Milan for 4 hours - what to do?
 

We are arriving at the MXP at about 8 am, and need to be in Varenna by train no later than 4pm. We know we have to get to the main train station in Milan to accomplish this, but have no clue how long any of this will take, or how complicated, etc. This will be our first trip to anywhere, ever, and we are wondering if we can handle taking a few hours to see the sights in Milan? And if so, what should not be missed? Also, we will be carting our luggage unless there is a place at the train station to check bags? Can somebody take pity on the poor dumb Americanos?

Trains from Milano Centrale to Varenna takes just over an hour, which means you need to take the 15:14 train.

From MXP, take the Malpensa Shuttle coach (5 euro) to Milano Centrale. Don't take the Malpensa Express train, as it goes to another station. The bus leaves every 20 minutes, and takes about 50.

Say, you get out of customs by 8:30, you can be in Milan at around 9:30.

I don't know where the left luggage service is at Milano Centrale, but there should be one.

From the train station, take the subway (1 euro) to Duomo, it's 4 stops I think. You can visit the church, climb up to the roof (4 euro) or take elevator (6 euro). Next to Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and lots of shops all around that area. If you're an opera fan, La Scala has a museum; it's just on the other side of Galleria.

Now, if you're not going to Milan in at least a month, you can try get an online reservation to see Da Vinci's Last Supper.

Sorry, I mean you need to take the 14:15 train.

Yes, there is a left luggage office at Milano Centrale station.

Make sure to get a reservation to see "The Last Supper." We used www.selectitaly.com It was a highlight of our month in Italy.

The Dome is impressive. I would visit that and shop for inexpensive ties at the galleria.

Thank you all for your kind advice. Molto grazie!