Milan: your first hour after landing
You have just landed in Milan — most likely at Malpensa, 50 km out, with the €15 express waiting under the terminal. This guide covers the three airports and which one you want, the €2.20 ticket that runs the whole ATM network, where to sleep from a Galleria landmark to a hostel by the Duomo, a first panzerotto and a canal-side aperitivo, the lake and the Bernina line as day trips, and the tourist tax that decides what a room really costs.
In this guide
You just landed in Milan. Malpensa sits about 50 km out, and the move is the Malpensa Express — €15 and 37 minutes to Cadorna or 51 to Centrale — with an eSIM live before you board, a €2.20 ATM ticket once you surface, and the two bookings that sell out — the Duomo terraces and the Last Supper — worth locking in early through GetYourGuide.
Quick facts
Airport
Getting in
Currency
Languages
Time zone
Emergency
Plugs
Tap water
Tourist tax
Best months
Map
Stays, sights, and landmarks in Milan — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
Settle in
Land at Malpensa and treat the train ride as stage one. Both terminals have a station under the arrivals level: ride 37 minutes to Cadorna for the historic centre or 51 minutes to Centrale for onward trains, and step out inside the metro network.
Set up your data before you leave the terminal: an Airalo eSIM loads an Italy data plan in minutes, so train times and hotel directions work from the platform. For a longer Italy trip, compare Saily and Yesim.
Run the arrival checklist in this order:
- Buy the Malpensa Express ticket in the Trenord app or at the station machines — €15 single, children aged 4 to 13 pay €7.50
- Sort your first city ticket — a contactless card at the metro barrier works, capped at the €7.60 day-pass rate
- Drop your bags at the hotel, then walk from the Duomo through the Galleria to La Scala to fix the centre in your head
Check the tax line when the hotel quotes your rate. Milan rooms carry the tourist tax on top — €12 a night per person at a five-star since 1 April 2026, €3 at a hostel — and platforms do not always show it in the first price.
If a delayed or cancelled flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation — worth five minutes before you write the day off.
Getting around
Times are airport to city centre.
Malpensa Express to Cadorna
Trains every 30 minutes from both Malpensa terminals; handiest for the historic centre, on metro lines M1 and M2; the return bought online costs €25 and is valid 30 days
Malpensa Express to Centrale
Same €15 fare via Porta Garibaldi; choose it for onward trains and Centrale hotels
Airport coach to Centrale
Terravision, Autostradale and Air Pullman share the route from both terminals; online fares start near €5, and traffic decides the real journey time
Taxi from Malpensa
Regione Lombardia fixed fare to any Milan address, tolls included; confirm the flat rate before you set off and use the signed ranks outside arrivals
Central Milan runs on foot and on ATM. The historic centre's sights sit inside a 30-minute walk, and five metro lines, the trams and the buses cover everything beyond. A single ticket costs €2.20 and runs 90 minutes across metro, tram and bus with one metro entry; a 24-hour pass costs €7.60 and a carnet of ten singles €19.50. Tap a contactless card instead and your day caps at the pass rate. Children under 14 ride free with a paying adult. The airport rides are these:
Choose Cadorna when you sleep in the centre — it lands you on metro lines M1 and M2, by the castle. Choose Centrale for an early onward train. Linate arrivals have it easiest of all: the M4 metro runs from the airport to San Babila in about 15 minutes on the standard €2.20 ticket. From Bergamo, coaches run to Centrale in about 50 to 60 minutes, from about €5 booked online.
Compare a pre-booked transfer when the hour or group maths demands it — a Kiwitaxi transfer or Welcome Pickups puts a driver in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself, price the airport pickup on AutoEurope first.
In the city
Climb to the Duomo terraces first, while the sky is clear. Ride or walk up onto the cathedral roof, among the spires and flying buttresses, with the Alps on the horizon on a crisp morning. Book a timed ticket ahead — the terrace queue is the city's longest by midday.
Book the Last Supper before anything else. Leonardo's mural in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie is seen by small groups for exactly 15 minutes, and slots sell out weeks ahead on the official Cenacolo Vinciano booking site; guided-tour tickets are the usual fallback when the official calendar is dry.
Walk the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II at opening time, spin once on the bull mosaic for luck, then cross to Brera. The Pinacoteca di Brera holds the city's great paintings — Mantegna, Raphael, Caravaggio — and the lanes below are Milan's prettiest for coffee.
Book the headline sights before you arrive, because the Last Supper sells out first. Timed Duomo slots and top tours go early — browse the Milan listings on GetYourGuide for the big days, and compare Klook when you are stacking activities into one pass.
