Hotel reference for overnight after flight into Malpensa

First, the airport is about an hour from the train station and by train station, I assume you mean the Central train station. You will need to take the shuttle bus from the airport to the train station. There are several reasonable hotels within two or three blocks of the station. The area around the station is fine. I will find the name of the hotel we used and will add it to this posting. We found it through Trip Advisor with a filter of near the Central train station.

Thanks very much. Actually, I do not need a hotel in Milan - have stayed at the Hotel London and found it very clean and good value, but it is close to the Duomo in Milan proper and we were hoping to stay near the aiport so that we could catch the train from the station near the AP to the Lakes District where we plan to stay next. Any suggestions for that area will be much appreciated. Thanks, Dee

What train station near the airport?

Now I am really confused! I have been under the impression from my research that there is a shuttle from the Malpensa Airport to the train station from which one gets a train to the city of Milan. I think you can travel this distance by bus also. However, we are ariving late afternoon and cannot book into our hotel in the Lake District until the next day, so thought we would stay at a hotel near the Malpensa airport (that we could get a shuttle to) and then the next day go to the train station to catch our train to the lake district, avoiding Milan altogether. My map is not detailed, but it seems that from the airport area Milan is to the southeast and Como is to the north east. Do we need to go into Milan to catch a train back out to Como? Thanks for your experience about this! Dee

You are! Going out on a limb until one of the better train experts (Tim, Lee - where are you?) I am unaware of any train station near the airport unless it is in small town near the airport. The shuttle service goes to the Central train station which services most areas east, north, and south of Milan. There is train service from the airport to Milan's Cadorna station on the west side of Milan which services areas to the west and south west. You need the Central station to get to Como. And you will need to come into Milan to get that train.

Steve, if you are going to quote someone, at least have the integrity to quote accurately and completely. But I know that is difficult for you.

....I am unaware of any train station near the airport unless it is in small town near the airport. ..... There is train service from the airport to Milan's Cadorna station....

Deirdre, to what town in the lake region will you be going? This might clear things up.

Most likely you will be able to travel to that town from Milan Central Station. Assuming that is the case, you may want to just stay in Milan. Others have previously identified the options for getting to Milan.

Thanks for all the replies. To clarify the reason for my question: Flying overnight from the US West Coast with intermediate stopsand arriving in Malpensa about 6pm, I thought we should stay overnight near the airport and recoup energy for train next day to Varenna. I hoped that we could avoid going into Milan. However, I now realize that we will have to catch our train to Varenna from Milano Centrale. So, any suggestions for an overnight stay near the airport so that we can train it to Varenna the next day refreshed? A hotel that will shuttle us to the hotel from the AP and then back there next morning to catch the train to Milan will be much appreciated. Thank you all for your help. Dee

As we have been trying to point that is not the most practical solution. I don't under this avoidance of Milan because you cannot. There is no train station at the airport. There is a terminal at the airport for the train to the Cadorna train station on the west side of Milan. But that is all it does -- to and from the airport in about 30 minutes. From there you would need the subway or taxi to get to the Central train station. And that will take another 30 minutes if not longer and you are hauling luggage.

In my opinion the easiest solution is to take the shuttle bus -- about one hour - to the Central train station. Direct shot and drops on the SE corner of the station. Easily walk to many reasonable hotels in that area. Have a nice dinner which you will not find around the airport. Then in the morning walk to the station and catch your train to Como. If you stay somewhere near the airport you will have to do exact the same thing the next day.

"Any suggestions for an overnight stay near the airport?"

Here's our FAQ list of hotels near Malpensa airport:

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=10365

Deirdre, we stayed at First Hotel Malpensa, around 1 kilometer from the airport. They have a free shuttle and will pick you up, but we had difficulty calling the number they gave us to get the van to come. (Some local taxi drivers eventually helped us, another couple staying there, to get them.)

It's a business hotel, very nice. We got a very good rate, as we stayed there on a Friday night, getting ready for an early flight out on a Saturday morning. I imagine it may be pricier during the week. We like to get business-style hotels on arrival and departure, when sleep is most valuable.

At any rate, here's there URL: http://www.firsthotel.it/en/index.php

Here is also the URL for Malpensa airport. They list the hotels that are close: http://www.worldtravelguide.net/airport/371/airport_guide/Europe/Milan-Malpensa-Airport.html

Hope that is helpful -- have a great trip.

Sorry, I forgot -- there was a fabulous breakfast buffet included in the price of the room.