Denise

My 18 year old daughter is going to visit her sister in Siena in 2 weeks. The only flight we were able to get lands in Milan. How long does the train take and cost? Can you fly from Milan to Florence? Is it worth it, cost wise? And if she takes the train, her return flight is early910:30). How should she handle that. A hotel near the train or airport? Lastly, is it easy to get from the airport to the train with luggage? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Denise

SteveJames

Hello Denise, <BR> <BR>The train ride Milan-Florence takes about 3 hours, give or take, depending on whether she travels Eurostar or Intercity. For timetables and fares, see:- <BR>www.fs-on-line.com <BR>(The fare would be about 45.000lire ES, rather less by IC). <BR> <BR>From the airport to the station there is a regular bus service which takes about 50 minutes. For timetables see:- <BR>www.airpullman.com/orari/milano.htm <BR> <BR>From Florence to Siena there's a regular bu service. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps... <BR> <BR>

Paulo

The whole journey from Malpensa to Siena should read something around 7 hours (bus shuttle to Milano Centrale, train to Florence, train or bus to Siena) after clearing customs, more or less depending on arrival time. <BR> <BR>The bus shuttle to Milano Centrale used to cost Lit 8,000 (maybe more now). Going by train all the way from Mioano Centrale to Siena takes from 4:30 to 5 hours, depending on departure time in Milan. The trip in 2nd class would cost Lit 63,500. <BR> <BR>Though chances are that from Florence to Siena the direct express bus may take less than the local train and the bus arrival point in Siena may be more central than the train station, considering luggage and stuff (one would have to carry it across the square in front of Sta. Maria Novella's station to the SITA bus station), it may be more convenient to stick to the train. <BR> <BR>Paulo

Denise

Paulo, <BR> <BR>My daughter in Siena said there is a bus that goes from Milan to Siena and takes about 3hours. Do you know about this? <BR>Also, should she stay overnightin Milan before a 10:30 AM departure? Where should she stay? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Denise

Walter

The Malpensa Express Train connects the airport to the Cadorna Train station http://www.ferrovienord.it/webmxp/in...rvizio-ing.htm <BR>And there is a bus (Nuova Linea) that leaves from the Piazza Cadorna (train station) to Siena. Mon-Sat @0830 and Everyday @1830 & 1430. http://www.lazzi.it/senaautolinee/index_e.htm HTH Regards, Walter <BR> <BR>

Paulo

I'm sure that there can't be any bus service between Milan and Siena that takes only 3 hours or so, based on the simple fact that it would take about 3:30 hours to do the driving myself (from center Milan). <BR> <BR>As a matter of fact, the bus service referred to by Walter takes indeed 4:30 hours. As you may have seen, the Malpensa Express train to Cadorna station takes 40 minutes and leaves Malpensa every 1/2 hour, on :15 and :45. <BR> <BR>To catch, say, the 2:32pm Sena bus out from Piazzale Cadorna, one should take the 1:15pm train out from Malpensa. There's a risk involved in eventually not finding a place on the bus (in this case, one would have to take the metro to Stazione Centrale and take it from there). If everything works out fine, one would arrive in Siena at 7pm. On the other hand, by taking the 1:20pm shuttle bus out from Malpensa, one should be able to catch the 4pm Eurostar to Florence easily. Arrival time in Siena would be at 9:09pm, that is, two hours after the bus. In this case, it appears that one should try to go by bus. In unlucky event that there aren't any seats available on the bus, there's enough time to catch the 4pm Eurostar. <BR> <BR>In case your daughter's flight comes in very early (not on a Sunday), she'd be able to catch the bus if she takes the 7:15am Malpensa Express. In case anything goes wrong, she'd have time to get to Milano Centrale and the 10am Eurostar. <BR> <BR>Unless there are other bus services available, in all other situations she'd be better off by taking a train all the way from Milano Centrale. <BR> <BR>To take a 10:30am flight out from Malpensa, your daughter will have to travel from Siena the day before. In this case, a bus doesn't look bad for two reasons: <BR> <BR>a) it takes a shade less than the train; and <BR>b) it enables one to look for a room in the vicinities of the Cadorna station preparing for the Malpensa Express journey at 7:20am next morning. <BR> <BR>She could take the 8:10am Sena bus, arriving at 12:25pm. After hotel check in she'd have all the afternoon to visit some of Milan. In the evening, she could decide to stroll the very lively Navigli district and have dinner. <BR> <BR>I, for one, wouldn't like to spend the last evening of my trip close to the airport, out nowhere! <BR> <BR>Paulo

Paulo

Oops ...you misled me Walter The Milan-Siena 8:30am SENA bus runs only on Mondays AND Saturdays (not from Mondays through Saturdays) <BR> <BR>Paulo

