 2008. (Try as they might, they couldn't altogether erase the word "fascisti" from the imposing facade.) There are lots of small shops and cafes, both "landside" and "trainside" of the ticket barriers. There's a supermarket (Sapori & Dintori Conad) in the west side of the station in the basement, and internet points in the main square outside the station. The luggage store (daily 06:00-23:00) charges €6 for the first five hours, thereafter from 6 to 12 hours €0.90/hour, from 13 hours onwards €0.40/hour. You will need to show an ID card or passport.

At night, parts of the Central Station become a sleeping area for vagrants. Usually around the station there are children aggressively targeting tourists for pickpocketing, so pay attention to your bag. The station area is not in a great part of town at night, though in the area there are a number of decent budget hotels (see Sleep below) and some business-oriented international brand hotels. In general, the area south of the station (characterised by a few skyscrapers) is a business and local government centre, pretty active during working hours but almost deserted at night.

Central Station is on Metro lines MM2 (for Castello) and MM3 (for Duomo). Taxis stops are on the side and ATM buses on the West side (IV November Square) and buses to Linate, Malpensa and Orio airports on the East side (Luigi di Savoia square).

Milano Porta Garibaldi

5 Milano Porta Garibaldi is effectively two stations, with the main one on the surface, with 20 platforms used by regional and national trains and some commuter lines. There are trains to the main cities of Lombardy (Como, Bergamo, Lecco, Varese, Pavia, Lodi amongst others) and to Malpensa airport. It's also the terminal of SNCF trains to Paris Gare de Lyon; tickets have to be bought at the separate SNCF ticket booth. The other station (usually referred as Milano Porta Garibaldi Passante or Sotterranea) is beneath it, with two underground platforms used by suburban commuter lines. For instance you can reach the Rho fairgrounds on commuter lines S5 toward Varese and S6 toward Novara, getting off at Rho Fieramilano.

Porta Garibaldi station is on Metro lines MM2 and MM5 (see #Get_around).

Other stations

Another important railway station is 6 Cadorna, served by Trenord, where the Malpensa airport Express stops and which is also a stop for MM1 and MM2 metro lines. Trains to Malpensa and Como Lago station leave here.

Other main train stations are Lambrate (connected to MM2 metro line), Greco-Pirelli, Rogoredo (connected to MM3 metro line) and Porta Genova (connected to MM2 metro line) and Bovisa (connected to the Passante suburban commuter train link) and Domodossola (connected to MM5 metro line) . Domodossola station is very close to the city section of the Milan Exhibition Centre - fieramilanocity, also connected to the subway system by the MM1 metro line (Amendola stop).

By car

Milan is an important road traffic hub with motorways coming in from all directions, both from elsewhere in Italy and from nearby France and Switzerland. As elsewhere in Italy, they're toll roads operated by Società Autostrade per l'Italia. The road connections are thus excellent, but this also means a whole lot of traffic passing through (in addition to going to and from Milan itself) and road congestion is probably even more of a problem than usual around cities of this size. Going to Milan by car is not a good idea, see the #Get around section for more information.

Park and ride

Because of heavy traffic, it is strongly recommended not to drive in Milan during working days. Driving is much better during weekends. A recommendation is to leave your car in one of the well-marked, huge commuter car parks near several exits of Milan's motorway ringroad; they're managed by ATM and are easily connected with Milan's underground metro lines, but they close around midnight. They're near highway exits in Cascina Gobba (East), Lampugnano (North West), Molino Dorino (North West), Bonola (North West), Rho-Pero (North West), Bisceglie (South West) and San Donato (South East).

By bus

Milan's main bus terminal is 7 Lampugnano station, connected to the rest of the city by metro. The main national bus lines are operated by Autostradale. Flixbus serves domestic and international routes. Also some small companies [1] also offer international routes to / from Milan.

Don't get scared by the filth of this place. Not much around.

The stop for the airport bus is at 2,5 km away (Fiera Milano City)