End one day in the Navigli. The canals fill at aperitivo hour, the bridges carry the sunset crowd, and the vintage shops stay open into the evening.
After you land in Milan: Bookable experiences
Where to stay your first nights
Park Hyatt Milano.
Best for the five-star splurge beside the Galleria and the DuomoStay at Via Tommaso Grossi 1, beside the Galleria and steps from the Duomo. Expect 106 rooms and a spa with a gold-mosaic pool — book it for the landmark address.
Room Mate Giulia.
Best for Urquiola design a minute from the Duomo at a mid-range rateSleep at Via Silvio Pellico 4, a minute from Piazza del Duomo. Expect 85 rooms in Patricia Urquiola's pink, green and terrazzo design, a small spa and a generous breakfast — book it for design-hotel polish at a fair rate.
Ostello Bello Milano Duomo.
Best for dorms and privates ten minutes from the Duomo, with a bar locals use tooBed down at Via Medici 3, ten minutes on foot from the Duomo. Expect dorms and private rooms, a bar that locals use too and a shared kitchen — book early, because it fills.
Stay near the Duomo or in Brera for a first visit — the centre puts the cathedral, the Galleria and the main metro interchange inside a ten-minute walk. Choose Centrale for early trains, and the Navigli for evenings on the canals at lower rates.
Book any of the three early for fashion week, Design Week and the Christmas run-up. Confirm whether the quoted total includes the tourist tax — up to €12 a night per person since April 2026.
Where to eat first
Eat close on day one — a fried panzerotto by the Duomo, a canal-side aperitivo and a grand old café cover the essentials. Three first stops:
Luini, Via Santa Radegonda 16.
Join the queue for the panzerotto, the half-moon of fried dough filled with tomato and mozzarella that Milan has eaten standing up since 1888. The line moves fast.
Aperitivo on the Naviglio Grande, Porta Genova side.
Order a spritz or a Negroni at a canal bar from about 6 pm, when the drink arrives with access to the aperitivo spread. Go at dusk and let the first evening run long.
Marchesi 1824, inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Stand at the counter for an espresso and a pastry under the Galleria's glass dome, the way Milan has since 1824.
Save room for gelato afterwards — the shops around Brera scoop late. For food tours and evening experiences, browse the Milan listings on GetYourGuide and book a slot for your first free evening.
Day trips and more
Three escapes start at Centrale and Cadorna: Lake Como, the Bernina line into Switzerland, and Verona with Lake Garda. Carry your passport for the Swiss day.
Lake Como and Bellagio
Ride the train from Centrale to Varenna in about an hour, then ferry across to Bellagio's lanes and gardens. The guided version adds a private lake cruise and a run over the border to Lugano: rated 4.6 out of 5 from 1,244 reviews, from about US$105 for 10.5 hours, meeting at Porta Garibaldi. Check availability →
Bernina Express to St Moritz
Ride the little red train from Tirano over the Landwasser viaduct and the Brusio spiral to St Moritz, on a UNESCO-listed line. The tour from Milan is rated 4.5 out of 5 from 2,314 reviews, from US$167 for 12.5 hours — bring your passport. Check availability →
Verona and Lake Garda
Walk Verona's Roman arena and medieval lanes, then cruise Lake Garda to Sirmione, where the Scaligero castle stands in the water at the end of the peninsula. The combined tour is rated 4.7 out of 5 from 246 reviews. Check availability →
When to go and what it costs
Come in April to June or September to October for the full city: warm evenings on the canals and the lakes running full ferry timetables. Book around the trade calendar — fashion weeks in late February and late September and Design Week in April send rates to their yearly peak.
Come in August with your eyes open. Half the city closes as Milanese families leave for the sea, the heat sits in the high thirties, and many restaurants take the month off — in exchange, the sights run quiet and rates drop.
Come in winter for the sales and the fog. January brings the winter sales and the opera season at La Scala; December adds the Sant'Ambrogio fair and the tree in Piazza del Duomo. Pack for cold, damp days.
Budget Milan by the fixed costs. The Malpensa Express runs €15, a city single €2.20 and a 24-hour pass €7.60; current listings put the 3-day ticket at €15.50, though older listings still show €13 — the ATM app shows the live price. The tourist tax adds €3 to €12 a night per person, and the Duomo terraces and Last Supper are worth booking at official prices before resellers mark them up.
What to pack
Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.
