The short version: walk the centre, take the metro for almost everything else, and pay by tapping a contactless card. You almost certainly do not need a car, and you rarely need a taxi. Everything below fills in the detail, but if you remember only that one line, you will get around Milan just fine.
The metro
Milan's metro, run by the city transport operator ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi), is the backbone of getting around. There are five lines, each colour-coded, and the map is refreshingly easy to read. Stations are signposted clearly, announcements are made in Italian and English on most lines, and in the central districts you are rarely more than a short walk from an entrance.
- M1 (red): the historic first line, running across the centre past the Duomo and out toward the Fiera and Cadorna on the west side. It splits into two branches at its northern end, so glance at the final destination shown on the front of the train (Rho Fiera, Sesto, or Bisceglie) before you board.
- M2 (green): the workhorse, linking Milano Centrale and Porta Garibaldi stations down through the city to the Navigli canals and out to the south and east. It is the line most guests use to reach the bars and restaurants around the Navigli.
- M3 (yellow): runs north to south through the Duomo and Centrale, and it is the line that serves Porta Romana and Crocetta, close to our apartment. Fast, frequent, and central.
- M4 (blue): the newest line, now complete, running straight from Linate airport in the east through San Babila and the centre out to the western suburbs. It is fully automated, with platform screen doors and driverless trains you can sit at the very front of for the view down the tunnel.
- M5 (lilac): also driverless, linking Garibaldi with the San Siro stadium in the west and the Bicocca district in the northeast. If you are going to a football match or a concert at San Siro, this is your line.
Trains run frequently from early morning (first services around 6 am) until roughly half past midnight, with the last departures a little later on Friday and Saturday nights. In the daytime you will rarely wait more than two to four minutes, and even late in the evening the gap is usually under ten. During the morning and evening rush the big interchange stations (Duomo, Centrale, Cadorna, Garibaldi, Loreto) get busy, so allow a moment to move with the crowd rather than against it.
Tickets & tap-and-go
Milan uses a single integrated fare system called the STIBM, which covers the metro, trams, buses, and the suburban and regional trains inside the city's zones. For almost everything a visitor does you are inside the innermost zone (labelled Mi1 to Mi3 on the maps), and one urban ticket is all you need. You do not have to think about zones for a normal city stay: they only come into play if you head well out into the province.
The simplest way to pay is to forget paper entirely and use contactless. Tap a contactless bank card, phone, or smartwatch directly on the yellow reader at the metro gate to get in, tap again to get out, and tap on the reader by the doors every time you board a tram or bus. The system recognises your card, charges the standard single fare, and, best of all, caps automatically: once you have made enough journeys in a day to equal the day-pass price, the rest of that day rides free. You never have to work out in advance whether a day pass is worth it, and you never overpay. Use the same card all day for the cap to apply, and if two of you are travelling, each person taps their own card. One card cannot pay for two people.
If you would rather buy a ticket the traditional way, here is the menu you will see at a station machine, in a tobacconist (tabaccheria), or in the app:
- Urban single (biglietto urbano): recently around €2.20, valid for 90 minutes. Good for one metro entry plus as many tram and bus transfers as you can fit inside the window.
- 10-ride carnet: ten singles bundled together at a small saving, handy if a couple is sharing over a few days.
- Day pass (biglietto giornaliero): around €7.60 for 24 hours of unlimited travel, which is also the level the contactless cap matches.
- Three-day ticket: around €13, ideal for a long weekend of heavy sightseeing.
- Weekly and monthly passes (settimanale, abbonamento mensile): best value for longer stays, though the monthly usually needs a registered ATM card rather than a paper ticket.
Fares are reviewed periodically, so treat these numbers as a guide and check the live price at a machine or in the app.
Speaking of which, the official ATM Milano app is worth installing on arrival. You can buy and store tickets on your phone, plan journeys with live departure times, see which lifts are working at each station, and check service updates during strikes or engineering works. It sits alongside tap-and-go rather than replacing it, and it is the most reliable place to confirm the current fare before you travel.
On the metro you tap both to enter and to exit, so keep your card handy at the far end too. On trams and buses you tap every time you board, always with the same card, so the daily cap works in your favour. If you are travelling as a group, each person needs their own card or ticket, and inspectors do check: riding without a validated ticket carries a fine, and pleading tourist rarely helps.
Trams & buses
Above ground, Milan's tram network is one of the loveliest ways to see the city. Alongside sleek modern trams you will still find the vintage 1920s orange "Carrelli" cars rattling through the centre, all polished wood and brass fittings, effectively a sightseeing ride for the price of a normal ticket. Trams and buses fill the gaps between metro stops and are the nicest way to cover short, scenic distances, the kind of trip where you would rather be at street level than underground. The same tickets and contactless tap-and-go apply, and stops show a route map and, increasingly, a live arrivals board.
