Day trips from Milan: 9 trips by train, with times and fares

Train times and fares below come from live searches on the official Trenitalia booking engine and the Trenord, Italo and Swiss railway sites, run on 5 October 2026. Fares are one way, adult, second class. High-speed fares change by date, so they are quoted “from” the cheapest fare found about five weeks ahead.

Day trips from Milan compared

Destination	Fastest direct train	Cheapest fare	Best for
Lake Como (Como, Varenna)	40 min to Como, 65 min to Varenna	€5.40 / €7.40 regional	Lake villages and villas
Bergamo	48-55 min regional	€6.30 regional	A walled hill town, short budget day
Verona	1h13 Frecciarossa	€12.75 regional (1h52)	Roman Arena, Juliet’s House
Stresa (Lake Maggiore)	59 min EuroCity	€8.60 regional (1h11)	Island palaces and gardens
Lugano (Switzerland)	about 1h15 TILO	about €15-16 TILO	A second country, mountain views
Turin	44-51 min Frecciarossa	€12.90 regional (1h39)	The Egyptian Museum, cafés
Cinque Terre (Monterosso)	2h52 InterCity	from €13.90 booked ahead	Only if you can’t stay overnight
Venice	about 2h15 Italo, 2h27 Frecciarossa	from €14.90 (Italo)	A first look at Venice
Bernina Express (via Tirano)	2h30 to Tirano, then 2h15	€13 to Tirano + CHF 65	Alpine rail scenery

All trains leave from Milano Centrale, except the Cadorna service to Como Lago. Regional trains have fixed prices and no seat reservation, so you can buy on the day. For Frecciarossa and Italo, booking a few weeks ahead can cut the fare by more than half.

Lake Como

Train: Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni takes about 40 minutes (about €5.40). Milano Cadorna to Como Nord Lago, on the lakefront, takes about 60 minutes (€5.40) and runs every 30 minutes. For the central lake, Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino takes 64 to 65 minutes and costs €7.40.

What to see: Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio are 15 minutes apart by ferry. A central lake ferry day pass costs €17.50. The villa gardens are the main sights: Villa Melzi in Bellagio (€10, closes 1 November), Villa Monastero in Varenna (€15), Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo (€17.50) and Villa del Balbianello in Lenno (€15 for the park, booking required). Train and ferry for a Varenna day come to about €32 per adult before villa tickets.

Best for: first-time visitors who want the classic lake villages. You can do it without a tour.

The full route, ferry tickets and timings are in our Lake Como day trip from Milan guide, and Lake Como boat tours covers private and shared boats. Coach tours from Milan cost about €70 to €150 and often add a stop in Lugano: you can compare Lake Como day tours from Milan on GetYourGuide.

Bergamo

Train: Trenord regional trains run direct from Milano Centrale to Bergamo in 48 to 55 minutes, almost every hour, for €6.30. There are no high-speed trains on this line.

Getting up to the old town: a funicular climbs from the lower town to Città Alta. A single urban ticket costs €1.70 and lasts 75 minutes, and a 24-hour tourist ticket for the urban zone costs €4.90. Paper tickets were withdrawn in November 2024: use the ATB Mobile app or tap a contactless bank card on board.

What to see: Città Alta is ringed by Venetian walls more than 6 km long, built from 1561 and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017. They are free to walk. Piazza Vecchia is the main square, and the Renaissance Cappella Colleoni next to Santa Maria Maggiore is free to enter.

Best for: a short, cheap half or full day. A return train costs €12.60, and it fits well if you fly in or out of Bergamo airport (see Milan airports).

Verona

Train: Frecciarossa trains run direct to Verona Porta Nuova in 1 hour 13 to 1 hour 16, 19 times a day. They cost from €12.90 booked about five weeks ahead, and €35 to €47 the day before. Italo runs 7 trains a day in about 1 hour 12, from €8.90. The direct regional takes 1 hour 52 for a fixed €12.75.

What to see:

• The Arena, the Roman amphitheater: €12, open Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 7pm, closed Monday. It closes earlier on show days. The 2026 opera festival ran from 5 June to 12 September.
• Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House): €5 for the courtyard with the balcony view, €12 including the house. Tickets are sold only online at verona.coopculture.it, and even free visitors must book.
• VeronaCard: €33 for 24 hours or €38 for 48 hours, with free or reduced entry to the civic sights, including the Arena and Juliet’s House, plus city buses.

Best for: Romeo and Juliet fans and anyone interested in Roman history. Book the Frecciarossa ahead and Verona costs about the same as the slow regional.

Lake Maggiore: Stresa and the Borromean Islands

Train: the direct regional from Milano Centrale to Stresa takes 1 hour 11 for a fixed €8.60, about hourly. Two morning EuroCity trains do it in 59 minutes for €20.

Ferry: from Stresa, a single on the public ferry costs €4.00 to Isola Bella and €6.00 to Isola Madre (2026 fares). A return is double the single.

