Hi, We will be arriving in Milan from Malpensa airport. We only have one day in Milan and then will take train to Venice. Should we stay close to airport and central rail or should we stay in downtown Milan

I hope someone's going to answer this, b/c I think the centrail rail station is nowhere near the airport. I'm adding this comment to raise your note to the top of the heap.

The above poster is correct that the main railway station is nowhere near Malpensa airport. The main train station is in central Milan, and Malpensa is quite a ways outside the city.

I would stay in Milan, either near the main train station or in the Duomo area. A cab from the Duomo area to the main train station will take under 15 minutes unless you are going at rush hour, then it might take 20 minutes. I would stay in the Duomo area as I assume you want to see the Duomo, the Galleria, Peck's deli, do some wandering around charming side streets and possibly go to the S'forza Castle. There is not a lot of sightseeing in the area of the central train station.

There are not really any hotels at or near Malpensa, you have to get on the highway and there are some hotels there, but not worth it IMO as your train departs from central Milan and I assume you want to do some sightseeing in Milan.

There is an express train service from Malpensa to Milan, you arrive in Milan nearish to the Duomo area. The train trip takes about 40 minutes, and is generally faster than a taxi. Note that the airport express goes to Milano Cadorna Station which is NOT the main train station, that is Milano Centrale, a few miles away. To get to the main train station from Malpensa, I believe your only option is the bus.

Website for Milan airport is http://www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/eng/ (English version)

If you can give us an idea of your hotel budget, we can recommend hotels in the area of the Duomo and the central train station.

i would definitely go into milan for the day. the hotel gritti is about two blocks south of the duomo. it is very clean and efficient, more of a businessman's hotel. the staff are expert at making sure you connect on time.

you can do a lot in milan in one day as a lot of the interesting sites are centralised about the duomo's piazza.

Our budget for the hotel in Milan would be 150-220 euor and believe itor not, i can't find an available hotel. any suggestions?

Try the Bristol Hotel. It's near the railroad station. We stayed there while participating in a conference four years ago. Check it out on its website:
http://www.hotelbristolmil.it

I've stayed at the Mini Hotel Aosta across the street from the main train station It is clean and modern with air conditioning. You didn't give dates but I put in May 8th and the rate was 160 euro for a double. Very convenient to trains, metro and busses.

I forgot to say that it is on the venere website.