Malpensa Airport

Why not Milan? Cadorna station is 40 minutes away by train.

I would recommend staying in the airport vicinity if your flight is before noon. We had an experience where the airport express train from the Milan main train station was just canceled,minutes before arrival. And, the next train wasn't for another 30-40 minutes. The journey itself is about 50 minutes. We made our flight in time, thx to our having built in extra time, and the Malpensa airport being not crowded and not too large. Would never stay in Milan proper again for a morning flight.
Safe travels!

From Milan's central Mussolini train station, there is an express train - although it was not completely obvious how to find it - being down a ways from where the main trains dock. There is also a bus just to the side of the station. If you are standing in front of the station looking back at it, its on the right. I think its 50 minutes or so, and I rode it one time, with my bags on my lap the whole time sitting close to someone else.

Malpensa is a fairly long distance from Milan, and there are some little places closer to the airport. Perhaps Stresa or Varese. I checked one time, and there are some train routes which do not go all the way back down to Milan. Looking at the map, there is a town really close to Malpensa called Somma Lombardo which looks somewhat interesting.

My horror story about getting to Malpensa was driving - and running out of gas - and checking google map for gas stations and many of them not actually being there, then finding one, and putting 10 eu in, and driving off - only to find the tank was still on empty.

I think my top choice would be the express train from Milan. Maybe go way early. A problem with that train station is that there does not seem to be info booths, and I found everyone to be pretty rude. I spent an entire hour trying to figure out where to go from the station to our hotel - trying to get internet, asking people, even asking police, buying some food and asking the employees.

First, I suggested to stay close to Cadorna and not to Centrale station. Cadorna is closer by train (40 minutes vs 52) and the area around is the Navigli (i.e. canals) district. More or less, it is 1,000 times nicer than the muddy fields around the airport or the deserted business district around Centrale.

Second, unless somebody throws himself onto the tracks, airport trains do not disappear. Thank God, it doesn't happen often, and anyway they warn passengers with a "diplomatic" alert via the loudspeakers. Then they explain where the substitute bus will be departing from. A bus that nobody ever takes because nobody trusts Milan's traffic when it's time to fly home.

Third, it's not "Mussolini"' s train station since it was planned and the works started before WWI. It wasn't either opened by the s.o.b, who sent is daughter's husband to cut the ribbon. To the eternal shame of the Milanese people, it was their last democratically elected Mayor who refused to change the project when works resumed after WWI and who gave us that pompous Assyrian eyesore.

I presume the Florence Santa Maria Novella station should be named Mussolini station too, since it was opened in 1934. And the soccer stadium in Florence should be called Mussolini stadium, having being opened in 1931. Well, at least the stadium is shaped like a big D (as in Duce) and is located at Campo di Marte, a sports complex park, also shaped like a D for the same reason.

One year we stayed in Gallarate the night before our flight home from Malpensa. That worked fine, but the last time (2017) we stayed in Saronno, which is closer to the airport. (I'll admit there was a sight in Saronno that I wanted to see.) Saronno is only 18 minutes from the airport by train. We stayed at the Starhotels Grand Milan, which was a quick walk to and from the train station. I would do this again. Other than its distance from Milan, I love using Malpensa. It's such a nice, small, calm airport.

When I fly into Malpensa, I like to stay at Stresa on nearby Lake Maggiore. The Alibus (reserve ahead of time) will take you directly from the airport to Stresa - gorgeous location!

If I fly out of Malpensa, I stay at the MOXY hotel at the airport the night before a morning flight.

I stayed at the Hotel Villa Malpensa the night before I flew out of MXP....I was in Milan near the Duomo before that but didn't want to have to deal with getting to the airport for a 10 am flight the day of! the hotel has a lot of character and it even had an outdoor pool which was great as this was back in July when it was very hot!...there was a free shuttle to the airport or perhaps it was 5 euros...I took the bus from Milan Centrale to MXP and from MXI, I contacted the hotel to pick me up the day I arrived there, it wasn't a problem at all...I would do it that way again...the bus is 10 euros, the train is 13, but the bus drops you off right at a gate...

I stayed at the Cardano Hotel Malpensa near the airport in October 2018. It was nice, had a good breakfast (at the time), and had a shuttle to the airport for a small fee. The front desk also printed my boarding pass for me. They didn't have a restaurant for lunch or dinner, but provided transportation to a couple of nearby restaurants. I was traveling solo and met up with a lady in the lobby, so we went to dinner together. It was a nice surprise to have a dinner companion. Sorry, can't remember the name of the restaurant. I'd use this hotel again.