How to Get from Milan Malpensa Airport to the City Centre (2026 Guide)
19 June 2026
Disclaimer: All prices, schedules and service details in this article reflect information available in June 2026. Transport fares and timetables change regularly — always verify the latest information on the official websites of each provider before you travel. The author and Faretus accept no liability for any inaccuracies, changes, or decisions made based on this content.
Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) sits about 50 kilometres northwest of the city centre — Milan's main intercontinental gateway, and the airport you'll land at for almost any long-haul flight into the city, along with the bulk of full-service European carriers. Unlike its budget cousin at Bergamo, Malpensa has a proper dedicated express train running directly into the heart of Milan, and the whole transfer system here is built around that train working well. It generally does.
What makes Malpensa worth a careful read before you fly is not complexity — it's two specific decisions that genuinely change your journey: which Milan station you're aiming for, and which terminal you've landed at. Get those two things right and the rest of the transfer takes care of itself.
There are five realistic options for the journey. All of them are below.
The two decisions that matter before you book a ticket
Which station — Centrale or Cadorna? The Malpensa Express runs two separate routes, both starting from the same airport platforms: one to Milano Centrale (Milan's main station, the hub for high-speed trains to Rome, Florence, Venice and beyond) taking about 51 minutes, and one to Milano Cadorna (closer to the Duomo, Sforza Castle, and the Brera district) taking about 38 minutes — genuinely faster, not just a different destination. If your hotel is anywhere near the historic centre, Cadorna is usually the better stop. If you're connecting onward by long-distance train, Centrale is where you need to be.
Which terminal — T1 or T2? Terminal 1 has its own train station built directly beneath it. Terminal 2, used primarily by easyJet, does not — there is no train platform there. If you land at T2 and want the train, you'll need to take the free shuttle bus to T1 first, adding roughly 15 minutes. The direct airport coaches, by contrast, serve both terminals equally, which is worth factoring in if you've landed at T2 and want to avoid the extra shuttle step.
The quick comparison
| Option | Price (one-way) | Time to centre | Frequency | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malpensa Express (train) | €15 | 38 min (Cadorna) / 51 min (Centrale) | Every 15 min | Most travellers, tight connections |
| Direct coach (Terravision / Autostradale) | €8–10 | 50–70 min | Every 20–30 min | Budget travellers, T2 arrivals |
| Taxi | €95–110 fixed | 45–80 min | On demand | Groups, late-night arrivals |
| Private transfer | from €65 | 45–60 min | Pre-booked | Families, business travel, tight schedules |
| Uber / FREE NOW | Limited, comparable to taxi | 45–80 min | On demand | Backup option, check on arrival |
Option 1 — Malpensa Express: the dedicated airport train, and the right default for most people
The Malpensa Express, run by Trenord, is a purpose-built airport rail service connecting both Malpensa terminals to three stations in Milan: Centrale, Cadorna, and Porta Garibaldi (on the Centrale-bound route only). Trains depart every 15 minutes from around 04:00 to 02:00, making it one of the most frequent dedicated airport trains in this entire guide series — you are very rarely waiting long.
The standard one-way adult fare is €15 regardless of which Milan station you're heading to; children aged 4–13 pay €7.50, and under-4s travel free with a paying adult. A same-day return costs €25, and a "Malpensa Family" ticket covering two adults and two children (4–17) is available for €36 — worth checking if you're travelling as a family, since it works out to roughly €9 per person.
Buy tickets at the Trenord machines on the platform level (follow signs reading "Treni/Trains" down to level -1 from arrivals), via the Trenord app, or online in advance — online booking occasionally includes modest discounts and lets you skip the machine queue. The trains have generous luggage space, air conditioning, and power sockets at the seats, though notably no onboard Wi-Fi.
The honest take: For most travellers — and especially anyone with a tight onward connection, an early or late flight, or simply a low tolerance for traffic uncertainty — the Malpensa Express is the right call. The 15-minute frequency means you're never waiting long, and the fixed schedule is immune to the A8 motorway congestion that can double a coach or taxi journey time during rush hour. The €15 fare is on the higher side for this guide series, but the reliability is real value, not just marketing.
Option 2 — Direct coach: cheaper, similar speed off-peak, and the only train-free way to Centrale from T2
Three operators — Terravision, Autostradale, and Malpensa Shuttle — run broadly comparable direct coach services from both Malpensa terminals to Milano Centrale, with stops along Piazza Luigi di Savoia, the same area used by the Bergamo coaches. Buses depart every 20–30 minutes and the journey takes 50–70 minutes, depending heavily on A8 motorway traffic — in light traffic it's close to the train's pace; during rush hour it can run considerably longer.
One-way fares start around €8–10 when booked online in advance, making this comfortably the cheapest direct public transport option to Milan. Buses serve both T1 and T2 equally, which means travellers arriving at T2 — where there's no train station — can board the coach directly without the extra shuttle-to-T1 step the train requires.
The honest take: For a solo or paired traveller without a tight connection, the coach saves roughly €5–7 over the train for a journey that's usually only slightly slower off-peak — genuinely good value. The trade-off is real traffic risk: a Friday evening departure can run noticeably longer than the timetable suggests, in a way the train simply doesn't experience. If your destination is Cadorna rather than Centrale, note that none of these coaches go there — you'd need the train or a taxi instead.
