My sister will be travelling to Brussels for a work trip in April and wants to add a week at the end of the conference to travel to Italy to visit family. She will fly from Brussels to Milan and then needs to catch a train to Vercelli (abt 1 hr north east of Milan). I'm after a good web site for booking airline flights. Also a web site for Italian train timetables/bookings.
Is it possible to catch a train from Milan Airport (as in Paris/Rome) or will she need to taxi from airport to Milan Central Train Station?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
There are two airports in Milan - Malpensa and Linate. Neither has a train direct to the main train station but Linate is much closer to the city and has less expensive bus and taxi fares.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Check www.whichbudget.com to see airlines that may fly Bru to Milan. www.trenitalia.com for italian rail info. Take airport bus shuttles from airport to Milan centrale train st.,fares are reasonable and buses run frequently.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Your sister's best option probably would be to fly Brussels Airlines from Brussels International to Milan Malpensa. If she books right away, she may be able to get a discount fare.
Ryanair has cheap fares from Brussels Charleroi to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo), but it's an hour bus ride from Brussels to Charleroi and an hour bus ride from Bergamo to Milan.
The URL for the English version of the Trenitalia site is www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html.
Posted by
Nottingham, UK
658 posts
One word of caution - Malpensa is notorious for underhand taxi drivers. If you do decide to take a taxi from Malpensa NEVER use one operated by the men who come up to you in arrivals and tout for trade. Brush them off and go out to the ranks with licenced cabs. Agree a price before you get in and get it written down. When you get there carefully count the Euros into the cabby's hand.
I'm sorry to say that I have known Malpensa cabbies palm Euros, switch a five for a twenty and double the price for tourists. I'm sure that there are scrupulously honest cabbies at Malpensa but I always seem to get the crooks. The cabbies at Linate, on the other hand seem to be totally trustworthy in every respect.
Posted by
White Bear Lake, MN, USA
479 posts
Susan there are several bus lines that serve the Malpensa that will get you to downtown in 45 minutes. They're both affordable. Just follow the bus signs in the airport. All of the buses take you to the same place.
Posted by
Williamsburg, Virginia
94 posts
check out www.malpensaexpress.it. Train will connect you from the airport to downtown Milan (Cardona station) where you can catch a metro to the main train station.