We're leaving from Malpensa at 12:30pm and will be in Florence the day before. Do we need to spend the last night in Milan in order to be sure to make that plane? And, if so, can we stay in central Milan, or do we need to find a place by the airport? Thanks for advice.

Malpensa is about 45 min outside of city center by bus. You should stay either in Milan center or out by the airport since you will have to be at the AP a couple of hours prior to departure for an INT'L flight. You will have to leave FLR at the very crack of dawn to get to Malpensa on time by private car. You just never know what you will find on the autostrada on your way up. My advice is as stated above, stay in Milan.

For me, this decision would hinge on:

when arriving in Florence?

what do you hope to do there?

how many are you?

any reason to justify having a rental car?

My own style would be to use the time between 6 and 9 am (- - or 5 to 9 am, if you are uneasy about being able to make the drive at a "brisk" pace - - either way, these are hours that are otherwise not "usable" time, to the average traveler) and just drive to Malpensa - - this assumes that the (extra?) evening in Florence would be something of value to you, something you would enjoy. I'm assuming that the reason you are going to Malpensa is that you are flying from Europe to North America - - and you've got all those hours to sleep on the flight.

If that last evening were the only opportunity to go to dinner at Villa San Michele in Fiesole (unless maybe this trip is in the dead of winter?) - - then that's how I'd go about it.

Best wishes,

Rex

No, you won't need to spend the night in Milan. I catch the Lufthansa flight out of Milan (~12:30 pm) all the time and leave the Cinque Terre ~ 6:15 am in order to take the trains there. Once at Milano Centrale station, I catch the Malpensa shuttle bus out to the airport. Even without a car, or taxi, I make it each time so no worries there.

Florence to Milan is the same distance (2.5-3 hours away) and according to trenitalia.com, you can catch a 7:08 am ES train from Florence, arrive in Milan at 10:00 (total travel = 2h52m), with time to catch the shuttle bus to airport. Alternatively, if you want to allow more travel ime than that, there is a 6:00 am ES train that arrives into Milano 9:20 am.

The distance is not the crucial factor here. The drive from Florence to Milan is theoretically short, but it's on a highway which is chronically overcrowded and prone to being stuck for hours due to accidents and/or fog (in winter).

If you want to be absolutely sure of making that flight, stay in Milan the night before.


best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

http://www.straughan.com

Also, bstarr45, are you driving by car or taking the train?

If you have a rental car you need to take time to turn it in.

If you are going by train, well, trains in Italy are sometimes late.

Personally I would not gamble it. I would either stay the night before in Milano or stay at a hotel by the airport.

I would be a nervous wreck worrying about getting from Florence to Milpensa the morning of my flight. And I am not a nervous traveller but one reason is that I always allow myself time to handle the unknown.

we stayed in Milan, cheap clean hotel right by the Duomo. hotel speronari (same name as the street). Very easy get up in the morning, take the metro 2 stops to the train station where the express bus takes you to Malpensa in 45 minutes! I'd stay overnight in Milan, it's worth an afternoon/evening just for the Duomo if nothing else.

Well, you have certainly gotten well thought out opinions for both options; so it just depends on what you are comfortable with. I would stay in Milan. In November we trained from Bologna to Milan Central Station and walked to the Hotel Florida. Took the metro to the duomo area (4 stops). The next morning we walked back to the train station and took the Malpensa express bus. This worked well for us and eliminated the stress that usually goes with getting to the aiport on time.

bstarr,
A better place not far from Malpensa is Stresa on Lake Maggiore, its about a 40-45 minute drive but a great location on the lake with much to do. Have a great trip.