I managed the Ex-TEE once - stood in the equipment area for the voltage change!
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Milan recommendations
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Joey Beauchamp
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We're also off to Lombardy for a week and I was planning to buy the IO VIAGGIO OVUNQUE IN LOMBARDIA 7 day ticket for myself, my wife and my five year old as it stated that every passenger needed one and there were no concessions.
However this website clearly states that under 14's travel free with paying adults if you fill in a form: https://www.regione.lombardia.it/wp...lombardia/biglietti-e-agevolazioni/io-viaggio
Is this correct? Given the day trips we are planning, this ticket just seems incredible value - the same website informs me it is valid on the Lake Iseo boats and all of the cable cars / funicular railways we were planning on using anyway.
Can I rock up to a station ticket office (in this case Ponte San Pietro) and sort all this out? I could do this on the afternoon we arrive to avoid delaying our trip the next day. I don't speak or write Italian, if that's likely to be needed?
However this website clearly states that under 14's travel free with paying adults if you fill in a form: https://www.regione.lombardia.it/wp...lombardia/biglietti-e-agevolazioni/io-viaggio
Is this correct? Given the day trips we are planning, this ticket just seems incredible value - the same website informs me it is valid on the Lake Iseo boats and all of the cable cars / funicular railways we were planning on using anyway.
Can I rock up to a station ticket office (in this case Ponte San Pietro) and sort all this out? I could do this on the afternoon we arrive to avoid delaying our trip the next day. I don't speak or write Italian, if that's likely to be needed?
Your 5 year old can travel for free on most public transport. You do however need to request the Io Viaggio in Famiglia card online, and pick it up at a Trenord ticket office (do not get it in PDF format else it's only valid on Trenord)
You can get the IO VIAGGIO OVUNQUE IN LOMBARDIA for you and your wife, either on the Trenord app, website, or at any Trenord ticket machine
Day tickets | Trenord
Discover all the types of day tickets, STIBM and IVOL for one or more days.
Last edited:
Joey Beauchamp
Member
- Joined
- 5 Sep 2018
- Messages
- 232
Thanks. I'm hitting a few problems:Your 5 year old can travel for free on most public transport. You do however need to request the Io Viaggio in Famiglia card online, and pick it up at a Trenord ticket office (do not get it in PDF format else it's only valid on Trenord)
You can get the IO VIAGGIO OVUNQUE IN LOMBARDIA for you and your wife, either on the Trenord app, website, or at any Trenord ticket machine
Day tickets | Trenord
Discover all the types of day tickets, STIBM and IVOL for one or more days.www.trenord.it
We're travelling next week so I don't have 30 days to pick a card up. It says the following, so does that mean the provisional form will be valid on all transport, not just Trenord?
- For customers who also use public transport other than Trenord, the Io Viaggio in Famiglia card must only be requested in physical format, by accessing the same online form. The card will be available after 30 days at the Trenord ticket office indicated during the request phase (while waiting for the card, it will still be possible to travel with a provisional form, valid for 60 days, which will be sent with the email requesting the card).
404
www.regione.lombardia.it
It seems you can just fill the form yourself and it is valid valid for 60 days without needing the card
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
The card does seem to be for convenience of not having to carry a piece of paper all the time
boiledbeans2
Member
This post has railway-related tips only:
Ticket
You can get a day pass, valid within Mi1 - Mi3 fare zones for 7.60€. Alternatively, a 3 consecutive day pass for 15.50€. Valid on metro, tram, bus, Trenord within the zones. I'm not sure if Trenitalia is valid but no one checked my ticket when I tried it. Travelling Mi1 - Mi3 on Trenitalia trains is the equivalent of travelling Liverpool Street - Stratford. It's only a short ride and a lot more people would be getting onboard at Stratford/the Mi3 station, so it makes sense to do the ticket check afterwards.
If your first usage is on the metro, the ticket will be validated at the ticket barriers, and the date/time of valdiation will be printed on the ticket. If your first journey is the bus/tram, remember to validate on the onboard readers. If the first trip is on the mainline, then remember to validate with the station readers.
(EDIT: UPDATED PARAGRAPH) Buying this ticket at Centrale FS metro station will take some time because of the long queues. Might be a good option to buy at Trenord machines at Milano Centrale. Alternatively, might be worth a short walk to the nearby Caiazzo station where there will be no tourists at the ticket machines. Caiazzo station with respect to Milano Centrale is the equivalent of Embankment tube station with respect to Charing Cross NR station. If you exit Milano Centrale from one of the side exits, Caiazzo might indeed be the nearer metro station.
If you're a ticket collector, the day pass is available from both Trenord and ATM (metro) machines, which print the ticket on their respective company's stock.
Metro
M1 is the oldest and most interesting of them. It is powered by 4th rail. However, only the centre rail resembles LU. The outer power rail is of the overturned type of newer systems, such as the DLR.
