Transportation directly from Malpensa to place other than Milan
 

We will be flying in and out of Milan in June (grandparents and 12-year-old granddaughter) and would like to end rather than begin our trip in Milan. Has anyone taken a bus directly from Malpensa to anywhere other than Milan? I think trains require going into Milan first.
Thank you!

Is there some reason you don't want to take the trains? The airport bus goes directly to Milano Centrale train station and there is also an airport commuter train you can take to the same main station. You can switch directly to a train that will whisk to dozens of different places in Italy. Maybe if you posted where else you are going people could give you specific instructions.

If you only want to take a bus, you can look at the Malpensa airport website and see where buses go. There may still be buses to Genova (3 hours) or Torino (2 hours) and maybe a few other cities, but most everyone takes the trains.

Also, if you just want somewhere to relax, you can take a bus to Lago Maggiore, which is 50 minutes north of the airport. But after that, if the rest of your trip is in Italy, you will need to go through the Milan train station to get anyplace else, unless you are renting a car.

Malpensa has terrific long-distance bus connections (http://www.milanomalpensa-airport.co...rking/by-coach ) They're mostly to places a couple of hours away, but Novara (http://www.stnnet.it/novaramalpensa.html ) is about 50 mins.

Most of its trains go into Milan, and most of the stops within 30 mins (like Busto Arsizio, Saronno or Gallarate) are dullish, charm-free, glorified Milan suburbs. But there's a train every hour or two taking an hour to Laveno on Lake Maggiore, which then potters gently along the lake to Bellinzona in Switzerland (http://www.tilo.ch/ )

The nearest place I've found with a general sense of being a real Italian small town (albeit a bit sleek) is Varese. You can get a bus to Gallarate (http://www.airpullman.com/altri/saco...2001.03.14.pdf ) , then a train (http://www.tilo.ch/ ). Or a direct taxi.

Having just looked at the link posted above regarding long distance buses from Malpensa, I would not call those "terrific" options. You can more easily and more comfortably reach all of them by train (the buses run quite infrequently) and what few options there are don't hold much interest for most visitors to Italy (especially a 12 year old).

Is it an aversion to trains or going into central Milan?

You can get to Lake Como by train without going into central Milan.

There are buses from Malpensa to:
Domodossola, Verbania Pallanza, Stresa, Chiasso, Mendrisio, Novara, Torino
and trains to Gallarate - Luino - Bellinzona, Gallarate (change) - Stresa - Verbania - Domodossola, Saronno - Varese, Saronno - Como.

But bear in mind that the bus or train from Malpensa to Milano Centrale offer the possibility of quickly switching to trains that go all over Italy, arriving in many beautiful destination very quickly. The inside of the Milan central station is not the same thing as "going to Milan".

I think I am not the only one who is curious as to what's on your mind in asking this question and what the rest of your itinerary is.

Trains to Como bypass Milan. I would also point out that Milano Centrale is very easy to navigate with no stairs to climb.

Thank you to everyone who replied, and I wish I had a truly intriguing reason for asking about transportation. We'll be starting our trip from a small US city with no direct flights to Italy, so it will take awhile to get there. Thought we'd stay some place more relaxing for one night before going through part of Switzerland to Paris. Thanks to Jean for pointing out that we wouldn't have to take the train into central Milan but can go from the airport to Como with one transfer. We'll be traveling by train for most of the trip.

This was our oldest granddaughter's 12th birthday present, and she got to choose where she would really like to go, so we're still in the planning stages.

If you are willing to make one train switch in Milano Centrale, you really can go loads of places if your granddaughter is eager to get to someplace like Florence or Verona or Venice or the Italian Riviera.

If she hopes for Lago di Como, if you can at all swing the costs, getting a driver from Malpensa to Lago di Como after a very long trip to Milan is worth the euros (which are getting cheaper by the minute!). The transfer these days is usually around 100e (I think), but the driver meets you at the airport and drops you off at your hotel.

Another possibility is the much cheaper bus ride 50 minutes north of Malpensa to Lago Maggiore (Stresa or Baveno) .

But you really have lots of options, so once you have a wish list from your grandaughter of places she's like to visit, people can help you work out some efficient and easy ways to keep moving in the right direction.