Two lines are worth knowing by name. Tram 1 is an old Carrelli route that trundles through the historic centre and past several landmarks, so it doubles as a gentle city tour. Trams 9 and 10 trace much of the ring of the old city walls in a loop, which makes them handy for hopping between neighbourhoods without diving into the centre and out again. Buses, meanwhile, reach the corners the rails do not, and the same 90-minute urban ticket lets you chain a metro ride, a tram, and a bus together as one journey.
The S-lines and the Passante
Below the metro map sits a second network that visitors often miss: the suburban railway, the S-lines (linee suburbane), run mostly by Trenord. Several of them dive underground through the city on a shared tunnel called the Passante Ferroviario, stopping at central stations such as Porta Venezia, Repubblica, Porta Garibaldi, and Dateo, before surfacing to reach the outer towns. For a visitor they matter in two ways. First, inside the city they behave exactly like an extra metro line and accept the same urban ticket, so an S-train can be the quickest hop between two central stations. Second, they are your ride to the near suburbs and to connections for the lakes. If a journey planner suggests an S1, S2, or S13, do not be put off: it is just a train, and your city ticket covers the part inside the zones.
Accessibility
Milan has come a long way on accessibility. The driverless M4 and M5 lines are fully step-free from street to platform, with lifts and platform screen doors throughout. On the older M1, M2, and M3, most stations have lifts, but a handful of the oldest do not, so it is worth checking your specific stations in advance. The ATM Milano app shows a live lift status for each station, which is the safest way to plan a step-free route. Modern low-floor trams and almost all buses kneel and carry a fold-out ramp for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and priority spaces are marked inside. If you are arriving from an airport with heavy luggage, factor lifts into your choice of station: Cadorna and Centrale both have them, and the Malpensa Express platforms connect straight to them.
Night transport and safety
When the metro closes for the night, a network of night buses takes over on the main corridors, often following the metro routes above ground, so you are rarely stranded. Timetables thin out after midnight, so check the app before you set off, and taxis or a ride app are the simple fallback for the small hours.
On safety, Milan is a generally safe city and the transport network is busy and well used late into the evening. The usual big-city caution applies rather than anything Milan-specific: keep your phone and bag in view in crowds, particularly around Centrale, the Duomo, and packed trams, where pickpockets work the crush. Solo travel on the metro in the evening is common and unremarkable. If something feels off, move to a busier carriage or platform, and remember that every station has help points and staff you can call on.
Cycling, BikeMi and scooters
Milan is flat, compact, and increasingly friendly to two wheels. The city's bike-share, BikeMi, has hundreds of docking stations across the centre, with both standard and electric-assist bikes. You sign up through its app or website, buy a daily or weekly pass, and unlock a bike from any dock; the first half hour of each ride is included, so short hops between docks are effectively free. Electric bikes cost a little more per ride but make light work of any distance.
Alongside BikeMi, several free-floating operators run dockless e-scooters and e-bikes (names like Lime, Dott, and Bird come and go), which you unlock by scanning a QR code in their app and leave within the permitted zones. A few practical notes: helmets are recommended and, for scooters, sometimes required for younger riders; ride on the road or in marked cycle lanes rather than the pavement; the historic centre has plenty of bike lanes but also cobbles and tram tracks, so take corners with care and cross rails at an angle; and park considerately, because scooters left blocking pavements are both antisocial and, increasingly, fined.
From the airports
Milan is served by three airports, and the right route in depends entirely on which one your flight uses. Here is the cleanest way from each, followed by a table you can glance at.
Linate (LIN), closest
Just east of the city and, since the M4 opened, connected by metro straight into the centre. The blue line runs from the airport to San Babila, a couple of hundred metres from the Duomo, in about 15 minutes for the price of a normal city ticket. For a short city trip with no lakeside detour, Linate is far and away the most convenient arrival: you can be off the plane and at your apartment before a Malpensa passenger has cleared their terminal.
Malpensa (MXP), the main hub
About 50 km northwest of the city and the main long-haul gateway. The Malpensa Express train is usually the best way in, running from both terminals to Milano Cadorna and to Milano Centrale (via Porta Garibaldi) in roughly 30 to 50 minutes, depending on the service and which station you want. Trains leave every 15 to 30 minutes for most of the day. A one-way ticket costs around €13, and note that Malpensa sits outside the city zones, so your urban ticket does not cover it: buy the airport fare. Airport coaches to Centrale are a slightly cheaper, slightly slower alternative, and a taxi runs on a fixed flat fare of about €110 into the centre, which can make sense split between three or four people late at night.
