Hello all.

We have just confirmed a flight in and out of Milan for a week at a gite in Collobrieres, France. (Yes, we know it looks weird, but it was the nearest airport to our destination with a nonstop flight out of Philadelphia...)

Our return flight departs at 9:00 am on Saturday, March 22 and we have to return the rental car first. We need a hotel convenient to the airport (less than an hour drive)that is AFFORDABLE, has easy parking, and will allow us to spend Friday afternoon and evening in Milan. We plan to visit the Brera, wander around, have supper.

Restaurant recommendations are welcome, too.

We are a "mature" and value conscious couple, if that makes a difference.

Your suggestions? Caveats?


Ciao, Ellen

I assume you will be leaving from Malpensa Airport. It's quite a distance from Milan. If it was me, I think I'd drop the car in France -- probably saving quite a bit on the rental -- and take a train to Milan. And then, since your flight is so early, I'd take a taxi or town car to the airport. But I don't know what this all adds up to or if it's in your budget.

Thanks, Mimar.

We quite like the drive and not having to struggle with luggage is worth a little extra cost on the car.

Do you know of a hotel or town halfway between Milan and the airport? What we can do is check in at the hotel and take the train into Milan.

Ellen

There is no train from Milan to Malpensa. I'm not familiar with hotels around Malpensa. If you go to www.venere.com and its listings for Milan, it lists hotels in the vicinity of the airport -- with a map. I know the town of Gallarate has a train station. You can double-check the hotel reviews at www.tripadvisor.com.

I was in Milan April 2007. we took a train to and from Malpensa. Very easy - about 45 minutes. The train took us right into the heart of Milan at Cadorna, the metro stop.

P.S. The cost of the train was 11 euros.

We stayed at the Hotel Astoria in Gallarate and it was reasonable with a shuttle in the morning to Malpensa--about 15 minutes away.

Here's another option - we did something similar to it on a recent trip (but our flight left out of Linate).

After spending time in the Piedmont, we dropped off our car at the airport, and took a cab into the city (in retrospective, we should have just dropped off the car IN the city). Spent the evening there, including walking around the charming Brera neighborhood and having dinner there. Spent the night at a hotel near the Duomo, so we had plenty of time cafe-sitting and people-watching within view of the Duomo.

The next morning, early, we took a cab from our hotel to the airport. I'd much rather spend time in the historical center of Milan than in a hotel halfway between Milan and the airport.

I don't remember the name of the restaurant we ate at, but I'll look it up and post it later.

I just cancelled a reservation at a hotel in Gallarate as our Alitalia flight route changed! We were going to stay at the Best Western. Gallarate is a cute town and close to the airport. Last year we stayed at a place also close to the airport and it was a ghost town - Cardanno...no restaurant..nice hotel though that had a deal going with a taxi and restaurant so we got driven gratis to the restaurant - after dinner we asked the taxi driver (he was actually an architect moonlighting as a taxi driver) to take us to Gallarate so we could have a walk before bed. That is how I decided that this year we'd just stay in Gallarate the night before our flight.

In 2006, I had an early morning flight out of Milan. I stayed at the First Hotel Malpensa. They had a free shuttle and it only took 7 or 8 minutes from the hotel to the airport.

Lexma90, that seems so obvious as to be self evident! Not feeling very bright, here... Of course! Get rid of the car and stay somewhere convenient to the Malpensa train!

Ellen

Thank you one and all! Great ideas, pragamtic, appealing. This is why I LOOOOVE this group!

Ellen

And I looked up the restaurant in the Brera; it was Nabucco. It was cute and charming, with a very small area for outdoor seating. The food was quite good but not excellent; it was full while nearby restaurants were not, and I had the feeling that it was busy because tourists like us had read about it somewhere, not because it was better than the other places on the street. (But I don't know, maybe it was really the best restaurant on the street!) The restaurant offered dishes from throughout Italy, not just the typical Milanese or Piemontese classics. So that may be a good thing, or may not.

The Malpensa shuttle train leaves from the Cadorna Nord station. the Malpensa shuttle bus leaves from the Centrale train station.

There are 3 hotels on the airport grounds:
Hotel Cervo
Hotel First[my choice]
Villa Malpensa

There is a very good ristorante next door to the First.

I've done both the train from Cardona and the shuttle from Centrale and while, I'm usually a train person, the shuttle is my choice. It all depends on where you stay.

The Gallarate suggestion is also worth considering. If you dump thje car early, it's easy to get a train up there from the heart of Milan and then it's a very quick shuttle in the a.m. If you keep the car, it's a short hop to MXP.

hotel cervo is not on airport grounds at all. it is in a small town near the airport but one must take a taxi or its pay-per-ride/per person shuttle to get there.

also.. not my favorite place.
seems rooms differ quite a lot as there are some O.K. reviews.. but our two rooms were absolutely motel barely functional. cheap cheap cheap.

breakfast was minimal.

Is anyone familiar with the Hotel Novotel Milano Malpensa? It is offering a no refund, pay in advance 89 euros a night. I think it may be fairly new. Thanks

we paid more than that at il cervo.
sounds like a fair deal..

especially if it includes tax and/or breakfast

Well, I guess I'm out of date regarding the train from Milan to Malpensa. Fortunately, others have chimed in.