There are 3 types of stocks running - all are interesting.
1) Traditional trains:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Milano_Metropolitana_MM1.jpg
Based on a 1960s design, but the ones still alive are later batches built in the 70s and 80s. Heavily refurbished today, with walk through carraiges.
2) Meneghino
2000s design, with good "gear changing" sounds when accelerating:
3) Leonardo
2010s design, with very loud "gear changing" sounds when accelerating:
M2 is the only line with overground sections at the extreme ends of the lines. The eastern end goes all the way out to Mi6 fare zone. It's their equivalent of the Metropolitan line. Operates with Meneghino and Leonardo trains. I believe only the newer Leonardo trains go all the way out to Mi6.
M3 uses 90s era Series 8000 trains and Meneghino trains. The Series 8000 trains were made in multiple batches, and each batch looks and sounds slightly different.
M4 & M5 are fully automated lines, so you can walk to the front of the train, look out to the tracks, and be the "driver".
What I liked about the metro lines was that the English annoucements are in heavily accented Italian - they didn't use a native English speaker. In addition, the station names only exist in Italian. So numbers in the station name (e.g. QT8) are pronounced Italian only.
Trams
As mentioned in earlier posts, the Class 1500 are worth riding. They are the oldest trams, built in the 1920s, single-car:
Another old tram worth riding are the Class 4600/4700 trams, built in the 1950s, 2-car:
Outside Milano Centrale, you should see Class 1500s. In the Duomo area and Navigli area, you should see both 1500s and 4600/4700s.
Trains
The above Mi1-Mi3 day ticket will give you access to Milano Centrale. You can easily spend an hour there, admiring all the different trains as well as station architecture. Milano Centrale is truly large and grand.
Spot the italo AGVs - which were supposed to be the next generation TGVs. Eventually, only a single operator purchased them - italo.
Milano Porta Garibaldi is also worth a visit. Not for the architecture, but for the trains. Plenty of trains, including the TGVs, stop there. No ticket barriers.
S-Trains
The Passante is equivalent to Thameslink/Crossrail. An underground section where many of the S-train routes merge into an underground single core, providing a high frequency service, before the S-train routes split again as it exits the core. Nothing much to see though, it's more of the ride on double decker trains through dark and gloomy underground stations.
The Trenord S-trains are run by double decker TSR EMUs with some exceptions.
S9 (non-passante) is push-pull loco-hauled E464 with piano ribassato coaches. The trains are heavily grafittied, so you will need to spend time looking for an unobstructed window.
S7 (also non-passante) is operated by Stadler DMUs
Some of the S-train routes out of Porta Garibaldi are the newest Hitachi Caravaggio/Rock trains. If you want a taste of a modern train, with LCD displays and a new and clean interior, this is the one to ride.
Railway Day Trips
Genoa/Genova is a possible 1 day-trip. Funiculars and lifts are worth riding. It used to be free for everyone, but is now only free for citizens. More details in my older posts here (see posts #18 & #28)
www.railforums.co.uk
Bernina Express
One of the most amazing train rides into the Swiss mountains:
Doing Milano-Tirano-St. Moritz (half the route) and back is easily possible on a day trip. If you want to go all the way to the end: Milano-Tirano-St. Moritz-Chur and back, you'll need to wake up early and leave at 6am - here is an example itinerary:
community.ricksteves.com
I did the full journey over 2 days for a more relaxed trip.
Ticket
You can get a day pass, valid within Mi1 - Mi3 fare zones for 7.60€. Alternatively, a 3 consecutive day pass for 15.50€. Valid on metro, tram, bus, Trenord within the zones. I'm not sure if Trenitalia is valid but no one checked my ticket when I tried it. Travelling Mi1 - Mi3 on Trenitalia trains is the equivalent of travelling Liverpool Street - Stratford. It's only a short ride and a lot more people would be getting onboard at Stratford/the Mi3 station, so it makes sense to do the ticket check afterwards.
If your first usage is on the metro, the ticket will be validated at the ticket barriers, and the date/time of valdiation will be printed on the ticket. If your first journey is the bus/tram, remember to validate on the onboard readers. If the first trip is on the mainline, then remember to validate with the station readers.
(EDIT: UPDATED PARAGRAPH) Buying this ticket at Centrale FS metro station will take some time because of the long queues. Might be a good option to buy at Trenord machines at Milano Centrale. Alternatively, might be worth a short walk to the nearby Caiazzo station where there will be no tourists at the ticket machines. Caiazzo station with respect to Milano Centrale is the equivalent of Embankment tube station with respect to Charing Cross NR station. If you exit Milano Centrale from one of the side exits, Caiazzo might indeed be the nearer metro station.
If you're a ticket collector, the day pass is available from both Trenord and ATM (metro) machines, which print the ticket on their respective company's stock.