Pack for a city that dresses well and walks everywhere — you will cover the centre on foot, and the cobbles and marble floors punish thin soles. This is the full list:
- Comfortable walking shoes Shop walking shoes on Amazon →
- Sunscreen Shop sunscreen on Amazon →
- Reusable water bottle Shop water bottle on Amazon →
- Phone charger and power bank Shop power bank on Amazon →
- Daypack Shop daypack on Amazon →
- Sunglasses Shop sunglasses on Amazon →
- Light rain jacket Shop rain jacket on Amazon →
Add smart layers on top of the list: a jacket that passes at an aperitivo bar, a warm layer for the Bernina day, and a scarf to cover shoulders for the Duomo. Summer wants linen; winter wants a real coat.
Language, visa and entry
✓ Visa-free entry
Italian runs the city, and Milan's hotels, stations and sights work in English all day. Outside the centre a few Italian phrases carry the conversation.
Four phrases do most of the work:
Sort your entry paperwork before you book anything non-refundable. Italy sits inside Schengen: US, UK, Canadian, Australian and many other passports enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180; others need a Schengen visa arranged well ahead.
Expect the new border routine. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is live, so a first entry now records your photo and fingerprints instead of a passport stamp — allow extra time at Malpensa border control. ETIAS is not in operation yet: there is no travel authorisation to buy for Italy in 2026, and any site selling you one is a scam.
Carry your passport for the Bernina day into Switzerland, and keep a photo of it on your phone — hotels must register every guest at check-in.
Safety and health
Watch your pockets around Centrale, the Duomo and crowded metro cars
Pickpockets work the airport trains and the M1 and M2 crush — wear the bag in front, keep the phone out of your back pocket, and be alert when a crowd presses at the doors.
Use official white taxis from the ranks, and ignore drivers who approach you inside the terminals
Malpensa runs on a €114 fixed fare to the city, set by law. At Centrale and Linate too: rank first, app second, never a stranger's offer.
Dial 112 for any emergency, and head for a pronto soccorso for urgent care
The big central hospitals include the Policlinico near the Duomo and Niguarda to the north. Pharmacies under the green cross give good first advice, and one in each district stays open overnight.
Take summer heat and winter fog seriously
July and August push past 35 degrees — refill at the vedovelle fountains and take the Duomo terraces before noon. In winter, fog delays flights at all three airports; leave slack before a tight connection.
Related destinations
If you liked Milan, try these next:
Frequently asked questions
The things travellers ask in the first 48 hours: the three airports, the €15 express and the tax on the room.
Fares checked against Malpensa Express, ATM and the Comune di Milano October 2026 guidance; entry rules against the European Commission.
Ride the Malpensa Express. It costs €15, runs every 30 minutes from both terminals, and takes 37 minutes to Cadorna or 51 to Centrale. Coaches to Centrale cost about €10, and a taxi is a fixed €114 for the whole car.
Linate is closest — the M4 metro reaches San Babila in about 15 minutes on a €2.20 ticket. Malpensa takes most long-haul flights and has the €15 express. Bergamo serves budget airlines, with coaches to Centrale from about €5 online.
Per person per night, on the scale in force since 1 April 2026: €12 at a five-star hotel, €10 at four-star, €7 at three-star, €3 at a hostel and €9.50 at a short-term rental. It stops after 14 nights, and under-18s are exempt.
Yes — both. Last Supper slots last 15 minutes, are released on the official Cenacolo Vinciano site, and sell out weeks ahead. Duomo terrace tickets are timed too; book the official ticket before resellers mark it up.
No. ETIAS is not in operation yet, and any site selling it is a scam. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is live instead, so a first Schengen entry now records your photo and fingerprints at border control.
Lake Como. Trains from Centrale reach Varenna in about an hour, with ferries across to Bellagio. For the Alps, the Bernina line to St Moritz is the great rail day — carry your passport for Switzerland.
Fares change — the operators and the Comune pages always win.
Milan, in your pocket
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Sources and last verified
Malpensa Express fares and times against malpensaexpress.it and Trenord. ATM fares against ATM's current tariff listings: the single is €2.20 and the 24-hour pass €7.60 everywhere; the 3-day ticket shows €15.50 on current listings and €13 on older ones, so this guide prints the conflict rather than a single figure. Tourist tax against the Comune di Milano's published scale, resolution 144 of 12 February 2026, in force from 1 April 2026. The €114 taxi fare against the Regione Lombardia fixed tariff as published by Malpensa Airport; one older guide still prints €104. EES and ETIAS status against the European Commission — EES live, ETIAS not in operation. GetYourGuide ratings read from the product pages themselves. Photo credits: Duomo, Galleria, Navigli, tram, Verona, Bernina, Lake Como and spritz photographs via Pexels; Malpensa Express by Andrzej Otrębski and Park Hyatt Milan by Ueutyi, both via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Room Mate Giulia and Ostello Bello photographs from the properties' own sites. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.