Bergamo, Orio al Serio (BGY)
Northeast of Milan and, despite the marketing name, an hour away rather than in the city. It is used mainly by low-cost airlines. There is no train to the terminal, so the standard route in is a dedicated coach to Milano Centrale, which takes around 50 to 60 minutes; several companies run them frequently and a ticket is roughly €10 to €12. From Centrale the metro finishes the job. Budget a little extra time here, especially for an early departure when you are heading the other way.
| Airport | Fastest route in | Time to centre | Typical cost |
| Linate (LIN) | M4 metro to San Babila | ~15 min | city ticket (~€2.20) |
| Malpensa (MXP) | Malpensa Express train | ~30 to 50 min | ~€13 (taxi ~€110) |
| Bergamo (BGY) | Coach to Centrale | ~50 to 60 min | ~€10 to €12 |
Times and fares are approximate and change with timetables and traffic, so confirm before you travel, especially for an early or late flight.
Day trips: the lakes and beyond
One of the quiet joys of basing yourself in Milan is how much of northern Italy sits within an easy train ride. The city has three main stations, and knowing which one you need saves a lot of confusion:
- Milano Centrale: the grand main station, for high-speed Frecce and Italo trains to Turin (about an hour), Bologna (about an hour), Florence (about an hour and three quarters), Venice (about two and a half hours), and Rome (about three hours), plus regional trains to Como, Bergamo, and the Lake Garda towns.
- Milano Cadorna: the Trenord terminus for the Ferrovie Nord, with frequent trains to Como Nord Lago (right on the lakefront), Saronno, and Varese for Lake Maggiore.
- Milano Porta Garibaldi: a busy hub for regional and suburban trains and some high-speed services, and a handy alternative departure point that is often calmer than Centrale.
For the lakes specifically, Lake Como is the classic half-day or full-day trip: about an hour from Centrale to Como San Giovanni, or a scenic run from Cadorna to Como Nord Lago that leaves you steps from the boats. Lake Maggiore (Stresa) is a little under an hour from Centrale, and Lake Garda is reached via Desenzano or Peschiera in around an hour and a half. Buy high-speed tickets in advance for the best price and a guaranteed seat; regional trains to the lakes are sold at a fixed fare, so you can simply turn up, buy, and go. Whichever you choose, remember to validate a paper regional ticket in the little green or white machines on the platform before boarding, or buy through the Trenord app to skip that step entirely.
Taxis and ride apps
Milan's official taxis are white, metered, and generally reliable, but the etiquette is different from London or New York: you do not usually flag one down in the street. Instead you pick one up at a marked taxi rank (there is one outside every station and most big squares), call a dispatcher, or, most easily, book through an app. FreeNow and IT Taxi both summon the same licensed white cabs; Uber operates in Milan only as its more expensive Uber Black service, using licensed drivers. Fares run on a meter with a fixed starting charge and small surcharges at night, on Sundays, and for luggage, with the flat airport fares mentioned above as the exception. For most central journeys, honestly, the metro will be faster and a fraction of the price; taxis earn their keep late at night, with heavy bags, or when you are heading somewhere the network does not quite reach.
Do you need a car? No.
Driving in central Milan is far more hassle than help. Parking is scarce and expensive, street signage assumes local knowledge, and the historic centre sits inside Area C, a congestion-charge zone you pay to enter on weekdays, ringed by cameras. Beyond it, a much larger low-emission zone called Area B restricts the most polluting vehicles across most of the city. Add restricted-traffic streets, tram tracks, and confident scooter riders, and a car in town is mostly a way to spend money and lose your temper. The one time it makes sense is a trip deep into the countryside where trains do not reach, and even then it is often easier to take the train to a lakeside town and hire a car or a boat there. For the city itself, leave the car behind and lean on the metro.
A little etiquette
A few small courtesies make you a local rather than a tourist in the way. On escalators, stand on the right and leave the left clear for people walking up. On a busy metro, let passengers off before you get on, move down inside the carriage rather than clustering by the doors, and give up priority seats to those who need them. Keep backpacks off your shoulders and at your feet in a crowd, both to make room and to keep them in sight. Eating a full meal on board is frowned upon, though a coffee or a bottle of water is fine. And a quiet grazie to the driver as you step off a smaller bus is never out of place.
Once you have tapped through a gate for the first time, the whole system clicks into place. Pick a central base near a metro stop, keep one contactless card handy, download the ATM Milano app, and Milan quickly becomes a very small, very easy city to move around. The rest of the time, walk: the centre is compact and beautiful, and some of the best things you will find here are the ones you stumble on between stations.