Tips for traveling safely from Turin Porta Nuova train station to Milan CityCenter

Just take one of the frequent Frecciarosso highspeed trains to Milano Centrale station. You can get to near the Duca di York on the Metro, or if your prefer, just take a taxi from the official taxi line. The taxi will take you right to the door of the Duca di York.

PS, there are also highspeed trains operated by private operator Italo Treno, but less frequent.

Thank you for your reply Sam! I am leaning toward a taxi unless Uber is more reliable price wise. For a taxi, should I first confirm the price? I don’t speak Italian but am fluent in French if that helps. Thank you again.

No Uber in Italy

Most taxi drivers will speak some English but probably not French!

Make sure you are in the official taxi line
Official taxis are white
Confirm that the credit card machine is working or or plan to pay cash
Hand the driver your destination address

No tip needed, please!

We took taxi from Centrale to Duca di York
As I recall it was less than 20 euros in 2022

When you leave for the airport have the hotel call a taxi and go to the Cadorna station to catch the Malpensa Express train

Christine, I really appreciate your detailed list of tips! I have noted them so I can feel confident when I arrive in Milan! I am also trying to learn short very basic Italian. Not very impressive so far😄.
Thank you very much.

Hi, since you mentioned that you’re elderly I will add my trip report in case you can spare two days while you are ending in Torino. It’s a lovely city - the 3rd city in my trip report, and I also highly recommend the hotel where I stayed. It’s only a few blocks from the train station that will take you to Milano Centrale afterwards. (I’m almost 70.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-solo-mother-daughter-in-north-italy

Jean, thank you very much for sharing your trip report on your Mother-Daughter in North Italy!
So much information that could help me, especially as an elderly solo inexperienced traveler! I am very impressed how well you navigate traveling and exploring Italy and speaking Italian! I am trying to learn to say reasonably well two dozen short sentences to get by. Not impressive so far... thank you.

All I can say is that I love the Hotel Duca di York! Good Choice! The staff is so nice and helpful and last time I was there (2022) the breakfast spread was wonderful.....and I'm not even a breakfast eater, lol. I am a senior, solo, female traveler and felt very well cared for there.

I do recommend you download the CityMapper app to your phone. When you get to the hotel, identify that location on City Mapper as "home" and presto, when you are somewhere you can easily tell the app to "take you home" and it will route you.

IF you are unsure about the train back to the airport you can also have the hotel staff book you a taxi the night before. It's a flat rate to/from the airport of 114E.

Reading that Milan is “the most unfriendly” Italian city, I appreciate everyone’s invaluable practical tips to help me prepare for Milan! I was concerned taking the train from Turin to Milan by myself as an elderly inexperienced solo traveler, trying to “stretch” my expensive flights and extend 4 additional days to my trip. With everyone’s helpful advice, I hope to be prepared to enjoy my 2 day Milan visit, just planning a couple of activities each day instead of overloading with crowded tourist traps.
I do not need to shop, preferring to take in cultural and architectural experiences unique to Milan. If you did a memorable Milan overview tour, please let me know so I can sign up upon my arrival.
I thank each of you very much for your insights to my forum questions!

Here’s a second recommendation for Torino/Turin. We spent a couple of nights after a long transit day there back in 2017, and it gave us a nice day of sightseeing that could have been a couple more. No shade to Milan, because I like it there, too.

One more for Turin! So much to see and do there. I found people were very friendly, and the city was easy to navigate on foot and by tram/subway.

One last concern as I read warnings that the Milano Centrale Station where the train from Turin arrives, has a lot of homelessness & other crime. Hopefully I will stay safe traveling around 10 or 11am.
Should I pre-purchase online a “premium” ticket now 2 months ahead? Which website do you recommend, as I see “Italiatren.com” and also “ italiarail.com”. Thank you.

Neither of those sites are the official train sites-they are resellers

Purchase from the actual train companies
It’s a one hour journey so I see no need for upgraded seats/ extra expense

Trenitalia-state owned runs fast trains and regional
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

ItaloTreno-private company runs only fast trains on selected routes
https://www.italotreno.com/en

Spend some time reading up on train travel in Italy here:
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

BrtSprt, I don’t know what you consider “elderly”, but I am 75. Transit without cars barely exists in Phoenix. I’m headed back to Italy in September for my fourth visit, inspired by Jean’s trip report.

Trains are very easy and safe in Italy. As Christine said, look at Seat 61 for info and pictures of trains and stations. Use TrenItalia or ItaloTreno. Download the apps before you leave home and open an account in each. Easy to buy tickets thru the app or online. On high speed trains I buy first class tickets, less people and quieter.

I’ve gone thru Milano Centrale twice and other stations, ie Rome, Florence, Venice, Trieste. I have not seen homeless at any train depot.

