We’ll be getting a rental at the airport (MXP) then staying in Milan for one night. It’s about an hour drive between MXP and Milan city center. We want to get the car because we’re driving to Courmayeur the next day.
Our plan is to get a hotel/bnb with a parking spot and then take the hop on/hop off bus around Milan. Thoughts?
Do not drive from MXP to the city center. Stay near the airport and take the train. There are many restrictions to driving in the city center. You also don’t want to drive immediately after an international flight. There is a HOHO bus stop at the central station.
https://www.autoeurope.com/travel-guides/italy/driving-in-milan/
I agree with travel4fun. Furthermore, there's a good chance you'll get lost.
We’ve done long drives after international flights in the past and we plan to use GPS for navigation. We’ll consider staying by the airport and taking the train into Milan.
Thank you!!!
I’d love to hear others thoughts too.
Is going in to Milan a priority?
I would never ever want to drive in to Milan and deal with all the restrictions there.
Staying near airport and taking train is an excellent suggestion. We actually did use the HOHO bus in Milan and it was worthwhile.
Another suggestion- if visiting Milan is not a priority.
Pick up your car at MXP and drive to Stresa- on Lake Maggiore- about a 50 min drive- it's actually closer than Milan. It's a lovely town. Spend your first night there and get over jet lag before driving on to Courmayer. At least you are heading in the right direction.
Go to the city by train and pick up the car the next day after you leave Milan. You can pick up in the city rather than the airport. Driving into Milan with all the traffic, the Area C restrictions, the parking fees, etc. would be insane. It's like renting a car to go from JFK or Newark airport into Manhattan. Who does that?
I’ll second the recommendation of Stresa if you’re looking for a one night stop to get over jet lag. But you’ll wish you could stay longer. My trip report is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/so-lovely-i-don-t-even-want-to-tell-the-name
We stayed in rooms 51 & 52, which would be perfect for a family of three. It’s a double bedroom (with lake view) and bathroom, plus a single bedroom (with lake view) and another bathroom. We reserved a Superior Lake View room and were pleasantly surprised at the bonus room and bathroom.
