I am planning on dropping off a rental car at the central train station in Milan before catching the train to Varenna. Has anyone on the helpline had the experience of dropping a car off at this location and is it as scary driving in Milan as I imagine?
Posted by
Portland
3600 posts
We actually did exactly that some years ago. Driving in Milan is no problem; nothing like Rome. I would get the directions from viamichelin or some other of those sites if you don't have a GPS. Leave plenty of time for filling up the tank, which can be a much bigger problem than the driving. There was a gas station in the block before the Centrale; however, it was closed. No sign, mid-morning, go figure. We had to drive around and finally found another. After the owner filled our tank, he pulled the "my credit card machine isn't working" ploy. He stripped us of almost all our cash. The ATM in the station was down, and the food facilities didn't take cc's (maybe they do now). My husband and I figured that we could pay for one plate of ravioli and one salad with our remaining cash. That was our shared lunch and all we had until we reached our destination in Switzerland, early in the evening.
Posted by
Portland
3600 posts
Oops, I forgot one more thing. When you pick up the car, try to get very clear directions on where the rental car drop-off place is. We couldn't find it. There was a ramp around the side or back of the station, but you couldn't see the sign until you started down the ramp. My husband actually had to walk in and go to the rental car desk to get directions while I sat in the illegally parked car.