Late arrival to Milan LIN- advice?

I think staying in Milan is the better idea. Would you be able to check in to your lodging in Venice at midnight-1AM?

A few years back, we arrived at the Venice airport around 11:00pm. Our research showed that water-based transportation into Venice was few and far- between at that hour. We stayed instead at the Marriott Courtyard at the airport. It was the best decision for us.

The question would be how would you get to your Venice hotel that late? If the vaporettos are running, there are fewer options on the late schedule . If the water taxis are running, you'd probably have a surcharge.
Have a great trip!

Stay in Milan for a night…..we stayed at Hotel Star on a RSteves recommendation……great location to walk to the Duomo/Galleria and even to take the roof tour of the Duomo……amazing view from the top! The Galleria is really fun….get a meal at one of its sidewalk cafes and watch the world go by…..,the hotel was a wonderful place to stay there…..and we saw THE LAST SUPPER as well…..so glad we did!…..PS……we arrived in the dark in Venice for our hotel and am sure an angel was there to help us as we would still be looking for it down an alley if this nice vaparetto owner had not helped us! Venice is so disorienting that you need to arrive there in the daylight…..we stepped off the train onto the harbor to catch a water taxi…..very new experience! Allow yourself daylight to arrive in Venice!

The Duomo (at least the exterior; I think you'll be too late for the interior) would be my top priority. The Galleria is also a great spot. Assuming you aren't arriving in Milan after a transatlantic flight, a nice meal is a great idea. I haven't been to MIlan recently and have no restaurant suggestions, but the Brera district is an historic area with some restaurants, and the Navigli (canal) district is now a restaurant/nightlife center. I think the Porta Genova Metro station is the best one for Navigli, which--come to think of it--might not be quite so attractive (weather-wise) in mid-December. If you arrive a bit the worse for wear and want something decent but easier than a full-blown restaurant, Eataly might be an option. It's at Piazza XXV Aprile 10.

The high-fashion stores are on and near Via Montenapoleone; seems as if that might be an interesting area for window-shopping if the weather's OK.

The last direct train from Milano Centrale is at 6:45p (2h 15m) but I’m not looking at the Dec schedule. If you take a taxi from the airport, settle the price before getting in. I would not pay more than 30 euro.
Pat is correct about getting around by water transportation late at night. With that said you might want to sleep near the train station. If you do need to take a water taxi, etc., good luck trying to find your hotel when you get off, especially at night.

The "N" vaporetto runs every 20 minutes from 12 past midnight to 1:12 am, at least as far as Rialto, and every 30 minutes thereafter, with every other one continuing on to San Marco. But then you have the issue of checking into a hotel that late, which will limit your options.

If you ask a taxi driver to "settle the price up" odds are that he will keep the meter off and scam you. And he won't feel guilty about it because you actually asked him to break the rules.

Tell the driver you can pay only with plastics before gettin' on (show your card to avoid misunderstandings), demand for a metered run and, if you are a little paranoid like me, also ask his opinion about the likely price you are going to pay at that time of the day.

I have never paid more than € 35 from Linate to Milano Centrale, rush hour included. No tips, please.

If you decide to stay the night in Milan there is a bus service to Milano Centrale that is very inexpensive and fast. We often use the Hilton that is very close to the station for overnights.

Thank you all for the great advice. At this point we are thinking we'll wait for the train schedule to come out and then decide. The logical choice is to stay in Milan for the night and enjoy a nice evening. But we have more time planned in Milan at the end of our trip and the lure of waking up in Venice the next morning is strong. If we do go the Venice route we'd be taking a train that arrives before midnight and staying at the Hotel Rialto for the night before we check into our BnB the next day. It's right at the Rialto vaporetto stop and has a 24 hour check in desk. Thoughts?

At this point we are thinking we'll wait for the train schedule to come out and then decide.

You are travelling after the seasonal timetable change of December 13. You can wait up to mid-November to see the winter schedules or you can make a search in early September (on trenitalia.com and italotreno.it) using Friday the 17th of September as day of travel.

Italotreno's last direct train to Venice departs from Milan at 20:35 and arrives in Venice at 23:00. It will be the same in December, more or less.

For now the last direct Trenitalia train to Venice departs at 15:45, if you want to leave later you are supposed to make a crazy detour to Bologna and then transfer to a train to Venice. Trust me: this isn't the usual level of service, this is Covid And Trenitalia trying to save money running less trains.

Thank you Dario, that is extremely helpful information.

Our flight lands at LIN at 5:55 PM (17:55), we travel carry on only so no bags to pick up. Any guesses as to what time we could reasonably expect to make it to the train station ( barring unforeseen difficulties of course).

If you are staying at a hotel at the Rialto vaporetto stop, then you will be relying on the night vaporetto to get you there. Those do not run often, approx. once every half an hour - or even less frequently - at that time of night. If you are just staying for one night, then you'd get much more rest if you choose a hotel within walking distance of the Venice train station. There are lots to choose from, in all price categories.

The current official timetable for vaporetto line 1 is at http://actv.avmspa.it/sites/default/files/avm/navigazione/Actvnavlinea_1.pdf You will see that it leaves Ferrovia "B" dock at xx08 and xx38 from 21:08 to 23:38. As mentioned above that is then replaced by the Line N.

If you arrive at Linate at about 18:00, and Trenitalia has returned to a more normal schedule (nobody can predict the path of this virus so ... will they, won't they???) you should be earlier than the end of that. Even if you arrive at 23:00 on that last Italo you can probably make that 23:08 and be at Rialto 16 minutes later.

We enjoyed our stay in Milan at Antica Locanda de Leonardo. It set back from the street and has a garden. Excellent breakfast. There were many good neighborhood restaurants nearby.
It is very near Santa Maria delle Gracie where Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”(1495) is located. Get tickets well in advance. It is breath taking! We have seen it twice. We walked to the Duomo and Galleria but there trams too.

Thank you all so much, you have given us many good tips, whichever way we decide to go!