Quick answer
Take the direct regional train (TILO RE80) from Milano Centrale. It leaves every hour at 43 minutes past, takes 1 hour 15 minutes and costs about €15 to €16, with no booking needed. Bring your passport, because Lugano is in Switzerland and prices are in Swiss francs. A day is enough for the old town, the lakefront and a funicular up Monte San Salvatore or Monte Brè.
Train times and fares below come from the Trenitalia and Trenord booking sites, and opening hours from the official Lugano sites, all checked on 5 October 2026. TILO has warned of changes to some RE80 trains between Chiasso, Como and Milano Centrale on certain days between 9 October and 23 November 2026, so check your train in the app the day before.
Milan to Lugano by train: regional or EuroCity
Two kinds of direct train run from Milano Centrale to Lugano. Both follow the same line past Como and cross into Switzerland at Chiasso.
| Regional (TILO RE80) | EuroCity (EC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 1 h 15 min | 1 h 18 min (one train takes 1 h 40) |
| Departures from Centrale | Hourly at :43, 6:43am to 10:43pm | Most hours at :10, 7:10am to 8:10pm |
| Price, one way | About €15 to €16, fixed | €21 booked five weeks ahead, €30 the day before |
| Seat reservation | None | Mandatory, included |
| Best for | Day trips, flexibility | Continuing to Zurich or Basel |
For a day in Lugano, the regional train is the better deal. It is slightly faster, costs less than the EuroCity and does not need booking. It also stops at Lugano-Paradiso four minutes before Lugano, which is the stop for the Monte San Salvatore funicular.
Regional trains (TILO RE80)
TILO is a joint company of Trenord and the Swiss railways, and the RE80 runs from Milano Centrale to Lugano and on to Locarno. The 2026 timetable has a departure every hour at 43 minutes past, from 6:43am. Trains arrive in Lugano at 58 minutes past the following hour, so the 8:43am gets you there at 9:58am. The last trains of the evening, at 9:43pm and 10:43pm, take a few minutes longer.
The one-way fare is about €15 to €16, so check the price when you buy. Regional fares are fixed, so there is no advantage in buying early.
EuroCity trains
The EuroCity is the Milan to Zurich train, and it calls at Como and Chiasso before Lugano. In October and November 2026, 12 trains a day leave Milano Centrale at 10 past the hour between 7:10am and 8:10pm. Seats are assigned and the reservation is included in the ticket. Fares vary with demand: on 5 October 2026 Trenitalia charged €21 on every EuroCity five weeks ahead, and €30 for travel the next day. If you are going on to Zurich, our Milan to Zurich train guide covers that route in full.
How to buy Milan to Lugano tickets
For the regional train, buy a Trenord cross-border ticket on trenord.it, in the Trenord app, at the station machines or at the ticket office. In Italy these tickets are sold only in euros. The Swiss railways (SBB) sell the same tickets in francs.
- A one-way cross-border ticket is valid for 4 hours.
- If your ticket has no start time printed on it, validate it in the machine on the platform before you board. A ticket bought in the app for a set time does not need validating.
- In Ticino, the ticket also covers the local Arcobaleno network you need to reach your destination station.
For the EuroCity, book on trenitalia.com, sbb.ch or the apps. If you prefer one site in English with all train companies, compare Milan to Lugano trains on Trainline.
Milano Centrale is a big station with ticket gates at the platforms; our Milano Centrale guide explains the gates and where the machines are.
Passport, border and Swiss francs
Switzerland is in the Schengen area, so there is no routine passport control when the train crosses at Chiasso. It is not in the EU customs union, though, and Swiss customs officers can check passengers and goods on the train. Carry your passport for the whole day.
Lugano is in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, so signs and menus are in Italian. Prices are in Swiss francs (CHF). Plan to pay by card, and check that your card has no foreign transaction fee.
From Lugano station to the lake
Lugano station is on the hill above the town. The Sassellina funicularMap runs from the station down to Piazza Cioccaro in the old town in 92 seconds. It runs continuously every day from 5am to 12:15am and costs CHF 1.30 per ride. The ticket machine takes francs, euro coins and credit cards.
From Piazza Cioccaro, the lake is a short walk downhill through the old town.
What to see in Lugano in a day
Lugano’s centre is compact. You can walk the old town and the lakefront in a morning and save the afternoon for one of the two mountains.
Old town: Piazza della Riforma and Via Nassa
Piazza della Riforma is the main square, closed on one side by the neoclassical town hall, built in 1840 to 1844.
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Piazza della Riforma, Lugano's main square, with the neoclassical town hall.
Via Nassa, a pedestrian shopping street, leads off the square under a long row of porticoes. At the far end, the church of Santa Maria degli AngioliMap was built between 1499 and 1515. Inside are frescoes by Bernardino Luini, a painter of Leonardo’s circle, who worked there from 1527 to 1530. If you have seen the Last Supper in Milan, this is a good second stop on the same theme.
Lakefront and Parco Ciani
From the old town, walk east along the lake to Parco CianiMap, a city park of more than 63,000 square metres with palms, camellias and magnolias, statues and a small beach where the Cassarate river meets the lake. Entry is free, and from March to October it is open daily from 6:30am to 11:30pm (until 9pm from November to February).
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Flower beds and plane trees along the lake in Parco Ciani.
