Taking the Malpensa Express into Milan in 8 Easy Steps

Thanks for the tip on the cabs at Cadorna, Nicole! And I really didn’t think getting the Malpensa Express was too bad… The only thing that would have been tricky, had my husband not told me about it beforehand, was to follow the signs that said “Treni” instead of immediately looking for signs that said “Malpensa Express.” Those don’t show up until later down the corridor.

I didn’t see a ticket machine on board the train I rode in, but that doesn’t mean anything - I wasn’t looking for one because I already had my ticket. According to the official website, it doesn’t look like there are any on-board ticket machines, though.

You’re welcome, Annie! I hope it helps!

Thanks for the questions! I’ve got an answer to your question coming in the next few days, Trudy, and will then post an answer for you, Jerry. You won’t be surprised to learn that my advice is going to be pretty similar for both of you.

Trudy, here’s my answer to your question:

http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/italy-qa-getting-from-malpensa-airport-to-varenna.html

Jerry, here’s my post about the Malpensa bus options, one of which goes to Como:

http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/getting-to-from-malpensa-airport-by-bus.html

Hi, Eshaa: Unfortunately, I don’t know the going rate for taxi rides in Milan. What I’d recommend you do is locate via Gaudenzio on Google maps and see where it is in relation to Cadorna, and the nearest Metro stations. Then you’ll be able to see if taking a taxi is going to be a long distance or if taking the Metro is going to get you close enough.

http://maps.google.com/maps

Incidentally, when I just put via Gaudenzio into Google maps, it gave me a result near Linate airport but nowhere near Porta Genova or St. Agostino Metro stops - so I’d recommend putting your exact apartment address in (it could be there’s more than one via Gaudenzio).

If you have trouble with figuring that out, email me and I’ll see if I can help further. I’m reachable at jessica (at) bootsnall (dot) com.

Wow, 22 people in your group? For starters, know that you won’t find seating all together. You don’t say when you’re traveling, but with a group that large I’d expect to be broken up into 2-3 smaller groups (at the very least) just about any time of year. So I hope you’ve got a few “leader” types in the group who know what’s going on & can coordinate the mini-groups!

You’ll need to take the Malpensa Express into the Stazione Centrale in Milan (you can also take the bus from Malpensa, whichever suits you), and then catch a train from Milan to Genoa. The train trip will take you roughly 1.5-2 hours, depending on the train you choose (it’s closer to 1.5 hours if you get a train that doesn’t require you to switch somewhere en route).

So, you can purchase tickets in advance using the Trenitalia website, or you can book them when you arrive at Milano Centrale - just remember to be patient with whoever’s at your ticket window, since you’re buying 22 tickets! Alternatively, if your group is going to be doing a lot more train travel in the country, you might want to look into getting Italy railpasses for the group - they act as tickets, and if you’re only taking trains that don’t require reservations, you can just hop on and off without purchasing anything else (though don’t forget to validate your railpass before your first journey!).

If you’re getting Eurail passes, the ones the students can buy are cheaper (they’re for under-26-year-olds). I don’t think there’s a student or group discount for regular train tickets, though.

Malpensa Express tickets are tied to a specific departure time, but you can buy those when you arrive at the airport so you won’t need to worry about that (with so many to buy, I hope you’re arriving when the ticket windows are open so you can get them from a person rather than trying to figure out the ticket machine!).

Train tickets themselves aren’t tied to a specific train, but reservations are. If you’re concerned about making a specific train, I’d wait and buy tickets when you arrive at the Milano Centrale station. Then you can just buy tickets for the next train to Genoa (and reservations if needed) without worrying about losing money on your reservations.

Hi, Jeff, and thanks for your question. As far as I know, the Malpensa Express isn’t covered on the Italy railpass, nor is there a train to Malpensa that is. I’ll double-check to make sure, but I think it’s totally separate.

Okay, Jeff, I checked with a couple people and they say that the train company which runs the Malpensa Express (the only bus to/from the airport) is a completely separate one from the trains which run throughout the rest of the country - so their suspicion is that it’s not included, either.

If the 11 euro cost of a ticket is really a concern for you, there are cheaper buses which run from Centrale (instead of Cadorna, where you’d catch the Malpensa Express) to the airport, which you can read about here:

http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/getting-to-from-malpensa-airport-by-bus.html

Hope that helps!

Cesano Maderno is a half-hour outside Milan by train, so I’m not sure I’d recommend taking a taxi - unless you’ve got copious amounts of money to hand over. And looking at the train schedules, there are regular trains leaving for Cesano Maderno from Milano Nord Cadorna station - which is the station the Malpensa Express arrives at, making it super easy to make the trip by train.

I don’t know when your flight gets in, but it looks like there are trains from Cadorna to Cesano Maderno just about every hour, so if you miss one you won’t have to wait hours for the next one. You’ll just need to buy a ticket at Cadorna station after you’ve arrived on the Malpensa Express. Times and costs of the Malpensa Express are listed in the post above, and I can’t find ticket price information for the Cadorna-Cesano Maderno journey online.

Hi, June:

You’ve still got time before you arrive in Brescia, so I’d suggest you email your hotel again to find out for sure whether the bus will be running on Sunday, April 26th. There are, as you say, a crazy number of festivals/holidays in Italy, and they vary by region so it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them all. So while I can probably hunt down information for you, if you’re already in touch with the hotel it’s probably best to check with them directly as they’ll be more aware of whether April 26th is some kind of festival day this year.

Generally speaking, on Sundays bus schedules tend to be lighter, meaning buses will run less frequently than during the week, but they still run. So while the weekday schedule might be one bus per hour, Sundays may be slightly less frequent. And again, the hotel should be able to confirm this for you.

Have a great trip!

Ciao,
Jessica