Emily

We are ending our 2 week trip to Italy in Milan. We will be arriving Milan from Lake Como area (Varenna) and will have one night in Milan before our afternoon departure the next day. We will have a rental car coming from Varenna. Does it make sense to go ahead and return rental car in Milan on the way into town, or to return the next day at the airport? Also, we plan to see the Duomo and hopefully attend opera at la Scala and maybe do some shopping in the day and a half. Is it best to stay overnight near Duomo? Our flight is out of Malpensa the next afternoon. Is it best to take a train there? Or, again, hang onto the rental car and drive to airport and return there? I'm not sure what driving and parking are like in Milan...<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Emily

Red

I didn't drive in Milan but a friend of mine did and said it was nuts. She ended up hating Milan because of it. I didn't have a car and loved Milan. The metro is great so I wouldn't worry about staying near the Duomo but it couldn't hurt.<BR><BR>This is my personal opinion - I wouldn't drive in Milan any more than I would drive in New York. Taxis and the metro are preferable for me.

Alice twain

Return your car in Como, if you can. Once you have returned it, take the train from the tiny station on the front of the lake in Como (FNM railways). In more or less one hour (and with a rther scenic departure from Como) you will arrive at Cadorna station. Use the metro and the buses to trour Milano (you can buy a 2 days pass that will allow you to take as many trips on the subways as you want). The next day you can reach the airport of Malpensa with the comfortable trains that leave from the same Cadorna station.

Leslie

The Duomo and La Scala are literally about a block apart, with the Galleria Vittorio Emanuale in between, so staying anywhere in that vicinity will be fine. Note, you might consider making reservations to see Da Vinci's "Last Supper" also unless you are there on a Monday.<BR><BR>As to the car. I wouldn't drive in Milan any more than I'd drive in Rome. The streets are a big spider web design and, therefore, MUCH more difficult than driving in NYC which is a nice neat grid. Also, no offense to Italians, but the drivers there are wild. I thought the cab driver that took us to the airport at 90 miles per hour was going to get us killed several times. He even zipped us through the gap between two trolley cars as they approached each other. Whew! Note: I didn't want to take a cab to Malpensa as nobody recommends this but my husband let the hotel desk clerk talk him into it as we were 4 people in our party. The cost was probably not much more, but the risk to life and limb was much greater!<BR><BR>That said, I have picked up rental cars in such cities as Rome, London, Paris and always find that exiting such a city with good directions is much easier than entering such a city to return a car. If it were me, I'd return the car in Milan, take a cab to a hotel near the Cardorna train station and use the Malpensa Express train out of Cadorna station the next day. If this saves you a day's rental and parking costs then it might even be a financial wash.

Dale

A car is a liability in Milan. Don't even think about it. I believe La Scala is closed for a year or so for repairs, but I'd check their website. Also, if you are into food, do not pass up the opportunity to visit Peck, a couple of blocks southeast of the Piazzas Duomo. There is no food and wine store like it anywhere. Buon viaggio.

emily

Thanks to all for your advice. I think we'll drop car in Como as suggested before entering Milan. Hmmm--- I wonder if La Scala is closed? I tried to look on their website, but the tickets section was in Italian, although other parts of it were in English which is strange. Thanks again!

Alice Twain

La Scala theater is closed for at least two years for maintenance. The Theater's museum has been temprarly moved to another building and the shows are held at the Arcimboldi theater on the outskirts of Milano.

Debby

Not to confuse the issue, but we just did what you are planning. We had planned to return the car in Como and train to Milan. The car rental place did not open in time for us to do this so we drove into Milan to return the car at the train station.<BR><BR>It was very easy! you are basically on 1 street going into town. We did get lost 3 blocks from where we were. We had a cell phone with us so that made it easy for us to call the Avis place to correct waht we were doing wrong.<BR><BR>The driving was not bad! The convenience was great since we did not have to deal with luggage on trains. We were only planning a daytrip in Milan. We then left bags at the train station because we were leaving later that day. There is a hotel directly across from the Avis location at the Milan staion. They gave us that hotel as our staarting point. That might be a good place to stay since you can drop your bags and easily handle the train the next day to the airport.<BR><BR>We then took subways to where we needed to go. It was easy.<BR><BR>Good luck<BR><BR>Debby<BR><BR>

Alice Ywain

Debbie<BR><BR>There are two problems with what you have done. The first is that it is a pity to leave Como by car instead of using the delicious train station on the lake. The second is taht staying near the Stazione Centrale means to stay rather far from where trains to Malpensa station leave from, since these trains leave from Cadorna station.

ellen

There's nothing wrong with staying near Stazione Centrale because the bus to Malpensa leaves from there. We left the rental car at Malpensa the day before leaving and took the bus to Stazione Centrale and reverse in the morning.