 Guide to Malpensa Airport by the Milan Airport Guide
Author: Michelle Elkins - revised and updated by Enrico.
Consider that Milan is the home of the stylish Alfa Romeo car
and amongst the world leaders when it comes to fashion and
design, and Milan Malpensa Airport may come as a bit of a
disappointment.
However, if you take into account its modest
beginnings when Terminal 2, which handles just
low-cost and chartered flights now, constituted the whole airport, it has
come a long way to now regularly handle in excess of 20 million
passengers.
While the terminals both have a variety of restaurants, cafes
and shops with typically Italian names such as Mamma Leona's
Pizza, in general the facilities are a little inadequate for the
number of visitors passing through each year.
Still, once you
get served, you'll be treated to the wonderful cuisine of the
Lombardy Region in which Milan is based. Plates of risotto made
with rice specially grown in the area, cold meat or vegetable
antipasti or cheese dishes created from local produce such as
mascarpone, gorgonzola and crescenza.
The shops are little more abundant and, particularly in Terminal
1, you could while away a reasonable amount of time meandering
through the stores which sell clothes, leather goods, jewelers,
sportswear, mobile phones, chocolates and wine. There is also an
opticians, post office, chemist and of course the obligatory
duty free shops. Throughout Terminal 1 there are several
Forexchange desks to buy currency and 6 different banking
facilities with ATMs, while in Terminal 2 there are 2 of
each.
For those who are visiting for work rather than pleasure, a
business centre is on the ground floor of Terminal 1 by Arrivals
B, provides for most necessities. Open from 08.00-19.00 Monday
to Friday and 09.00-13.00 on Saturday, it offers Internet
points, a translation service, meeting rooms, hotel reservation
and car hire with a driver.
Fortunately for visitors, the airport is able to accommodate 7
out of the 11 Malpensa Airport Car Hire Companies within its
precincts. These are located in the Terminal 1 Arrivals Hall,
easily reached from Terminal 2 via the interconnecting bus. The
rest are just a free shuttle bus drive away on the outer
perimeters.
- Malpensa Express train leaves every 30 minutes from Terminal 1 at the minutes .26 and .56 and
takes 35 minutes, 29 minutes for the non-stop runs. It runs from 5.26 to 23:56 (with two additional bus courses at 0:23 and 1:30) to arrive downton stopping at two places into Milan (except the non-stop runs that only stop at Milano Cadorna). To go back to Mlpensa from downtown the Malpensa Express train leaves the Milano Cadorna station on the hour and on the half hour from 4:30 to 23:00 (with an aditional bus leaving at 23:27) and takes about 35 minutes. Several courses take 29 minutes and are non-stop from Cadorna to Malpensa. Consult the schedule at the Malpens Express site for up-to-date info.
Ticket: single trip 11 euro
(13.50 if bought on train), round trip (single day) 14 euro (17 if bought on
train). Ticket must be validated in the station before boarding.
- Regional trains of the suburban line S10 - these trains run once every hour from 9:08 to 16:08 (from Milano Rogoredo station) stop in all the stops of the "Passante": Milano Rogoredo, Porta Vittoria, Dateo, Repubblica, Porta Garibaldi, Lancetti, Bovisa(at the minute .40) and with several other stops on the way reach the Malpensa airport at the minute .18 of the following hour. In addition to the number of stations that are all across the city of Milan, this train in cheaper than the Malpensa Express. In the direction from Malpensa to Milano these S10 trains run every hour from 10:42 to 17:42 and arrive at the station of Milano Rogoredo at the minute .52. Consult the "Le Nord" site for the up-to-date schedule. Download the " Servizi aeroportuali (aggiornato)" PDF file, it's in Italian, but it's easy to understand, as it is a train schedule with station names and times.
- Four Frecciarossa High-speed train:
-
leaving Malpensa alle ore 12:21. Arriving at Milano Centrale 13:03, a Bologna at 14:20, at Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 15:00, at Roma Termini at 16:45 and Napoli Centrale at 18:10. -
- Leaving Malpensa at 19:21. Arriving Milano Centrale at 20:03, at Bologna at 21:20 and Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 22:00.
- Leaving Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 7:00, Bologna at 7:40 and Milano Centrale at 8:57. Arriving at Malpensa at 9:39 -
- Leaving Napoli Centrale at 10:50, Roma Termini at 12:15, Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 14:00, Bologna at 14:40, Milano Centrale at 15:57. Arriving at Malpensa at 16:39.
For a summary table of all the train connections Malpensa-Milano see http://www.orariotrenimalpensa.it/
- Buses leave every 20 minutes for Centrale Station and Linate
airport, costing about 7 euros. Travel can take from 30 minutes (weekends)
to 1 hour or more (during weekday mornings).
- Using a taxi to get from Malpensa to the city centre is
expensive: 60-75 euros.
- You can reach Milan, or the other destinations on the train lines north of Malpensa, such as Varese, Stresa or Domodossola (the entrance on the Italian side of the Sempione tunnel) by a shuttle train connecting the Malpensa train station to the Trenitalia trains departing from Gallarate. This service runs once per hour from 7:10 to 20:10 in the direction Malpensa to Gallarate, and at the minutes .39 from 7:39 to 20:39 from Gallarate to Malpensa. Check the Trenitalia site for connections at the Gallarate station for your final destination. A bus
service is also available from the Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of Malpensa to
Gallarate Railway Station.
There are then also buses which offer
forward destinations from Bologna through to Verona or you could
book a Milan Airport Transfer. Here a driver meets you in
arrivals and whisks you away to your accommodation without the
need to queue or drag your luggage miles. The taxi rank is
located just outside the terminal.
If you have been unlucky enough to lose your belongings or need
to put some in storage for any period of time, the left luggage
office, situated on the ground floor of Terminal 1 by Arrivals
B, is open from 06.00-22.00 and charges €3.50 to €4.00 per item
per day. There is a chapel in both terminals and 3 tourist
offices which give out detailed information not only on Malpensa
and Milan but the local surrounding areas.
For more in-depth information on timetables, costs, up-to-date
flight times or to arrange Malpensa Airport Car Hire or an
airport transfer, visit the Malpensa Airport Guide.
About the author:
Michelle Elkins is a regular contributor to the
Milan Airport Guide which provides great deals on
Malpensa Airport Car Hire and detailed information on
all three Milan Airports.
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