Milan Airports Guide

Milan has 3 international airports – Malpensa, Linate and nearby Bergamo airport.

With more than 46 million annual passengers, Milan is the second busiest Italian city in airline traffic.
Choosing the right Milan airport depends on a number of things, like departure and accommodation location.

Here we’ll try to summarise all the useful information about Milan airports.

Airports in Milan

Malpensa Airport (MXP) is the main airport in Milan and second busiest in Italy, with more than 24 million passengers in 2018. It is also the largest international airport in Milan area, with airline companies like Alitalia and British Airways offering regular flights, along with low cost carriers like easyJet and Ryanair.
Malpensa airport is located 49 kilometers northwest of the city and it’s fairly easy to reach the city center via train or airport bus.
More information on getting to city can be found in our Malpensa airport bus guide.

Linate Airport (LIN) is the second largest airport in Milan, serving more than 9 million passengers annually. Like Malpensa, it also offers regular international and domestic flights. Linate is the closest airport to city, located just 7km away from Milan center.
There is no train station at Linate, but connections via public transportation and Linate airport shuttle are pretty good.
To read more about how to reach the Milan city center, please look into our specific guide.

Bergamo airport (BGY), also known by its official name Orio al Serio, is the third busiest airport in Italy, serving more than 11 million passengers. It is located 45 km north-east of Milan, near the city of Bergamo.
Bergamo is a great choice for everyone traveling on a budget, with low cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air offering regular flights to and from Bergamo.
Even though it’s not as close to Milan as Linate airport, getting from Bergamo to city center is fairly easy, with airport buses and public transport operating regularly. For more information on how to get to Milan, read our Bergamo airport guide.

How to get from the Milan airports to Milan city center

All three Milan airports have good connections to Milan city center, and there are a number of transportation means to reach the city, all of which can be seen in the table provided below.
Once you get into central Milan, you gain access to the city’s train stations, like Milano Centrale and Garibaldi station, from where you can continue your trip.

	Malpensa Airport	Linate Airport	Bergamo airport
Airport shuttle	✓	✓	✓
Train	✓	✘	✘
Public bus	✘	✓	✘
Transfers	✓	✓	✓
Taxi	✓	✓	✓
Uber	✓	✓	✓

NOTE:

• Public bus from Linate to Milan city center does not have luggage compartment, so you will need to carry it into the seating area.
• Taxi and Uber vehicles are located outside the airport, in front of the arrivals terminal.

Which Milan airport is the best?

Choosing the best Milan airport to fly into depends on your preferences – where your accommodation is located, where you’re flying in from and what is the purpose of your trip to Milan.
If your focus is on visiting Milan and its sights, then the best way would be to reach Milano Centrale station, which is directly connected to Malpensa and Bergamo airport either by train or by bus.

Linate airport is not served by train and therefore does not link directly to Central station, but there are buses going to Duomo Station, which is located close to the most popular sights in Milan.

Bergamo airport is the furthest away from the city, so journey to Milan center is longer than one from Malpensa or Linate airport.

From Centrale station you can take public transport to reach sights like Duomo cathedral or Santa Maria delle Grazie church, where famous Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of Last Supper is painted.

For sights which are a bit more further away from the center, like Navigli district or San Siro stadium, Milan’s underground metro has direct connections to and from there.

In case your accommodation is based in greater Milan area, you can always reach it by taking a public transport from Centrale station.

Traveling from Milan airports to lake Como

If you’re planning a visit to the lakes located just north of Milan, then the closest airports would be Malpensa and Bergamo.

Malpensa is the closest Milan airport to lakes Maggiore and Orta, while Bergamo is the closest airport to lake Como.

Even though Bergamo is closer to lake Como than Malpensa, it takes at least one connection via bus or train to get there, so consider Malpensa airport when planning your trip to lake Como, due to its more frequent connections.

Once at lake Como, you could take a slow, scenic ferry ride to nearby towns of Varenna, Bellagio and Mennagio.

NOTE:

• There is a S40 regional train going from Malpensa airport to S.Giovanni station at lake Como, but make sure to check the train’s schedule online.

Traveling from Milan airports to lake Garda

Other popular lakes located northwest of Milan are lake Garda and lake Iseo.
Bergamo is the closest airport to these lakes, while Linate and Malpensa are further away.

Lake Garda, home of the Gardaland amusement park is a popular destination to visit while in Milan area.

One way to reach lake Garda from each Milan airport is by train to Peschiera del Garda, which departs from Milano Centrale station.

If you’re travelling from Bergamo airport, you could also take a bus from airport to Peschiera del Garda.

When you arrive in Peschiera, you can take a bus to other towns on lake Garda, like Sirmione or Riva del Garda.

NOTE:

• You could book a private transfer to lake Como or lake Garda, but in that case the trip can be more expensive than travelling by train or bus.

Traveling from Milan airports to ski resorts

Some of the European’s most famous ski resorts are located in northern Italy, so landing at Milan is a good way to reach these places.

If you plan to go to ski resorts located at Italy-France border, like Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx or Courmayeur, then the closest Milan airport would be Malpensa.

To reach these ski resorts, one option is to go to Turin. There are frequent train connections from Milan Central station to Turin, which is connected to the aforementioned resorts.

On the other hand, Bergamo airport is the nearest airport to northeastern Italy ski resorts, like Madonna di Campiglio or Swiss-bordered Cervinia and Livigno.

One way to reach Cervinia is by taking a train from Central Milan to Chatillon St. Vincent station, and then a bus to Cervinia ski resort.

To get to Livigno, you could take a train from Milan to Tirano, followed by a connecting bus from Tirano to Livigno (change in Bormio).

NOTE:

• Alternatively, you could rent a car to Italian ski resorts, but it would be a good thing to do a research before landing in Milan, since routes to resorts can be complicated.

Traveling from Milan airports to other cities

If you’re planning your trip from one of the Milan airports to other cities in Italy or cities in nearby countries, you can find transportation on GetByBus homepage, or see available routes in the table below.

	Malpensa Airport	Linate Airport	Bergamo Airport
Milan airport to Turin	Malpensa to Turin	✘	Bergamo airport to Turin
Milan airport to Verona	✘	Linate to Verona	Bergamo airport to Verona
Milan airport to Genoa	Malpensa to Genoa	Linate to Genoa	Bergamo airport to Genoa
Milan airport to Florence	Malpensa to Florence	Linate  to Florence	Bergamo airport to Florence
Milan airport to Venice	✘	✘	✘
Milan airport to Bologna	Malpensa to Bologna	Linate to Bologna	Bergamo airport to Bologna
Milan airport to Rome	Malpensa to Rome	✘	Bergamo airport to Rome
Milan airport to Parma	Malpensa to Parma	✘	Bergamo airport to Parma
Milan airport to Lugano	Malpensa to Lugano (CH)	✘	Bergamo airport to Lugano (CH)

Milan Airports Map

Milan Airports FAQs