We are flying into Milan and want to go directly to Como. I am having difficulty using the Trenitalia site because I don't know what train station we should depart from. I am assuming there is not a train station in the Malpensa Airport that would take us directly to Como. If anyone can help with this, I would appreciate it.

There are two railway lines from Milano to Como: the main state railway (www.trenitalia.com) from Milano Centrale, and the Ferrovie Nord (www.ferrovienord.it) from the Nord station (reached by metro). The latter are more frequent but slower. In Como, the Nord station is in the town centre close to the lake, while the main line station is further out, but within easy walking distance.

If you take the train, then you'll need to travel into city of Milan itself. As per the two options outlined by above poster, (1) you can get from Malpensa to Milano Centrale via shuttle bus OR (2) the Malpensa Express train departs airport and goes into Cadorna Nord.<BR><BR>HOWEVER, I believe you also have alternative of taking a bus from the airport to Como and not bother having to go into Milan at all. Not having been to Como, I can't provide personal feedback; a quick google search came up with following info:<BR>Bus connects Malpensa Terminals 1 &amp; 2 to Piazza Cavour at Como.<BR>

You have gotten excellent advice about both train and bus service. The fastest way would be the bus from Malpensa to Como. Going into Milan would take about double the time, assuming you made good connections.

Why not go straight to the source, i.e. Malpensa Airport? The best bet to skip Milan entirely and get to Como the fastest way is by bus, as the following link will indicate:<BR>http://www.malpensa-airport.com/english/getting.htm

You do not actually need to get to Milano in order to reach Como from Malpensa airport. You have two different options: you can take the Malpensa Express train to Saronno and wait 15-30 minutes at the Saronno station for a train to Como. Trains to Como are frequent and you do not need to check timetables (one every 30 minutes). The other route is the bus that leaves every two hours from Malpensa to Como since 9,30 until 19,30 (http://www.sptcomo.it/orari/malpensa.html).

The SPT bus from Malpensa to Como is excellent. That's what I would take.

gac:<BR><BR>The bus might be excellent, but it does not run all the year round. it does not run in winter (since january until mid march) for instance, according to their site.

Here is the SPT bus schedule from Milan Malpensa to Como Town:<BR><BR>9:20 daily<BR>11:00 Mon thru Sat<BR>12:20 daily<BR>14:15 Mon thru Sat (March 26-October 19)<BR>16:45 Mon thru Sat<BR>19:25 Mon thru Sat<BR><BR>Travel time is one hour. The 12:20 bus continues on to Menaggio. Other buses connect in Como to other Lakeside destinations such as Bellagio.<BR><BR>www.sptcomo.it

Gac: I suppes I have misinterpreted their site ^_^;;;

Thanks to all for this great information. Looks like the bus is the way to go. I also appreciate the web addresses.