Public transport in Milan

On By AppsolutelymilanoIn Transport in Milan

How to get to and from the airport? Milan has an excellent public transport system, and we will help you get into the city and around:

Milan has 5 metro lines plus a lot of buses and trams.

The metro lines that connect the rest of the city to and from Milan’s different stations and Linate airport are:

  • Central Station (Milano Centrale) –  the  green and yellow lines (M2 and M3)
  • Stazione Cadorna – the red and green lines  (M1 and M2)
  • Stazione Garibaldi – the green and purple lines (M2 and M5)
  • Linate airport – the blue line (M4)
Map of Milan's metropolitan transport system

The map also shows where to change between the different lines.

Furthermore Milan has the Passante Railway, an underground railway which runs through Milan and connects to the metro lines at the stops Porta Garibaldi (M2 and M5),Repubblica (M3), Rogoredo (M3) and Porta Venezia (M1).

Tickets and payment

As of May 7th 2024 paper tickets are no longer available for purchase, instead you have to get the rechargeable plastic card RicaricaMi at metro stations either at the newsstands or at the automatic checkouts in the metro, the card is nonnominal, and you can upload up to 30 tickets for the same area, one 24-hour ticket, one 72-hour ticket or 5 carnets to it at a time – if you want to upload tickets for other areas you must either first finish all the tickets on your card or get another one. Each person over 14 years of age need their own card.

1 ticket is valid for 90 minutes inside Area 1 (white on the drawing above), which consists of 21 municpalities and has the codes Mi1-Mi3, on all means of transport including trains. If you wish to go beyond this area, the price increases area from Mi4 to Mi9. You can also buy a carnet with 10 tickets and get a small discount on the price for each ticket. Children under 14 travel for free. You can also get a 24-hour ticket and a 72-hour ticket.

The symbol for contactless payment

Furthermore you can use your creditcard or your phone app to buy tickets both in the metro, directly at the turnstile, and on buses and trams , if you use the same card more than 3 times in a day your ticket is automatically converted into a 24-hour ticket, thus making it cheaper. Remember to use the same card you used to check in to check out again.

The public transport app

Get the official app for Milan’s public transport (ATM Milano Official App) – read more about it and find the link to download here.

Tram with adds for the official ATM app, Milan

MilanoCard

If you’re in Milan for 72 hours or less and want to visit a lot of museums while here it is a good idea to buy the Milan city pass MilanoCard which allows you to use all public transport for free and gives a lot of discounts to museums and restaurants. You must order it online here and then you can choose whether you want to receive as an email attacment or download the Milano Card app and activate it here, the links for download of the app are here.

To and from the airports – metro and train

If you’ve come to Milan by plane you’ve landed in either Linate, Malpensa or Orio al Serio. There are good connections with public transport from all three.

Linate is the airport closest to the city. Metro line 4 connects it to the city centre to metro stop San Babila where you can change to metro line 1.

Malpensa airport is about a 1-hour drive from Milan. You can either take the train (Malpensa Express) which goes to Cadorna in the center of  Milan, a return ticket is cheaper than 2 one-way tickets, if you purchase it online , or you can take the Malpensa Shuttle, which brings you to the central station (Milano Centrale) here you also get a discount if you purchase a return ticket. We recommend that you take the shuttle at the weekend but the train during the week, because you risk getting stuck in traffic jams with the bus.

Departures from Milano Cadorna: first departing train 4.27 am, last departing train 23.27 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes
Departures from Malpensa Terminal 2 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.27 am  last departing train 0.20 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes
Departures from Malpensa Terminal 1 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.43 am, last departing train 0.26 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes

If it’s summer, or really any time of the year, and you want a really great chocolate ice cream there is a great place very close to Cadorna station Chocolat Milano at 9, Via Bocaccio (find on map).

Departures from Milano Centrale are once an hour and run between  Milano Centrale, Milano Porta Garibaldi, Milano Bovisa  and Terminals 1 and 2 at Malpensa, 
The first departing train from Milano Centrale is 5.35 am, last departing train 11.25 pm.
The first departing train from Malpensa direction Centrale is 5.43 am, last departing train is 10.43 pm.

Orio al Serio is actually closer to Bergamo than Milan and it’ll take you about  50 minutes to get to Milan. There is a shuttle service which goes to Milan’s central station (Milano centrale). You can also take a the public transport bus (ATB) , which gets you to Bergamo central station in about 10 minutes and here you can get the train to Milan. The trip takes about 40 minutes. Take into account that it’s a better idea to take the train during the week, because of possible traffic jams.

If you want to book train tickets from home you do that here

As in every big city in the world you must keep an eye on backpacks and bags when in the metro, there are many pickpockets that operate there, taking advantage of the fact that it’s crowded. Don’t keep your backpack on your back. Hold it in front of you.

The Central station is another place to be extra vigilant; lots of pickpockets take advantage of visitors’ distraction; one trick, they often use, is to ask if you need help when buying tickets. Refuse politely, but firmly

Taxis to and from the airport

Taxis with fixed fares
Of course you could also take a taxi.There are fixed fares from the airports

IMPORTANT: Watch out for illegal taxis – the legal ones are white and have the Comune di Milano coat of arms on their front doors.

If you need to call for a taxi and don’t speak Italian the easiest thing is to use the official app FreeNow. Read more about it and find the link for downloading it here.

If you speak Italian, the phone number is: +39024040

GoOpti Airport Transfer

If your plane lands or departs at an ungodly hour (you’re the judge of that) there is an alternative to public transport and taxis; the company GoOpti offers cheap rides  between airiports or from your door step to the airport and vice versa. You can book either shared or private rides. The sooner you book the cheaper it is. Book here.

Car sharing to and from Malpensa airport

Another option to go to and from Malpensa airport are two of the car sharing companies; Free2move and Enjoy, you must get and park these cars at the specially designated areas in the parking lots Read more about them and get the link for downloads here.