Walter

Paulo: oops...and I was *so* happy that I knew Monday and Saturday in Italian, well now I know what "e" means. <BR>Denise: If your daughter decides on the bus go to their schedule page and click-on "For Travel Conditions Click Here". &lt;double check me on this I'm on memory mode&gt; It says you can reserve tickets by phone *but* they must be picked-up at *that* ticket office 15min before departure. Now it shows that the bus leaves from Piazza Castello 2min before it arrives at Piazzale Cadorna and that seems to be where the ticket office is, at P. Castello. It's a *large* Piazza basically right next to the Cadorna train station/Piazza. Now if your daughter has the time and can handle her luggage for a short distance (a backpack hopefully) she could assure her reserved seat at the ticket office/bus stop. When reserving by phone I would get exact directions/address to the ticket office. Of course like Paulo suggested always have a alternate plan, delayed flight- Scrape the bus and take the Malpensa Express Bus from the airport directly to the Centrale train station. Problems at Cardorna with the bus, hop-on the Metro to the train station. On the return I would have a reserved room in Milan, I've heard that it can be very hard to find rooms esp when they have conventions/business shows in the city. Again if she can handle her luggage easily anywhere along the metro routes or a taxi if you can't find anything near the train station. HTH Regards, Walter <BR>

ellen

I agree with previous poster that finding a reasonably-priced hotel room in Milan can be difficult. Try www. venere.it or www.itwg.it and look for hotels near the train station. I stayed at Hotel Marconi near Stazione Centrale last fall. It had seen better days but was OK for one night.

Denise

Dear Paulo and Walter and anyone who has helped. <BR> <BR>Thanks for the info, but I am confused. I have never been to Milan so bear with me. I am a bit worried about her getting to Siena. She's pretty resourceful and has been to Italy twice, but never alone. Maybe I am unnecessarily worried. Sorry for bothering you guys but can you explain the logistics to me? <BR>Here's her itinerary. She lands at 8 AM on Monday, May 21st. So lets say she gets her baggage by 9AM. From what you are saying, it takes 1 hour to get from Malpensa (I take it that this is the airport in Milan) to Milano Centrale, which is the train station. Is this correct? Then she can catch the Eurostar (which would be faster, right?) to Florence. Once in Florence, I know she can take the SITA bus to Siena (which takes about 1 hour), or my other daughter can pick her up. But if she wants to take the bus, it appears from what you say that the bus to Siena only leaves Milan at 2:30 PM. That would mean she has to wait around for a few hours, right? Is the bus quicker than the train? <BR>What is Piazzale Cadorna and Piazza Castello? Is this whre the bus leaves? How would she get from the airport to the bus? <BR>What would you guys do? <BR>I am concerned that after an 8 hour flight that she will be tired. I would like her to get to Siena as fast as possible without waiting around. Could you explain this again to me? <BR>Is the Malpensa Express the train she catches to get to either the train or bus? Is Cadorna station the area that would be best to find a hotel for the night? Is this where she would catch the Malpensa Express to the airport? <BR>I am starting to wish there was a flight to Rome! At least I know how to get her to Siena from there. I am sure this will work. I just need to understand what she has to do a little better. <BR> <BR>Thanks for your help, <BR>Denise (worried mom) <BR>

denise

To the top for Walter and Paulo, <BR> <BR>Thanks

Paulo

Considering your daughter's arrival time, Denise, in order to simplify things, I'd recommend she takes the bus shuttle to Milano Centrale as soon as she's cleared customs. In Milano Centrale, she should get a ticket to Siena on the first train out to Florence. <BR> <BR>At best, she'd be able to catch the 10am Eurostar, change in Florence (no swet, 28 minutes to do it) and arrive in Siena at 3:05pm. If she misses the 10am Eurostar, there's another one at 11am. This would get her to Siena at 3:34pm (22 minutes to change in Florence). If the flight is late, the next Eurostar out from Centrale would be at 12pm, arriving in Siena at 5:05pm. <BR> <BR>Under the circumstances, I don't think it pays for: <BR> <BR>a) travelling from Milan to Siena by bus; and <BR> <BR>b) taking the fast bus from Florence to Siena (even if this may be a shade faster <BR> <BR>Your daughter in Siena may plan to go to the train station around 3:30pm. This would be fine if there aren't any problems in Milan. Otherwise, your daughter may call from Milan as soon as she has things straightened out. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>PS. The Malpensa Express is a privately owned train company that provides service from the airport to Stazione Nord (which lays in front of Piazza Cadorna). The Malpensa bus shuttle connects the airport with Stazione Centrale (quite far from Stazione Nord but a metro connects both stations). Finally, the SITA Florence-Siena bus departs from Via Caterina de Siena, a side street of the square in front of the Sta. Maria Novella station in Florence (about 400 meters). <BR> <BR>The only situation which would possibly justify taking the Milan-Siena bus is if she's not able to leave the airport before, say, 11am (and no later than 1pm). In this case I'd consider taking the Malpensa Express and SENA bus combination. Of course, a call to Siena would be in order to change the meeting point.