stay in milan, or near MXP?
 

We have decided to head toward MXP the day before our flight instead of staying in our Bellagio hotel. Now the question is where should we stay the night before? Should we go to Milan and try to see some sights before getting another cab to the airport later in the day, or should we get a hotel in Milan and get a cab to the airport the next day, or should we just bypass the city of Milan and head straight to an airport hotel?

I've never been, so I'm not sure if the trip to MXP from Milan would be difficult the morning of our flight or if it's just down the street...

Basically, would we be able to see/do enough in Milan in one afternoon/evening to justify not staying at the airport?

And if you think it would be better to stay near the airport, do you know if the Hilton Garden airport hotel is okay? We found a pretty great deal there.

Thanks!

I'd stay in Milan at a hotel near the Cadorna station, as you can catch the very nice Malpensa Express train that takes you directly to the airport. Cadorna is very central, so you can easily sightsee from that location.

A cab is not only expensive but may well take you longer if there's traffic.

If you do stay near MXP I can recommend First Hotel. Free shuttle to the airport, decent restaurant. I paid (I think) 110 euro per night, rate included breakfast.

There is plenty to enjoy for a day in Milan (Last Supper, Duomo and area around it) and IMO it would be nice to stay there for the evening. What time is your morning flight? MXP is about 50 minutes outside of the city center. Hiring a private car at a fixed rate tends to actually be cheaper than taking a cab.

Megan in Lerici, Liguria

I tell you what I do when I must be early in the morning at Malpensa airport.
I leave from my home, I live in Romagna, in the afternoon so that I arrive before sunset at LA CINZIANELLA in Corgeno. Corgeno is a small and sweet hamlet of Vergiate and this delicious D&B is on the coast of the small lake of Comabbio. The place is very sweet.
The rooms are comfortable enough and, first of all and very important, the dinner is gorgeous and unforgettable; and also for me, Italian living in Italy, it is a funky way to say "hello" to Italy.
The chef patron is Maurizio and he is a very clever chef.
The following morning Maurizio prepare a delicious breakast and then I go to Malpensa airport which is far 15' to drive.
If you, as I presume, do not have a car, then you have to arrange with Maurizio to reserve a cab.
The website of LA CINZIANELLA is www.lacinzianella.it .
Have a lovely trip, ciao.

Vincenzo

Vicenzo--Great information!

Thanks for the info. I'm still a bit confused because on a map, it looks like a longer trip to Milan from Bellagio then it is to the airport from Bellagio, then I would be traveling to the airport on the morning of our flight anyway.

Nobody thinks it would be better to stay at an airport hotel and skip Milan?

Malpensa is not near downtown Milan. As another poster mentioned, there is a very convenient Malpensa Express train that leaves from Cadorna station in downtown Milan. I usally prefer to stay at a hotel my last afternoon/evening in downtown Milan (at a hotel near to Cadorna), and the morning of my flight I take a 5 min taxi to Cadorna, and hop on the Malpensa Express. It takes about 20-25 minutes, and it lets you off in Malpensa. You go up a couple of escalators and all you have to do is locate your ticket counter.
I have also stayed in Stresa the night before my trip, and there is a direct bus that drops you off at Malpensa. Again, about 25 minutes.
You just have to decide if you will be happy your last night in an airport hotel, or would rather be in downtown Milan. Just make sure you stay near Cadorna the night before, because the idea is to avoid traffic.

Check out www.malpensaexpress.it and click english.

Yes, Malpensa is closer to Bellagio than to Milano, but there are limited transportation options between Bellagio and Malpensa, or the cheaper options require connecting to multiple modes of transportation that run less frequently than options from Milano.

If you'd rather stay near the airport the night before your departure, then by all means do so. But don't bother to get there particularly early, as there's not much to do there.

Milan is actually pretty cool, and in my opinion it would be a shame to miss even a brief visit in favor of a night near MXP: visit the Duomo, the castle, the navigli for a nice evening out. You may well be "travelled out" by that point in your trip, though, and if that's the case then an airport hotel will do fine.

The Malpensa Express really is quite nice. It's not a regular Italian train, but is instead operated by a private company that only runs trains in the area around Milan and the lakes. Very clean, very efficient, very pleasant.

We stayed at the Le Méridien Gallia; it is RIGHT across from the train station and express bus to the airport. The hotel was a bit run down...but the staff were wonderful and we'd be happy to stay there again - it was easy getting to the airport for a morning flight - more fun to have the last evening in Milan, IMHO.

If u've never been to Milan, I would spend your last day/night there and take Malpensa Exp to MXP. Or you could spend the day evening in Milan and go to MXP later in the evening/night.

If u decide to stay at MXP, check out the rates at the Novotel Malpensa -- u can get an internet special for 79 euros. Hotel opened last year and it's nice for a night b4 your flight. They have a free shuttle to MXP
http://tinyurl.com/bhzsjr

We've decided to stay at an airport hotel the night before we leave. Depending on how we feel at the end of our 14 day trip, we can take a trip to Milan for the day and return in the evening. At least the check-in at the hotel (which we got for 50 euros) is at 12 PM, which gives us more time if we wanted to go to the city.

Thank you for all of your advice!!

can you share your hotel name with us please! And where you found that great rate?

Thanks

You might want to rethink your decision about staying at an airport hotel and using it as a base for visiting Milano. Most airport hotels near Malpensa do not have inexpensive service into Milano,

I would check with that hotel to find out the logistics of getting to it from Bellagio, and getting to and from Milan in the evening.

If may be that you have to pass through Milano to get to the hotel -- in which case, I would recommend stowing your luggage and Milano Centrale and touring Milano before going to the airport hotel.

But in general, people seldom get a lot out of staying at an airport hotel (other than some cheap hotel rates at times). The Malpensa Xpress is very fast, and airport shuttles from airport hotels can sometimes be rather slow.

The airport hotels are seldom anything to write home about, although occasionally people report finding a good meal here or there -- but nothing like the density of Milano.

The hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn Malpensa, and they have a January special for 50 Euros per night for a king room, including breakfast and free shuttle to the airport. It's a nonrefundable rate, but we couldn't find anything close to that in the city, and our 2-week trip has already become quite expensive. We figure that if we change our mind, we're only out 50 euros.

Sounds great. Thanks for the name.

I also do not mind sleeping at an airport hotel and not fretting about train strikes, getting up earlier, schedules, etc. especially at the end of a vacation!

I agree some of them are horrible, that is why I am interested in this name since the last place I stayed was NOT to be repeated.

thanks -- i was able to get a 60 euro rate for 1 night in May. The lowest rate was on their website.

I can vouch for the Novotel at MXP. We stayed there last year and it was nice. Rate for this year was 80 euro.

This may be a stupid question, but how exactly would someone stow luggage? Are there lockers? Or do you give your luggage to people to hold like you do at a hotel? This is new to me!

Stow luggage: Milano Centrale Station has a secure left luggage room.