Hotel near Cadorna station Milan

Try Hotel Duca Di York
Not really at Cadorna close to Duomo
Taxi to Cadorna about a 10 min ride

Nothing wrong with staying near Milano Centrale
The difference in ride to MXP is maybe 20 min?

Hotel Berna
Hotel Garda
Are 2 often mentioned here

Also booked. We may need to change our itinerary and visit Milan first. But we land on a Sunday, alot is closed on Monday, so we need to see The Last Supper on Tues, Tickets for October go on sale next Tues. Are many sights open on Monday in Milan?

The Duomo is open every day
https://www.duomomilano.it/

I know the Monumental Cemetery is closed Monday

What other sites are you interested in?

The Last Supper is probably the most important so I’d rework itinerary to get those tickets

I'll wait until Tuesday when October opens to see if I can get tickets. We can adjust our itinerary. Than you. Is something special going on the week of October 7th?

Is there a week of the year when there aren’t a ton of special events going on in Milan? It has become worse than NYC and unfortunately the hotel rooms have not increased much.

We booked Hotel Panizza for three nights Oct 8-11. Fully refundable if anything changes. I'm not sure about 3 nights in Milan.

You could always day trip to Lake Como unless that’s already on your itinerary

Or day trip to Bergamo which is about an hour by train
Lovely town —Bergamo Alto
We visited for 2 nights in 2022
It was the epicenter of the COVID Pandemic
We wanted to throw some tourist dollars their way ( and see the town of course)

can anyone suggest an air bnb in Milan Central or Cadorna? There are a lot listed on the site but seem a little far out.

I have been looking for accomodations in some of the same places the OP has, but a week earlier or later. For Milan, I have 2 nights reserved (fully refundable) at Cadorna Luxury Hotel which is listed as about a 5 minute walk from Cadrorna station and was less expensive than some of the other options mentioned near Cadorna. If anyone is familiar with this hotel, I would welcome hearing. I quickly glanced and it didn't seem to be available for the OP's nights but might be worth checking. I have been finding that prices have been consistently lower and sometimes availability greater by checking directly through hotel websites. I know this is often true in many places, but the price differences have been more noticeable in my Milan in October search.

I also looked on airbnb and like the OP, I was not sure of some of the areas for convenience for a short stay. I am also using a website for bed and breakfasts in various cities in Italy https://www.bed-and-breakfast.it/en/ that might be helpful for the OP.

Thank you . I did check Cadorna Luxury Hotel for my days and yes it is booked. I did find a room at Hotel Panizza, also refundable, but some not so great review on trip advisor. We are considering revising our itinerary to visit Milan after the Dolomites and before Lake Como. It would mean either an early morning train from Varenna for our 11:00 am flight or going to Milan the night before and staying at the Milan airport.

Have you checked Booking.com?

I would not chance taking train from Varenna on your departure day that’s a minimum 2 hour train trip
You’d have to be on your way before 6 am to get to MXP by 8
Not even sure a train from Varenna is that early
Too risky

Yes. Hotel Garda has some availability. Some of the air bnb's in the Brera neighborhood look nice. Tickets for the Last Supper go on sale Mon or Tuesday so I am thinking I should wait before booking anything I can't cancel in case I need to change my itinerary. I plan on going on line at 6:00 am Eastern time but from what I've read tickets sell out in minutes, We will be there 3 days, do I have at least a fair chance of obtaining tickets for one of those 3 days? And is this really a must see?

You should spend the last night near the Malpensa airport, there are plenty of hotels, many with shuttles to the airport, in addition to the Sheraton, which is at the airport itself.

Leave Varenna the day before your flight and stay at the airport. Don’t chance it with an early morning departure. You need to be at the airport by 8:30am at the latest.

I’m not a fan of Milan, therefore a one day visit would be enough for me. If you stay in Varenna the whole time you could even visit Milan by train on a day trip. It’s only 70 min away.

Just make sure to stay closer to the airport the night before a morning departure. S..t happens sometimes and you don’t want it to happen on your way to a transatlantic flight.

TBH I struggled with the same issues. We were there early October 2022. I was able to get the LS tickets (wasn't too hard that year as travel was just opening up) so we kept our plan to visit Milan for 2 nights. If we had not been able to get the tickets we would have skipped Milan- even though the Duomo is worth a visit.
That said, I was blown away by the Last Supper- did not expect that. It is quite amazing. If you are able to score tickets get the English tour as well- well worth it.

IOW- nothing is a must do if it just doesn't fit. Don't feel you need to squeeze Milan in if the accommodations are not lining up. There are other places you could add a night or 2 to your itinerary.
Maybe consider 2 nights in Verona as you travel from Bolzano to Lake Como. Verona is a lovely city and 2 nights would be sufficient there.
Another option is Bologna
I would still recommend last night in Milan so you are close to MXP for 11 am departure.

For the tickets- be sure you are registered and logged in so you are ready to buy.

Thanks Christine. I am not a fan of big cities so maybe we will spend our last night in Milan, see TLS and the Duomo and head to an airport hotel. Thanks for the suggestion of Verona, maybe going to Lake Como a few days later will help with accommodations there. And yes I did register on the site to buy tickets for the Last Supper.

You don’t need to stay at the airport night before flight
It’s easy enough to stay in Milan
leave on the Malpensa Express by 7-7::30is fine

If you are coming to Milan from Lake Como you’ll have most of that day in Milan
Book LS tix for later in the day

We are seriously considering doing what you suggest, everything you said. :)

Well glad I could help

Good luck and please let us know how you do with tickets and changes to you itinerary