Main train stations | Milan Central Station, Milano Porta Garibaldi, Milano Nord Cadorna |
Train companies | Trenitalia, Malpensa Express, Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca, Italo, Trenord, Deutsche Bahn, OBB |
Airports | Malpensa Airport, Linate Airport, Bergamo Airport |
Public transport | Metro, trams and local buses |
Cheap train tickets | Cheap train tickets in Italy |
Milan (or Milano) is world-renowned as the Italian hub of design and fashion. Well-connected by train to the rest of the country, as well as the major European cities, the Italian capital of fashion also boasts plenty of tourist attractions and an incredible social life, including not-to-be-missed events and happy hours, especially along the Navigli canals. Travelling to Milan soon? Book your train tickets with us and get ready for your train journey with our useful information about train times, popular journeys, airport transfers and travel tips.
Discover popular routes to Milan, train types on those routes and journey times in the table below.
Route | Fastest journey time | Train |
---|---|---|
Venice to Milan | 2h | Italo, Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca |
Rome to Milan | 2h 52m | Italo, Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca |
Florence to Milan | 1h 40m | Italo, Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca |
Turin to Milan | 45m | Italo, Frecciarossa, Intercity |
Paris to Milan | 6h 38m | TGV |
Zurich to Milan | 3h 35m | Frecciargento, Frecciabianca |
Good news! You can now travel direct to Milan from Paris on a high-speed Frecciarossa train operated by Trenitalia. Frecciarossa 1000 trains take you from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milan Central station.
What’s more, you can enjoy plenty of amenities on board, including comfy seats, free WiFi, reading lights, at-seat power sockets, and lots of luggage space. Find out more about Frecciarossa.
The route from Venice to Milan is served by two Trenitalia’s high-speed trains – Frecciarossa and Frecciabianca. Reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h, Frecciarossa trains will whisk you from Venice to the capital of design in about two hours.
There are four classes on Frecciarossa trains – Standard, Premium, Business and Executive. The Standard and Premium Classes correspond to a normal Standard Class, the only difference being that in Premium there are leather seats, while in Standard there are cloth seats. Business Class is ideal if you’re travelling on a business trip – there’s even a private compartment where meetings can be held. If you want to travel in style, choose the Executive Class and you’ll enjoy plenty of space, gourmet meal service at your seat and free access to FrecciaClub and FrecciaLounge.
Frecciabianca trains, instead, travel at the speed of 200 km/h and offer First and Second Classes.
The fastest journey from Rome to Milan lasts a bit less than three hours if you travel on Frecciarossa and Frecciargento high-speed trains.
Want to travel in style and comfort? Choose Frecciarossa Executive Class and you’ll enjoy dedicated catering service at your seat, wide ergonomic reclining leather armchairs and free access to the FRECCE media portal.
If you travel in Frecciabianca’s First Class, you’ll get power sockets, reclining table and reading lights at your seat and a welcome service with snacks and drinks.
Find out more about train travel in Italy on our Trains in Italy page, or if you want to learn more about Italy's high-speed rail network, check out our dedicated High-speed trains in Italy page.
Milan’s major train station is Milan Central Station (Milano Centrale) – it’s the second largest train station in Italy and is well-connected to other main cities across Italy and Europe, including Paris (7h 3m), Marseille (7h 26m), Geneva (3h 58m), Zurich (3h 35m), Lugano (1h 11m), Frankfurt (7h 29m) and Vienna (10h 8m).
The other two important stations in the city are Milano Porta Garibaldi, from which you can easily get to Turin and Como in less than an hour, and Milano Nord Cadorna, from which you can take the Malpensa Express to the airport.
If you travel with Trenitalia Frecce or regional trains to Milan, you can buy one of the following tickets –
If you travel with Italo, instead, you can choose between the following ticket fares –
You can easily get from Malpensa Airport to Milan Central station by train – you can choose between the Malpensa Express, which is the fastest service, and the normal regional trains.
The Malpensa Express departs from Terminal 2 every 7 and 37 minutes past each hour. The regional trains (category ‘R’) bound for Malpensa stop at Milano Porta Garibaldi, Milano Bovisa, Saronno, Rescaldina, Castellanza, Busto Arsizio Nord, Ferno-Lonate Pozzolo and Milan Malpensa Airport T1. For more information about airport transfers to and from Malpensa Airport, check out our dedicated Trains to Malpensa Airport page.
If your plane is landing at Linate Airport and you want to get to the city centre, hop on one of the 27 Autostradale buses that connect the airport to Milan Central Station every day. Buses run every 30 minutes. Read our page about Trains to Linate Airport for more details.
You can also take an Autostradale bus to get from Bergamo Airport to Milan Central station. The bus journey lasts about 50 minutes and buses run every 20-30 minutes from 04:05 to 00:45.
Milan has an efficient public transport network that includes 4 metro lines, trams and buses. All public transport services are provided by Azienda Trasporti Milanese (ATM) – tickets can be purchased at metro stations, authorised retailers or newsstands.
The night network consists of 5 lines operating every night (M1, M2 and M3 metro lines and 90 and 91 bus lines) and 10 lines operating on weekends every 30 min, from 01:00 to 06:00. The urban ticket validated between 00:30 and 04:30 on Saturday and Sunday is valid until 06:00, if validated after 04:30 it’s valid for 90 minutes and can be used for the metro.
With so many things to see, do and eat, Milan is a cosmopolitan city that's well worth a visit. Perhaps the most well-known attraction is the Duomo di Milano, an iconic piece of Italian Gothic architecture located in the main square of the city. To appreciate its ornate beauty, you can do worse than arrive by metro – as you exit the station, the cathedral will be revealed step by step. The imposing white-marble facade and beautiful statue of the Madonna make for a fantastic photo opportunity, while the rooftop terrace provides breath-taking views across the city.
The glass-ceilinged arcade to your left as you face the cathedral is Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It's a tourist attraction in its own right, being built back in the 1860s by the first king of Italy after whom it’s named. It also draws the tour groups to window shop and splash the cash in its many high-end boutiques, with names like Armani gracing its halls. Check out our article about Streetwear shopping in Milan and read the shopping experience of the vlogger Sangiev.
Walk straight on and right through the arcade and you'll exit onto Piazza della Scala. There you'll find the opera house La Scala – the quality of the world-renowned performances that take place here mean you'll need to book ahead to experience them for yourself. Outside, catch a ride on one of the city's vintage trams. They have polished wooden benches and are the perfect way of seeing the city – you’ll just need to buy your ticket from a nearby newsstand before you board.
Castello Sforzesco, housing numerous institutions including the Museo d’Arte Antica and the Egyptian Museum, is next on the to-see list. The Pinacoteca di Brera can also be found in this area – a main public art gallery that hosts one of the foremost exhibitions of Italian artwork anywhere in the world.
Should you still have some time (and energy) left, the towns of Verona, Venice and Cinque Terre are only 1-2 hours away by train – which is perfect if you want to go on a day trip. Read our guide about Top-rated day trips from Milan for all seasons to get more ideas and be inspired!
Need tips to plan your weekend in Milan? Read Our guide to the perfect weekend in Milan and book your train tickets to Milan with us.