Milan runs on one zone-based fare that covers its metro, trams, and buses, and the system is compact enough that most visitors only ever need the innermost zone. The city also has two airports — Malpensa, the big international hub out in the countryside, and Linate, small and close enough that a metro line reaches right into downtown. Knowing which one you’re flying through changes your whole “getting from the airport” plan.
The basics
ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi), wholly owned by the City of Milan, runs almost everything you’ll ride day to day:
- Metro — five lines: M1 (red), M2 (green), M3 (yellow), M4 (blue), and M5 (lilac). M4 and M5 are newer, fully automated, driverless lines; M4 runs straight from Linate Airport through the center.
- Trams and buses fill in everywhere the metro doesn’t reach, including some of Milan’s old-school yellow trams still running on their original routes. Trolleybuses cover a handful of routes too.
- BikeMi, the city’s bike-share network, has over 5,400 bikes — including e-bikes and child-seat bikes — at 325 stations, and it’s built to work alongside your regular ATM travel card.
Trenord runs the separate suburban S-line trains that cross the city and reach out into the region, plus the dedicated Malpensa Express airport train. Trenord tickets are part of the same integrated fare zones as ATM’s, but the Malpensa Express itself has its own fare.
How to pay
Milan retired paper single-ride tickets on January 1, 2026 — you now pay one of three ways:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) directly on the reader at a metro turnstile, or when boarding a tram, bus, or trolleybus. No commission, no registration needed — you’re charged the standard fare automatically, and the system uses the same card to work out your cheapest total for the day.
- Get a RicaricaMi card — a rechargeable card sold and topped up at metro ticket machines and newsstands/tobacconists carrying the ATM sign — and load it with single rides, day tickets, or a 10-ride carnet.
- Buy and validate in the ATM Milano app, which also lets you carry a digital pass instead of a physical card.
Always tap out, not just in. On the metro, tap your card or device again at the exit gate — skip it and the system charges you the maximum fare to the farthest possible station instead of your actual one. Keep using the same card or device for an entire trip; switching partway confuses the fare calculation.
Fares
| Fare | |
|---|---|
| Single ticket (90 minutes, metro + surface transfers) | €2.20 |
| Single-day ticket | €7.60 |
| 3-day ticket | €15.50 |
| 10-ride carnet | €19.50 |
| Weekly urban pass | €18.50 |
| Monthly urban pass | €39 |
| Annual urban pass | €330 |
Under-14s ride free across the whole fare area — just carry ID.
If you pay contactless, you don’t need to plan any of this: tap the same card all day and from your fourth trip in 24 hours, the system automatically switches you to the €7.60 day-fare rate instead of charging four separate single fares. It’s the closest thing to fare capping without buying a pass.
Getting from the airport
Milan has two airports, and they call for different plans.
From Malpensa (MXP), the main international airport, take the Malpensa Express train:
- Cost: €15 one-way, €25 round trip (children aged 4–13 pay €7.50; under 4 ride free with a paying parent).
- Time: 51 minutes to Milano Centrale.
- How often: every 30 minutes, with departures from Centrale at :25 and :55.
- Hours: first train from Centrale at 5:25am, last at 11:25pm. (A separate branch runs to Milano Cadorna instead, if that’s closer to where you’re staying.)
- This is a dedicated Trenord service with its own fare — a standard ATM or RicaricaMi ticket does not cover it.
From Linate (LIN), the closer, smaller airport, take the M4 metro — the station sits right at the terminal:
- Cost: the standard €2.20 ticket, same as any other ride.
- Time: 12 minutes to San Babila in the city center, where M4 connects to M1.
- Hours: M4 runs every day from early morning until around 12:30am; after that, the NM4 night bus covers the same route.
Apps to download
- ATM Milano — the official app for ATM’s network: buy and validate tickets, get real-time arrivals, and check which metro lifts and escalators are working.
- Trenord — for Malpensa Express tickets and live train times.
- Google Maps — handles trip planning across metro, tram, bus, and Trenord services in one search.
When it runs
The metro operates every day from early morning to around 12:30am. Once the trains stop, NM1 through NM4 night buses retrace the metro routes overnight, every night of the week, until metro service resumes in the morning. On weekend nights (Friday into Saturday, and Saturday into Sunday), an additional set of “N”-numbered night bus lines runs on top of that core network.
Trams and city buses run throughout the day; frequency drops noticeably late in the evening, so budget more waiting time for a last-minute trip home.
Accessibility
M1, M3, M4, and M5 are fully accessible — every station and train on those lines has step-free access. M2 is close behind, with lift upgrades still underway at its last few remaining stations. Every ATM city bus and trolleybus is wheelchair-accessible. The ATM Milano app and website both show real-time status for every metro lift and escalator, so you can check before you rely on one.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Tap out, every time — it’s the single most common way visitors get overcharged on Milan’s contactless system.
- Keep to the same card or phone for an entire journey, including transfers — swapping mid-trip breaks the fare calculation.
- Milan’s older trams and some M1/M2 stations still have stairs-only sections — if you’re travelling with luggage or a stroller, check the app’s accessibility status before you commit to a route.
Good to know
- Milan has two airports with very different profiles. Malpensa is the big international one, well out of town, served by the Malpensa Express train. Linate is small, close, and reached directly by the M4 metro for the price of a normal ticket — double-check which one your flight actually uses.
- Fare inspectors do check tickets, and a fine can be appealed or paid online, at an ATM Point, by post, or in installments — but it’s simpler to just tap in and out correctly.
- RicaricaMi replaced paper tickets on January 1, 2026. If you’re going by an old guide or app review that mentions buying a paper ticket at a machine, that’s now out of date.