Option 3 — Taxi: an official flat rate, not a meter, and worth confirming before you get in
Milan operates an official, municipality-set flat fare for taxi journeys between Malpensa and any address within the city boundary: €95–110 depending on the source you check (the airport's own published rate has moved between €95 and €110 in recent updates — confirm the current rate on the official Malpensa Airport website before you fly, and confirm again with your driver before the doors close). This is not a metered fare and does not change with traffic, time of day, or exact distance within the city. The journey itself takes 45–80 minutes depending on conditions.
Two practical notes worth knowing in advance. First, the flat rate is not automatic — tell the driver your destination and explicitly ask for the fixed tariff before departing; a small number of drivers will default to the meter if you don't specify, and the metered fare can run considerably higher. Second, although all licensed Milan taxis are legally required to accept card payment, some drivers claim the card terminal is broken; carrying €110 in cash as a backup, or pre-booking a transfer where payment happens online in advance, removes this particular point of friction entirely.
Official ranks are at Gate 6 of Terminal 1 and Gate 4 of Terminal 2, on the arrivals level.
The honest take: For a solo traveller, €100+ against a €15 train ticket is a significant premium for a journey the train does just as fast or faster. For three or four people sharing, it drops to €25–33 per person — genuinely competitive with individual train fares while delivering door-to-door service, which matters more here given the 50km distance. The fixed-rate system is also one of the more transparent taxi setups in this entire guide series, once you know to ask for it explicitly.
Option 4 — Private transfer: worth it when reliability matters more than price
Given the airport's distance and the fact that the Malpensa Express does not run between roughly 01:00 and 04:00 — leaving a genuine overnight gap with no train service at all — a pre-booked private transfer earns a more central place in this guide than at most other airports in this series. Standard sedan transfers for up to three passengers start at around €65, with larger vehicles for groups or families running higher. Several operators serve MXP with flight tracking, a fixed price agreed before you land, and a driver waiting in arrivals regardless of how delayed your flight is.
The honest take: This is the right choice specifically for late-night or very early arrivals when the train isn't running, for business travellers who can't risk a strike or a traffic-heavy coach journey before an important meeting, and for families who'd rather pay a modest premium than manage luggage and connections after a long flight. At €65 split among three travellers, it's roughly €22 per person — genuinely close to the train fare while removing every logistical variable.
Option 5 — Uber and FREE NOW: check before relying on it
Uber operates in the Milan area, including pickups from Malpensa, though availability and pricing for the 50km airport run vary and are typically comparable to or above the official taxi flat rate rather than meaningfully cheaper. FREE NOW offers similar coverage, often booking licensed taxis through the app, which gives you the predictability of the fixed fare with the convenience of app booking.
The honest take: Treat ride-hailing here as a convenience layer on top of the taxi system rather than a genuinely cheaper alternative — at this airport, unlike some others in this series, the app rarely beats the official flat fare by a meaningful margin. Worth checking on arrival if you'd prefer to book from your phone rather than queue at a rank, but don't expect it to save you money.
Which option is right for you?
- Solo or pair, destination near Duomo / Brera / Sforza Castle → Malpensa Express to Cadorna. 38 minutes, €15, the faster of the two train routes.
- Solo or pair, connecting onward by high-speed train → Malpensa Express to Centrale. Same fare, direct connection to the national rail network.
- Budget priority, landed at either terminal, no tight connection → Direct coach to Milano Centrale. €8–10, similar speed off-peak.
- Landed at Terminal 2 specifically → Either the coach directly, or the free T2→T1 shuttle plus the train if Cadorna or a faster journey matters more than the extra 15 minutes.
- Group of three or four with luggage → Taxi with the confirmed flat rate. Per-head cost narrows enough to make door-to-door delivery worthwhile.
- Family with young children → Malpensa Family ticket on the train (€36 for two adults, two children) or a private transfer if luggage volume makes the train impractical.
- Arriving between 01:00 and 04:00 → Private transfer or taxi. The train doesn't run in this window.
- Business trip, tight schedule, can't afford delays → Private transfer, for the guaranteed driver-in-arrivals regardless of flight delay, or the train for its immunity to road traffic.
The one habit worth keeping
Malpensa is, by the standards of this guide series, a well-organised airport to leave. The express train is frequent, the coach is genuinely cheap, and the taxi fare is fixed and transparent once you know to ask for it explicitly. The only real risk is picking the wrong train destination for your hotel, or assuming Terminal 2 has its own train station when it doesn't. Check your terminal and your target station before you land, and the rest of the journey is close to effortless.
If you haven't found that flight in yet, the Faretus deals page is where to start.
All information in this article is based on publicly available data from official transport providers as of June 2026. Prices, schedules and service arrangements may change without notice. Always verify directly with the relevant provider — Trenord / Malpensa Express (malpensaexpress.it), Terravision (terravision.eu), Autostradale (autostradale.it), or Milan Malpensa Airport (milanomalpensa-airport.com) — before travelling. The author and Faretus bear no responsibility for any decisions made based on the content of this article.