What to see: the Borromeo palaces and gardens on Isola Bella (€27) and Isola Madre (€23), or both for €40. Isola dei Pescatori is a fishing village with no entry ticket. The islands are open daily until 8 November 2026. From 25 October, last entry is at 4pm.

Best for: gardens, palaces and a slower day by the water. Rough cost: €17.20 return by regional train plus ferries plus €40 for both islands.

Lugano, Switzerland

Train: the TILO RE80 regional runs direct from Milano Centrale to Lugano in about 1 hour 15, almost every hour, for about €15 to €16 (Trenord quotes both figures). EuroCity trains take 1 hour 18 and cost from €21 booked ahead, €30 the day before. Some TILO trains are cancelled or changed between Milan, Como and Chiasso until 12 December 2026, so check before you travel.

Passport and money: Switzerland is in Schengen but outside the EU. Carry your passport on the train, as border checks can happen. Prices are in Swiss francs (CHF).

What to see: the lakefront and Parco Ciani, then a funicular up one of the two mountains:

• Monte San Salvatore: CHF 25 one way, CHF 32 return. Open until 8 November 2026, then closed until 12 March 2027.
• Monte Brè: CHF 17 one way, CHF 26 return. Closed 11 January to 12 February 2027.

Best for: adding a second country to your trip and getting a mountain view. Expect Swiss prices.

Turin

Train: Frecciarossa reaches Torino Porta Susa in 44 to 51 minutes and Porta Nuova in about 1 hour, from €13.90 booked ahead. Close to the date, fares ran from €38 up to €120 in our search. Italo runs 13 trains a day from €8.90. The direct regional takes 1 hour 39 to Porta Susa for a fixed €12.90.

What to see:

• Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum): €18, and you must buy tickets online.
• Mole Antonelliana and the National Cinema Museum: €18 for the museum, €9 for the panoramic lift, €23 for both. Lift tickets are limited.
• Musei Reali (Royal Palace and collections): €15, open 8:30am to 7pm.

Best for: museums and rainy days. With an advance Frecciarossa, it is one of the fastest and cheapest trips on this list.

Cinque Terre: can you do it in a day?

Train: 7 direct InterCity trains a day go from Milano Centrale to Monterosso in 2 hours 52 to 3 hours, the first at 6:10am. Fares start at €13.90 booked ahead and were €28.50 the day before.

Getting between the villages: regional trains link Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Until 1 November 2026, a single ride between them costs €5, €8 or €10 depending on the day’s demand band.

Is it worth it? You spend about 6 hours on trains for 6 to 8 hours in the villages, and you need the early train. It works if Milan is your only base and you don’t mind a long day. If you can, stay at least one night.

Venice

Train: Frecciarossa runs 13 direct trains a day to Venezia Santa Lucia in 2 hours 27 to 2 hours 34, from €19.90 booked about five weeks ahead and €49 to €52 the day before. Italo runs 7 trains in about 2 hours 15, from €14.90. Our Milan to Venice train guide compares every option.

Access fee: in 2026 Venice charged day visitors €5 (or €10 if paid in the last four days before the visit) on 60 set days between April and July, from 8:30am to 4pm. The trial ended on 27 July 2026, and the 2027 dates have not been published yet, so check the official portal at cda.veneziaunica.it before you go.

Best for: first-timers who can’t stay overnight in Venice. Book the train early, because the day-before fare is more than double.

Bernina Express

Train: Trenord regionals run direct from Milano Centrale to Tirano in about 2 hours 30 for €13. From Tirano, the Bernina Express crosses the Alps to St. Moritz in about 2 hours 15. The Albula and Bernina lines have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.

Price: Tirano to St. Moritz costs CHF 33 in second class plus a compulsory seat reservation of CHF 32, so CHF 65 one way. Everyone pays the reservation, including children and rail pass holders. Seats for the 2026/27 season go on sale on 13 October 2026. Regular Rhaetian Railway regional trains run the same line more often, with an optional CHF 5 seat reservation.

Can you do it in a day? About 4 hours 45 each way by train makes for a 12-hour-plus day. Most people do one leg on the train and the other by coach, or take an organized tour from Milan. You need your passport, as St. Moritz is in Switzerland.

Best for: rail fans and mountain scenery. This is the trip where an organized tour saves the most planning.

Organized day trips from Milan

Every trip on this page works by train on your own, and it is cheaper that way. A tour helps when the route has several legs: Lake Como with Lugano in one day, or the Bernina Express with a coach back to Milan. Read what each listing includes, such as entry tickets and lunch, and check the cancellation policy.

If this is your first time in Italy, our first trip to Italy guide helps you decide how many nights to give Milan, and how much a trip to Italy costs puts these fares in a full budget. For the city days before or after, see things to do in Milan and our 2 days in Milan itinerary.