Where to spend your first night when flying into Milan

Pauline Kenny

When flying into Milan, it is a good idea to plan a short drive or train ride for that first day. We have a few different options:

Spend a Night or Two on Lake Maggiore or Lake Como
Spend the night and have dinner in the Modena area
Spend a Night or Two in Bergamo

Spend a Night or Two on Lake Maggiore or Lake Como

Spend your first couple of nights on Lake Maggiore or Lake Como - both are short trips from the Milan airport. You can pickup your rental car and do a short drive to the lakes.

Spend the Night and Have Dinner in the Modena Area

Bill from Montefollonico, December 2001, recommends staying near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region. He recommends the following hotels: Arnaldo's in Rubiera and Villa Gaidello in Castelfranco Emilia. He also recommends the restaurant Osteria di Rubbiara. See the Hotel Reviews and the Restaurant Reviews sections for the Emilia-Romagna region.

Bill writes: We've been going to all these places for 10+ years and have never been disappointed. All of them are in the Modena area. Modena is one of those towns that many guide books don't care for - but we've always loved it.

Spend a Night or Two in Bergamo

Colleen from CA (moderator) recommends staying in Bergamo. See her review of Hotel Il Gourmet in the hotel reviews for Lombardy.

Colleen writes: One comment about getting to Bergamo via train. It's much easier to get there and back from Milan than it is coming from Venice. It's less than an hour via train from Milan, which makes it a good place to stay and recuperate upon arrival in Italy. I also stayed at the hotel on my last night in Italy, prior to flying out from Malpensa. I took the train to Bergamo from Venice, which was a slow "milk run" train, with multiple stops and a change of trains in Brescia. Not the best way to spend an afternoon! Live and learn and pass it on.

Where to spend your last night when flying from Milan

You can stay at a hotel near the airport, in Milan or an hours drive away to the north on one of the lakes.

We have some recommended hotels near the Milan airport: Villa Malpensa and Hotel Cervo. See our Hotel Reviews section (Lombardy) for more information.