LAC and the MASI art museum
On the lake at Piazza Bernardino Luini, the LAC cultural centre houses MASI LuganoMap, the art museum of Italian-speaking Switzerland. It opens Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays): 11am to 6pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, until 8pm on Thursday, and 10am to 6pm on weekends and holidays. Ticket prices change with each exhibition. Entry is free on the first Thursday of the month from 6pm to 8pm.
Monte San Salvatore
The Monte San Salvatore funicularMap leaves from Paradiso, 5 minutes on foot from Lugano-Paradiso station, and reaches the summit in about 12 minutes, every 30 minutes. A return costs CHF 32 (CHF 25 one way, CHF 14 return for ages 6 to 16).
Lake Lugano and the city, seen from the summit of Monte San Salvatore.
In 2026 it runs daily 9am to 6pm until 24 October, then 9am to 5pm until 8 November. It closes from 9 November 2026 to 12 March 2027 for work on the summit restaurant, so in winter go up Monte Brè instead.
Monte Brè
The Monte Brè funicularMap starts in Lugano-Cassarate, east of Parco Ciani, with a change of car at Suvigliana. The upper section runs every 30 minutes, 9am to 7pm until 31 October and 9am to 5pm from November to March. A return costs CHF 26 (CHF 17 one way). It closes from 11 January to 12 February 2027 and on Christmas Day.
A day trip from Milan to Lugano: sample plan
| Time | Plan |
|---|---|
| 8:43am | Regional train from Milano Centrale |
| 9:58am | Arrive in Lugano, funicular down to the old town |
| Morning | Piazza della Riforma, Via Nassa, Santa Maria degli Angioli |
| Midday | Lunch, then the lakefront and Parco Ciani |
| Afternoon | Monte San Salvatore (until 8 November) or Monte Brè |
| 5:02pm or 6:02pm | Regional train back, arriving Milano Centrale at 6:20pm or 7:20pm |
Direct regional trains leave Lugano for Milan at 2 minutes past every hour, and EuroCity trains at half past. On Tuesday 6 October 2026, the last direct regional left at 9:02pm and the last EuroCity at 9:30pm.
What a day costs
| Per adult | Cost |
|---|---|
| Regional train, Milan to Lugano and back | about €30 to €32 |
| Sassellina funicular, down and back up | CHF 2.60 |
| Monte San Salvatore funicular, return | CHF 32 |
| Old town, lakefront, Parco Ciani | Free |
Add lunch at Swiss prices.
Lake Como and Lugano in one day
Como is on the same railway line, so you can combine the two without a tour. Take the train from Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni (about 40 minutes, about €5.40). Spend the morning in Como, with the Duomo di ComoMap and the lakefront. Then take the RE80 on to Lugano, which takes 34 minutes, and the regional train back to Milan in the evening.
Bellagio and the central lake villages are harder to fit in, since they are about 2 hours from Como on the slow boat. That is where a coach tour helps: most combine Como or Bellagio, a short boat ride on Lake Como and a stop of a couple of hours in Lugano, for about €70 to €150 per person. Read what each listing includes, since lunch is usually extra. For Lake Como on its own, our Lake Como day trip guide has the trains and ferries, and best towns on Lake Como compares the villages.
Other day trips from Milan to Switzerland
Lugano is the easiest Swiss day trip from Milan, at 1 hour 15 minutes each way. Zurich is 3 hours 17 minutes on the direct EuroCity, which makes for a very long day; our Milan to Zurich train guide has the times and fares. The Bernina Express crosses the Alps from Tirano into Switzerland and is covered with the other options in our guide to day trips from Milan.
If you would rather stay a night by the lakes, compare where to stay on Lake Como or see our Milan and Lake Como itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the train from Milan to Lugano?
The direct regional train (TILO RE80) takes 1 hour 15 minutes from Milano Centrale, and the EuroCity takes 1 hour 18 minutes. Regional trains leave every hour at 43 minutes past, and EuroCity trains at 10 past most hours.
How much is the train from Milan to Lugano?
A regional ticket costs about €15 to €16 one way and the price does not change with the date. On the EuroCity, prices checked on 5 October 2026 were €21 for a trip five weeks ahead and €30 for the next day.
Do I need a passport to go from Milan to Lugano?
Yes, carry it. Switzerland is in the Schengen area, so there is no routine passport control, but it is outside the EU customs union and checks can happen on the train or at Chiasso.
Do I need to book the Milan to Lugano train in advance?
Not for the regional train, which has no seat reservations and a fixed fare, so you can buy it on the day. The EuroCity has a mandatory seat reservation included in the ticket, and its cheapest fares sell out, so book that one ahead.
Can I use euros in Lugano?
Prices in Lugano are in Swiss francs. The ticket machines for the funicular from the station take euro coins as well as francs and cards, but bring a card that works abroad for everything else.
Can you do Lake Como and Lugano in one day from Milan?
Yes. Take the train to Como San Giovanni (about 40 minutes), spend the morning in Como, then take the regional train on to Lugano (34 minutes) and come back to Milan in the evening (1 hour 18 minutes). Coach tours from Milan do the same with Bellagio and a boat ride.
What is the last train from Lugano to Milan?
On Tuesday 6 October 2026, the last direct regional left Lugano at 9:02pm and the last EuroCity at 9:30pm. Check the evening times in the Trenord or SBB app for your date.