If we train from Varenna on Lake Como to Milan(we are deciding if we should train or drive) how would we get from Milan Centrale to Airport Hotel - are there buses? We don't want to stay in Milan Centrale on our last night because our flight leaves at 6:55 am - so we thought we'd stay by the airport. Thanks.

There is a shuttle bus at Milan's central train station. I think it leaves hourly and takes you right to the airport. You could taxi to your hotel from there.

Yes, the airport bus - first go down the stairs to street level, it leaves from behind the station (well, you could call that one side...), just ask, anybody points you.

Does your hotel have a shuttle from the airport? That would then save you the taxi.

Also - about hotels near the airport - this question has come up so often, if you input "hotel Malpensa" or "Hotel Milan airport" in the field above, you get lots of results.

Any questions about airport access - always use google to get the airport website.

Hello PSGMARTINO, here is the website for the Malpensa bus that runs between Malpensa and the Milan Centrale and back to Malpensa.

http://www.malpensashuttle.it/e-default.htm

There is a bus that goes directly from Como to Malpensa. If you timed it right you could avoid going into Milan at all. The problem is it only runs about three times a day. I did it a few years ago and the last bus left Como at about 5:30pm and got to Malensa at about 6:30pm. There is information about it on the airport website.

I stayed at the Hotel Cervo - www.hotelcervo.it/ - which is actually on the airport grounds, but you can't walk to the terminals, but there is a shuttle bus. The hotel is OK but extremely boring and there is absolutely nothing to do. They do have a restaurant and of course there are places to eat in the airport.

So if you dont mind just having dinner and going to bed or watching TV for the last night that is the easiest thing to do.

PSG: Vicenzo here provided for a lovely hotel close to the airport on a lake..it looks as if they have a good restaurant, too.

Here it is:


http://www.lacinzianella.it/

Wow - thanks to everyone who responded. This is just the information that I needed - fantastic!!

There is bus service between Menaggio and Malpensa, but the bus service between Como and Malpensa has been discontinued/replaced by train service via Saronno. The same railway company operates the Malpensa Shuttle Train from the Cadorna Nord station in Milan to the airport.

Here are the websites for LeNord and Malpensa:

http://www.lenord.it/en/index.php

http://www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/en/malpensa/

But, psgmartino, if you're staying in Varenna, the train to Milan and bus to Malpensa is the easiest way to go.

Vincenzo's hotel recommendation would be OK if your flight was leaving later, but with a 6:55 a.m. departure I'd stay right at the airport the night before. Boring perhaps, but disaster-proof unless you miss the wakeup call.

Thanks again Jean - I think we've decided to keep the car and drive from Varenna - drop off luggage at the hotel by the airport (First Hotel) then turn in the car at the airport and take the bus into Milan and spend a few hours visiting the duomo before going back to the hotel for the night.

We have not been to the Duomo in Milan - so that is something that we'd like to do. Unless we love Varenna so much we want to spend most of the day there and then just land at the airport hotel. I guess we'll find out once we get there!

I appreciate all your help -

For your few hours in Milan, I'd take the Malpensa Express train to Cadorna Nord station which is much closer to the Duomo than the Centrale station. The Castello is adjacent to Cadorna (worth a stop if you have time), and it's a nice walk down Via Dante from the Castello to the Duomo. After the Duomo, walk through the Galleria, peek at La Scala and, time permitting, at the shopping beyond. Then circle back to Cadorna for a train back to Malpensa. If you look at a map of Milan, you'll see how close together these places are.

The Malpensa Shuttle bus to Centrale is the other option, but you'd probably want to take the metro from the station to the Duomo, and that just adds another step to getting where you want to go.

There are two trains an hour, and the journey takes 40 minutes. There are generally three buses an hour, and the journey takes 50 minutes. Here's a link to both timetables:

http://www.aeroportomalpensa.it/en/transportation/

Thanks Jean - This is just the advice I need. I've printed out the information from the link you've provided.

But I forgot to say you may not want to leave Varenna!