Metro
M1 is the oldest and most interesting of them. It is powered by 4th rail. However, only the centre rail resembles LU. The outer power rail is of the overturned type of newer systems, such as the DLR.
There are 3 types of stocks running - all are interesting.
1) Traditional trains:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Milano_Metropolitana_MM1.jpg
Based on a 1960s design, but the ones still alive are later batches built in the 70s and 80s. Heavily refurbished today, with walk through carraiges.
2) Meneghino
2000s design, with good "gear changing" sounds when accelerating:
3) Leonardo
2010s design, with very loud "gear changing" sounds when accelerating:
M2 is the only line with overground sections at the extreme ends of the lines. The eastern end goes all the way out to Mi6 fare zone. It's their equivalent of the Metropolitan line. Operates with Meneghino and Leonardo trains. I believe only the newer Leonardo trains go all the way out to Mi6.
M3 uses 90s era Series 8000 trains and Meneghino trains. The Series 8000 trains were made in multiple batches, and each batch looks and sounds slightly different.
M4 & M5 are fully automated lines, so you can walk to the front of the train, look out to the tracks, and be the "driver".
What I liked about the metro lines was that the English annoucements are in heavily accented Italian - they didn't use a native English speaker. In addition, the station names only exist in Italian. So numbers in the station name (e.g. QT8) are pronounced Italian only.
Trams
As mentioned in earlier posts, the Class 1500 are worth riding. They are the oldest trams, built in the 1920s, single-car:
Another old tram worth riding are the Class 4600/4700 trams, built in the 1950s, 2-car:
Outside Milano Centrale, you should see Class 1500s. In the Duomo area and Navigli area, you should see both 1500s and 4600/4700s.
Trains
The above Mi1-Mi3 day ticket will give you access to Milano Centrale. You can easily spend an hour there, admiring all the different trains as well as station architecture. Milano Centrale is truly large and grand.
Spot the italo AGVs - which were supposed to be the next generation TGVs. Eventually, only a single operator purchased them - italo.
Milano Porta Garibaldi is also worth a visit. Not for the architecture, but for the trains. Plenty of trains, including the TGVs, stop there. No ticket barriers.
S-Trains
The Passante is equivalent to Thameslink/Crossrail. An underground section where many of the S-train routes merge into an underground single core, providing a high frequency service, before the S-train routes split again as it exits the core. Nothing much to see though, it's more of the ride on double decker trains through dark and gloomy underground stations.
The Trenord S-trains are run by double decker TSR EMUs with some exceptions.
S9 (non-passante) is push-pull loco-hauled E464 with piano ribassato coaches. The trains are heavily grafittied, so you will need to spend time looking for an unobstructed window.
S7 (also non-passante) is operated by Stadler DMUs
Some of the S-train routes out of Porta Garibaldi are the newest Hitachi Caravaggio/Rock trains. If you want a taste of a modern train, with LCD displays and a new and clean interior, this is the one to ride.
Railway Day Trips
Genoa/Genova is a possible 1 day-trip. Funiculars and lifts are worth riding. It used to be free for everyone, but is now only free for citizens. More details in my older posts here (see posts #18 & #28)
Italy photography
In July I travel to Italy for the first time and I was wondering how do I go about spotting at the big stations there Milan, Venice, Rome etc. Do I need platform tickets, normal ticket and are staff and police ok with rail enthusiasts there. Seen lots of Italian railway videos on Youtube and...
www.railforums.co.uk
Bernina Express
One of the most amazing train rides into the Swiss mountains:
Doing Milano-Tirano-St. Moritz (half the route) and back is easily possible on a day trip. If you want to go all the way to the end: Milano-Tirano-St. Moritz-Chur and back, you'll need to wake up early and leave at 6am - here is an example itinerary:
Milan: Swiss Alps Bernina Express Rail Tour - Rick Steves Travel Forum
Hi! I appreciate your suggestions here. I've searched the forum for like content unsuccessfully. We have been looking at day trips from Milan, this spring, and one option being the "Swiss Alps Bernina Express Rail Tour" from Milan on viator. The reviews are so varying...from "Don't miss it,...
community.ricksteves.com
Last edited:
rf_ioliver
Member
- Joined
- 17 Apr 2011
- Messages
- 1,024
I think most of these have been said, but if you visit Il Duomo, you (at least last time I was there) can get access to the roof ! Check out Il Cavallo di Leonaro da Vinci at Hippodromo San Siro - I saw it unveiled in 1999.
Take the train up to Como, then back via the mainline station - you can also continue up to Swtizerland from there too..
I'll off to Milan myself in September, so I'm quietly taking notes here!
Take the train up to Como, then back via the mainline station - you can also continue up to Swtizerland from there too..
I'll off to Milan myself in September, so I'm quietly taking notes here!
Italian citizens residing in the metropolis*. Just having a Italian passport will not make those free sadly.
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