Visiting Last Supper with rental car directly from airport?

You do not want to drive in Milan. I do not know if the Last Supper is in a TLZ in which case you can not drive there. Well, you could but that would make it the most expensive day of your trip.

Also do not assume you can easily get Last Supper tickets the day they go on sale. You had better be on the internet the exact minute they go on sale. They go that quick because the large ticket resellers gobble them up with automatic bots. I got mine but I was on the internet or phone (I do not remember which) at 2 am Eastern time.

Just note that you only get to spend 15 minutes inside the room to see the Last Supper, and thats after 15 minutes in the dehumidifying room waiting to go in.

Reference above to a ZTL, camera-controlled limited traffic zone for residents only; incursions resulting in heavy fines.

Thanks all for the replies so far. I know that it is indeed a very brief visit, that is fine, assuming the timing of the visit works. But if driving in this area is a problem due to it being restricted, that would certainly make it too challenging for a stop and go visit...

If it were me, I would try to get the Last Supper tickets. If I got them, I would seriously consider storing my bags, taking public transportation to see the Last Supper, and then retrieve the bags and pick up the rental car after I had seen the LS. Maybe there is a car rental location closer to the LS so you wouldn't have to go back to the aiport? The logistics would have to be ironed out, but I would consider this as another option to avoid driving in Milan and missing out on seeing the Last Supper. Have a great trip!!

It's doable but a lot of hassle. Even though the LS is so worth it.
What if your flight is delayed and you miss your time at LS?

If LS is really important why not spend 1 night in Milan?

Thanks ChristineH. We are landing Saturday and due to check in to our villa that afternoon, so staying a night in Milan is not an option. We are flying home out of Florence, so when we land and drive out of Milan, that is it. It's not the end of the world if we do not get to see it, there may always be another opportunity. If it involves too many hoops to jump through then I'll postpone the plan for another time. If it was only myself, it would be one thing. But dragging my wife and kids around after an overnight flight and layover will not be an ideal thing if it's too complicated.

Do not attempt to drive to the vicinity of the Last Supper and park there. But you can park on the outskirts and take the tram or metro to central Milan. Tram 16 stops outside Santa Maria delle Grazie. And Metro lines 1 and 2 stop at Cadorna, a short walk away.

now that you have thrown out "overnight flight" and "rental car directly from airport" together, adding in going into the centre of Milan from Linate, I see from previous discussions here that you are a strong advocate of driving long distances right after landing (the previous discussion was Heathrow to Cotswolds).

That must have gone well because you are planning to drive Linate to Milan to a hour southwest of Florence (previous post). That's a fair old drive. Will you be stopping in Pisa too? Or will that be a seperate trip?

I'm not clear if you have driven in Italy before but if not it is worth saving yourself a large lump of potential fines by studying up on uniquely Italian driving issues such as ZTL, TUTOR, IDP, white lines / blue lines and the symbols on parking signs, and what to do if a person waves or holds steady a long flat hand held sign with a round end and a red light in that, even out the window of a car.

Hi Nigel. Thanks for your comments. The drive from Heathrow to the Cotswolds was no problem at all. Getting used to being on "the other side" of the road took some strong concentration, but the good thing is that we were on the M1 only minutes after leaving the rental car lot, so there were not any local roads to worry about navigating right away. My wife has an amusing video of me turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal :) We had a giant 8 person van too, so maybe that helped since we were one of the larger vehicles on the road. (I don't know how I ended up with that van since there were only 4 of us, but it made for a memorable experience for the family)

We do plan to make a day trip to Pisa and Lucca, but not on the day we land. And based on the discussions above, it sounds like the idea of trying to see the Last Supper is a non-starter. I just re-checked and it's about a 3 hour drive to our villa, which I seem to have forgotten since I last looked it up. Based on that, I am planning to just hit the road after we get our car, and will plan to stop somewhere for lunch on the way to the villa only. The kids and my wife will likely be able to get a power nap in the car on the ride which will be helpful.

I am somewhat familiar with the ZTL zones from reading up on potential day trips in the RS Italy book, so I plan to be aware of these ahead of our trips to various towns around Tuscany. I will have to study up on the rest of what you mentioned though as I am not familiar yet with these. First time driving in Italy for me. Cheers!

Assuming you want to pick up the car immediately after landing at LIN, I would go to the San Donato Metro station which is very close to the freeway and only 10 min from Linate.

Then from the San Donato subway station you can take the M3 (Orange) Comasina direction, change at DUOMO and take the M1 (Red line) toward Rho or Bisceglie, get off after a couple of stops at Cadorna or Conciliazione, then walk. If all planets align (i.e. subway train departs exactly when you get to the station), from San Donato to Conciliazione you can make it in 30 min. Add the time of driving there, getting lost a bit, parking and taking the train, and you can be at the Last Supper in about 1.5hr from the moment you pick up the car at the airport.

The problem is...

Assuming the plane lands on time, you'll need an hour to deplane, baggage claim, rental car paperwork and pick up.
So in the best of circumstances you can be at the Last Supper no sooner than 1:30-2pm.

Assuming more planets align and you have the ticket entry for that time, you need 30 min. to visit the place. So maybe you are done by 3 or 3:30pm (more planets have aligned). You are now ready to return to San Donato to the car.

You made it back to San Donato and it's now past 4:00pm, maybe close to 5pm. Pick up your car in one of the multistory parking structures at San Donato (hopefully the car wasn't burglarized or the catalytic converter stolen, more planets to align), and you are ready to drive to Tuscany. Fortunately San Donato subway station is right next to the A1 freeway entrance so less chance to get lost in city traffic.

In a previous post you mentioned your villa is near Cerbaia. I can assure you that 3 hours aren't enough to drive from Milan to Cerbaia. Let's make it 3.5 hours plus pit stops (I presume you'll need a bio pit stop along the way, if not something to eat). So you are looking at an ETA at your villa maybe by 9pm (if all planets have aligned).

It has been a long journey and a long day. Time now to rest and look at the planets in the sky, which by now should be all aligned for you to view in the beautiful Tuscan sky.