Lots of nastiness going on around there lately; I've posted an article at http://www.beginningwithi.com/italy/...alstation.html

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com

Deirdre,

I respect your posts and am the last person in the world to put on rose-colored glasses about tourists vulnerability to crime in Europe's big cities, but I want to say that I think Milano's train station area is far less dangerous than either Roma's or Napoli's (in particular) and really no worse than what most Americans would expect to find at an urban Greyhound bus terminal in America.

There are many many immigrants who hang out in the piazza outside the train station in Milano. It is also a place for petty drug sales and some prostitution. Neither is a big deal. There are many police visible in the area.

There is nothing new here: Don't get into cars with strangers (whatever their ethnicity or gender), do not walk alone to and from an Italian train station before dawn or very late at night. Always be aware that train stations are happy hunting grounds for pickpockets, who can watch you as you pull out your wallet to pay for tickets, and where you are struggling with bags and focused on the information boards over your head rather than on your surroundings.

The real news in the article is that Milano is considering a law that would require taxi drivers to wait until women are safely inside the door of their DESTINATION -- which points out that crime is not peculiar to the train station.

Many travelers flying into Milano will want to take the bus to Milano Centrale. They should not worry (they are safer there than Roma Termini.) When you leave the bus, continue to walk in the direction the bus is facing. That will bring you to the main piazza and entrance to the station, and prevent you from getting lost under the train tracks, which is a much lonelier area and therefore less safe.

I've been in Milan at the hotel Anderson, which is just in front of the buses from the airport terminal and felt always safe. Yes, there were inmigrants and also a lot of italians conmuting..no different than any other big city. And a lot of police too, some of them could be useful here in Castellon station, that at 10 o'clock is the unsafest place of the whole city. You cannot see many 4 star hotels on really dangerous places Another question is that is seedy..but that's ugly not harmful per se

Points taken, but note that I did not draw any comparisons with Rome or Napoli - I've never been to Napoli, and haven't been to Rome's railway station in years. It would not surprise me at all to know that both are a lot more dodgy than Milan. But I would not presume to say so since I am not there to observe for myself.

What I'm reporting is based on what's in the newspapers in Milan right now. These things do get blown up in the media, but there has definitely been an increase in rape in Milan in recent years (all over the city), and the Station has been a trouble spot for as long as I've lived here (15 years).

Italy is a lot safer than many or most places in the world, including many places in the US. But that comparison is not helpful if it leads people to let their guard down and assume that they can take risks in Milan that they wouldn't do in, oh, pick a city - Cleveland.

As to the locations of the hotels... I hesitated over whether to say anything about this. I don't know why so many of the fancy hotels are in that area, but their location is no guarantee of your safety once you're out the door. I wonder if they warn their guests about that.

2-3 years ago I attended a meeting of the Professional Women's Association of Milan in a big hotel a few blocks from the Central Station. I assumed that afterwards (9:30 pm) I would simply walk back to the station to catch my train home. Many women at the meeting - both long- and short-term residents of Milan - warned me not to. In the end, those who needed to get back to the station shared cabs for a ridiculously short ride.

It is perfectly possible to use Milan's Central Station for all your comings and goings in complete safety. Just be alert and aware of your surroundings, and don't be outside the station alone at night. Even if this means taking a cab for just a few blocks.

"But that comparison is not helpful if it leads people to let their guard down and assume that they can take risks in Milan that they wouldn't do in, oh, pick a city - Cleveland."

I think people can take risks in Milano that they shouldn't take in Cleveland. Milano is safer than Cleveland and will always be until America gets serious about gun control, for instance. Even without guns, your chances of being violently assaulted in Milano after dark are really extremely small, especially in comparison with any American city you can name.

Also in Milano's favor is that while the Centrale train station area is indeed the dodgiest area a tourist is likely to encounter in Milano, it is still 100 times safer than the worst areas of Cleveland.

Female tourists (especially at night) have to take special precautions in any locale with which they are not familiar. They should know exactly where they are going and unless they know their route is completely on busy, well-lit streets, they should take a metered, licensed taxi cab, preferably one called for them by their hotel or restaurant. This is true everywhere you travel (with the possible exception of Tokyo).

Note too that on weekends the offices and businesses along the main road to the station are closed and it can become deserted really fast on a Friday evening.

We had been walking from the station to our hotel daily but the times we returned after dark on a Friday we got concerned. If anything were to happen there is nowhere to turn and no one to turn too. We were harassed but made it to the hotel fine but shaken.

This can happen at any public station except maybe at Mayberry, rfd.

And it should be noted that if you feel you want a cab at Centrale Milano, you will have no trouble whatsoever getting one simply by going to the entrance to the station. There are always many lined up there.

"Female tourists (especially at night) have to take special precautions in any locale with which they are not familiar. ...This is true everywhere you travel (with the possible exception of Tokyo)."

Very true. In fact, my first reaction to the question "is it safe?" has always been "Are you female? Then no."

Good points about taxis. If you're travelling with an Italian SIM card for your cell phone, have handy the "radio taxi" numbers for whatever city you're in, e.g. in Milan one is 02 4040. More are listed on http://www.milanostyle.com/01/cityinfo_taxi_01.htm
These are taxi dispatch services who will find the closest taxi and get it to you.

Another safety step is to call a taxi from inside before you leave whatever place; sometimes you may have to wait a while, and you're better off waiting indoors.

AFAIK, taxis in Italy are extremely safe, whether you call or pick one up at a taxi stand (you cannot flag them down in the street). Years ago one driver did warn me against going to stands early in the morning - he said that sometimes gypsy cabs would take advantage of the lack of real taxi drivers at that hour, and then "anything could happen." But he may have been exaggerating to get me to call his particular radio taxi number.

Deirdre,
Do you know anything about the situation around Torino Porta Nuova and Bologna Centrale? in Torino my hotel is on the Corso Vittorio Emmnuele II, about 400 metres from the Station's entrance. I'd like to keep that reservation because of my short stay and conveniency to the station (I will need to walk there at around 7:15 AM on a Monday). I know the Corso and don't intend to walk around after 20:00-21:00.
In Bologna, I'll be staying in the centre of town but will take day trips by train. Would you say it's OK to walk from the train station to my B&B? it's about a 15-minute walk. Again, I guess I won't be walking late, but at about 19:00-21:00.
Thanks.

Keren,

I've been at both stations and was uncomfortable in Torino's late at night, mainly because someone who was drunk threw a bottle at someone else and it crashed about 10 feet from me. My impressions of the Bologna's train station have always been more favorable, perhaps because it is so well lit and modern, and I can't imagine you would have any trouble with day trips.

In my experience, Italians are very protective of female tourists and will advise you of any danger (as Dierdre reported). Just ask the people at your hotel or b&b if there are places you need to be careful near where you are staying. They will not take offense to have a women who is travelling alone ask.

Thanks, Nessundorma.
I think I'll be fine. I actually arrive in Torino at 13:30 and don't intend to take day trips from there. It's just walking along the Corso that I was a little concerned about, but repete said he found it safe and I actually remember it as being OK from previous visits.