Christine and Horsewoofie, Thank you so much for directing me onto the right ticket tracks, the actual train companies instead of “resellers” with official sounding names like sneaky italiatren.com!
I am very grateful for Ricksteves.com community forum where invaluable travel tips are kindly shared!

If you decided to stay in Turin rather than Milan, you could take a bus directly to the Milan airport and avoid Milan Centrale altogether. There are two operators, according to the airport's website: Flibco (https://www.flibco.com/en/shuttle/bus-turin-malpensa-airport) and Airport Bus (https://www.milanomalpensa-airport.com/en/from-to/by-bus). Airport Bus has regular departures, costs €22 and takes about 1 hour, 45 minutes.

You asked about places to visit in Milan. I wouldn't say that Milan is unfriendly, it's a big city, similar to Chicago or New York, but easier to get around to interesting places by walking.

Definitely visit the Duomo. it will be easier if you buy tickets, online, in advance.

Also, if you like paintings, there's the Pinacoteca di Brera (a little further from your hotel) and the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, right by your hotel. At the Pinacoteca di Brera, two well-known paintings are Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin and Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus. At Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, there's Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit, Raphael’s preparatory drawings for The School of Athens painting, and Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician. Plus lots of other gorgeous stuff, in both museums.

And of course there's Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, but the purchase window for those tickets may have already passed.

In addition to the places Lexma mentioned, I recommend Chiesa di San Maurizio, it's pretty close to your hotel.

I also visited Milan as an older solo woman traveler. I too had read some things suggesting safety concerns with Milan Centrale Station but I never felt or saw any problems the 5 times I used the station. I did not find Milan to be an unfriendly city and I did not come across anything I would call a tourist trap. I thought the Rick Steeves free audio tour self guided walking tour of the Milan Duomo and surrounding neighborhood was very good. You can download it here. I also enjoyed the Pinoteca Ambrosianat museum near the Duomo in Milan mentioned by Lexma.

I thank all of you for your tips to help elderly solo inexperienced me how to best enjoy Torino & Milan while staying safe!
Through GetYourGuide.com, I booked a Milan: Guided Walking Tour & Last Supper Visit with Ticket.
But I don’t think it includes entrance tickets to the Duomo. So I am considering the recommended 2 day Ticket starting 3 pm on June 24, hoping I can visit to 6 pm to enjoy the terrace view.
Does this mean that the ticket requires me to leave by 3pm the next day on June 25?
This does not seem to be specified on the website?
Thank you once again to RickSteves.com amazing community forum!

A big thank you to everyone for helping me safely plan my solo week in Torino and Milano after my hiking tour.
I enjoyed my break from my Wilderness hiking tour, in spite of temperatures in the 90s, thanks to my hotels in city central locations within easy walks to beautiful sites.
Now back home, I am wondering if there is a simple way to share my vacation photo album with family by giving them access to my photos without text dumping all my photos onto them (as my son is complaining). I do not have social media which I have avoided for privacy reasons.
Thank you for advising!

Did you end up able to get to the Last Supper? How did you like that hotel in Milan?

Hi Nigel! Thank you for checking.
Yes, I had been able to sign up for a Milan walking tour that included tickets to see The Last Supper. Even though we were about 21 people, the room was large and cool, so we had ample time to move around quietly, to admire the masterpiece from different angles!
I liked Milan’s Hotel Gran Duca di York very much!
My hiking tour had stayed at all 4 star hotels, some fancier than I have experienced since I started traveling. While Hotel Gran Duca di York would not be called “luxurious”, it had everything I wanted and needed. The lobby is spacious, nice looking and welcoming with two separate seating areas, in addition to a bar lounge on the side. The staff is so nice and I felt welcomed as I entered the lobby:
I had arrived at noon, 3 hours earlier than the hotel’s official check in time of 3 pm, thinking I might leave my carryon and backpack behind the desk and go explore the area for lunch. The nice desk agent said he could also offer me a cappuccino if I wanted to relax in the cool lobby, and my room would be ready in about an hour. Since it was 90 degrees outside, I was happy to “relax.”
When my room was ready, he walked over to hand me the key card and explained the main features of the room and the hotel, including the complimentary bottles of water and juices in my room refrigerator, the refreshment table in the lobby, the complimentary Prosecco hour in the bar lounge in the evening.
None of our fancier tour hotels had a welcome like that!!
All the staff I met was also very nice.
The hotel is very well located in a quiet street corner, less than 10 min walk from the Duomo and Galleria, and within a short taxi drive to the Milano Cadorna train station connecting to MXP Milan Airport. Lots of cafés, restaurants and gelato stores near by.
I would definitely stay at Hotel Gran Duca Di York again if I visit Milano again!