some final questions about italy
 

So our trip is almost here, and I’m finding I still have a lot of random questions about Italy. Here is what I’ve come up with so far (and there will probably be more lists):

Milan:
1. We are staying near Malpensa on our last night, but we will be in Milan for the day. Does anyone know how late into the evening the Malpensa Express runs? I keep trying to check the timetable at the website but it keeps going back to Italian and I don’t know what its saying.
2. Another poster had mentioned going to “Navigli” that evening. How would we get there after visiting the The Last Supper? Our reservations for the Last Supper are for 3:30 PM. Are they close to each other?
3. We will be arriving in Milan from Varenna by train that morning. Is the train station that we will be arriving in the train station that has the left luggage room? Or do we have to go to another station to stow our luggage?
4. When looking at train tickets from Varenna to Milan on the Trenitalia site, it looks like tickets are only 5-7 euros per person. Does that sound right? It seems very cheap and I’m wondering if I’m entering something wrong…

Rome:
1.Regarding the Roma Pass…I remember reading a post about the Roma passes not being there when people went to pick them up. Is this a common problem? I plan to order the pass online and pick it up at either FCO or Termini. Is one location easier to find than the other, or are they both pretty easy to get to? The pick-up location at FCO is supposed to be in the International Terminal C. Is that where most flights from the US will be arriving?
2.We are considering taking the train/shuttle into Rome from FCO as our hotel is not that far from Termini. Is it hard to find and figure out, or is it pretty self-explanatory?

I know some of these questions may seem pretty basic, but it’s our first trip to Europe and we need help!

Thanks!!

I bought my Roma Pass at FCO. The Commune di Roma booth is down a hallway on the right after you come out of baggage claim. Walk past all the stores and you will see the counter on the left side of the hallway.

The train (Leonardo Express) from FCO to Termini is easy to find. There are other trains, but you will easily figure out which one is the Leonardo.

That is the right price for the train for Varenna to Milan (5.10€)and it is Milan Centrale with luggage storage. Here's the link for storage prices and hours.
http://www.grandistazioni.it/cms/v/i...003f16f90aRCRD

Thanks! Did you buy your roma pass online and pick up at the airport, or you got the whole thing at the airport?

And thanks for that link. That kept me from having to ask my next question!

I bought the Roma Pass after arriving. I think few people find their way to the Commune di Roma desk since there are other tourists help desks as you exit baggage claim and it's a bit out of the way. You can't buy the pass from the other tourist kiosks.

For Milano - Malpensa,

http://www.lenord.it/index.php#

says 22:57 is the last train. There seems to be a bus at 23:27.
The English pages are flaky. The Italian pages are not difficult to guess. You can guess that "arrivo" is the arrival station, so the other box must be the departure station.

Hello debrad, if you want to take the Malpensa Shuttle Bus from the Central (Centrale) train station in Milan to the Malpensa Airport here is the website which is in English.

http://www.malpensashuttle.it/e-default.htm

when you arrive from varenna, you will be in Milqno Centrale train station. It has a left luggage storeroom but it is NOT the train station where you catch the Malpensa Xpress. If you leave your luggage at Milano Centrale, you should take the shuttle bus to the airport.

How are you getting to your Malpensa hotel?

I don't know why you were urged to go to the Navigli area, unless you expressed an interest in nightclubbing. After leaving Santa Maria delle Grazie, which contains The Last Supper, you are within easy reach of the Castello Sforzeca, and you can enjoy a walk down the pedestrianized via Dante until you reach the Duomo and the Galleria. The subway stop at the piazza Duomo connects directly back to Milano Centrale Train station.

When you leave your luggqage, verbally confirm that the storage room is open the posted hours.

Hi debrad,

You can buy your romepass from this website.
http://www.pierreci.it/en/buy-the-ti...roma-pass.aspx

I will be heading to rome too and im not sure what i should do buy online or buy there. The online price is 23 EUR. But im not sure if they charge extra fees.

As for taking the train this is what i plan to do not sure where your hotel is though.

"Follow signs marked Treni. Trains come every half-hourly to Stazione Termini (Rome's main railway station)
Buy tickets using the machines or at Agenzia 365 at the head of tracks.
Duration : 30 min Cost : EUR 9.50"

I wouldn't use the website Supertraveler suggests to reserve the Roma Pass. They limit you to only two pick up locations which might not be convenient for you. I didn't do a walk-thru on Pierreci's website,so I don't know if they also charge a reservation fee, but the terms of conditions imply they do charge a fee. I would get the pass directly from Commune di Roma at the airport.

Also, the train from the airport has been 11€ for the last couple of years.

Thank you everybody!

I never expressed an interest in nightclubbing. The poster said to "spend the evening at Navigli" and since he/she seemed to know what they were talking about, I thought I'd look into it. But if it is really just a bunch of clubs, then we probably wouldn't be interested in it anyway.

So I guess we should take the train to Milano Centrale, store our luggage, then take the shuttle bus to Malpensa when we are done in Milan. That makes more sense than taking a cab to the other station to catch the Malpensa Express, and I didn't know there was a shuttle bus, so thanks!

Our hotel has a free shuttle to/from the airport, so we were going to get to the airport then get on the shuttle to the hotel.

debrad,

You need to check with your hotel about how late the shuttle runs, and if you need to call them to have them pick you up. Many hotels do not run the shuttle service unless they are sure someone is waiting. Also ask them for specific instructions about where the pick up point is.

Will do! If something were to go wrong with the hotel shuttle, does anyone have any general idea how much a typical cab ride would be from Milan to the airport area, or from the airport to any of the hotels?

Taxis from the center of Milan can run you anywhere from 70 to 90 euros, depending on the pickup point and traffic congestion.

Taxis to the airport hotels can be pricey. It all depends how close your hotel is to the terminals. E-mail your hotel and ask them. Sometimes it says on the hotel website what you can expect to pay.

But under any circumstances, the cheaper option would be to take the bus to the airport.