Milan metro: lines, tickets, hours and how to ride it

Fares, hours and payment rules below were checked on 5 October 2026 on the official sites of ATM, Milan’s transit company, and of Linate Airport.

Milan metro lines and map

Each line has a number and a color, and the signs in the stations use both. Trains are labeled with the name of the last station, so check the terminus on the map before you walk onto a platform.

Line	Color	Runs between	Useful stops for visitors
M1	Red	Sesto 1° Maggio FS and Rho Fieramilano or Bisceglie	Duomo, Cairoli, Cadorna, Conciliazione, San Babila
M2	Green	Gessate or Cologno Nord and Abbiategrasso or Assago Forum	Centrale, Garibaldi, Lanza, Cadorna, Sant’Ambrogio, Porta Genova
M3	Yellow	Comasina and San Donato	Centrale, Repubblica, Montenapoleone, Duomo
M4	Blue	Linate Aeroporto and San Cristoforo	Linate Aeroporto, San Babila, Sant’Ambrogio
M5	Lilac	Bignami and San Siro Stadio	Garibaldi, Isola, Monumentale, San Siro Stadio

The M1 and M2 split into branches at their ends. Before you board, read the destination on the front of the train and on the platform screen, especially on the M1 going west (Rho Fieramilano or Bisceglie).

The main interchanges are Duomo (M1 and M3), Cadorna (M1 and M2), Loreto (M1 and M2), Centrale (M2 and M3), Garibaldi (M2 and M5), San Babila (M1 and M4) and Sant’Ambrogio (M2 and M4). ATM publishes the official metro and rail map, which also marks the stations with lifts. The M4 and M5 are driverless.

How much is a metro ticket in Milan

The same tickets work on the metro, trams, buses and the Trenord S lines inside the city (fare zones Mi1 to Mi3, which cover all of Milan).

Ticket	Price	Valid for
Ordinary ticket	€2.20	90 minutes from the first validation
Single-day ticket	€7.60	24 hours from the first validation
3-day ticket	€15.50	Until the end of service on the third day
10-trip carnet	€19.50	Ten 90-minute tickets, one person at a time
Contactless card	€2.20 per trip	Capped at €7.60 per day

Within the 90 minutes you can leave the metro and enter again on the same ticket. There is no 48-hour or weekly ticket for visitors, so for a two-day stay a contactless card is usually the simplest choice. Children under 14 ride free; carry an ID for them.

The standard ticket also covers the trips visitors ask about most: Linate Airport on the M4, the Fiera Milano exhibition center at Rho Fieramilano (M1) and the Unipol Forum at Assago Forum (M2). One exception: on the M2 branch toward Gessate, the city ticket is valid only as far as Cascina Burrona.

MilanoCard, a private city pass, includes the metro, trams and buses plus discounts on attractions. It costs €15 for one day and €30 for three. For transport alone, ATM’s own €7.60 day ticket and €15.50 3-day ticket cost about half as much.

How to pay: contactless, the ATM app or RicaricaMi

You have three ways to pay, and the old paper tickets are gone: they expired on 31 December 2025.

Contactless card or phone. Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro or VPay card, or Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, on the reader at the gate. There is no fee and no registration. ATM charges a €2.20 fare for each 90-minute journey and, from the fourth journey within 24 hours, charges the €7.60 day fare instead. The charge reaches your statement a few days later. Prepaid Postepay cards and PagoBancomat debit cards are not accepted.

A few rules matter:

• Tap out at the end of every metro ride with the same card or phone, even when the exit gates stand open. If you do not, ATM charges the highest fare from your entry station.
• One card per person. A card or phone pays for one passenger at a time, so each traveler needs their own.
• Use the same card all day. Switching between your card and your phone means the system cannot apply the daily cap.
• Hold out only one card. The readers pick up any card, pass or phone, so do not tap a whole wallet.
• Every station has at least two gates that take contactless payment. If one reader fails, try another.

ATM app. You can buy single, day, 3-day and carnet tickets with a card, PayPal or Satispay. Validate the ticket in the app before you start, then hold the QR code about 5 cm from the reader at the gate, going in and out. Do not delete or update the app during a trip: you lose the tickets you have validated.

RicaricaMi. This reloadable card replaced paper tickets. Buy and top it up at the machines in metro stations or at newsstands, and touch it on the reader (do not insert it). It holds up to 30 ordinary tickets, or one day or 3-day ticket, and one person uses it at a time. The machines in M4 stations take cards only.

If your ticket runs out while you are underground, the exit gate will not open. Buy an exit ticket from the machine before the turnstiles. ATM inspectors check tickets with a handheld device: show them the same card or phone you tapped.

How to ride the metro, step by step

1. Find your line color and the name of the terminus in your direction on the station signs.
2. Tap your card or phone, or scan your app ticket, at the gate.
3. Follow the signs to the platform for that terminus and check the screen before boarding.
4. To change lines, follow the color of the next line. You stay inside the gates, so there is no second tap.
5. Tap out with the same card or phone when you leave.

On the escalators, stand on the right and keep the left free for people walking. It is my first piece of advice to any American visiting Milan: at rush hour the left side moves fast, and standing there blocks commuters running for a train.

Google Maps and the ATM app both plan metro routes, and the ATM app sends updates on the status of the metro lines, which helps on strike days.

Metro hours and night buses

Line	First train	Last train	How often in the daytime
M1, M2, M3	About 5:30am	About 12:30am	Every few minutes at peak times
M4	5:40am (6am Sundays and holidays) from Linate	12:26am from Linate, 12:20am from San Cristoforo	Every 1 to 3 minutes on weekdays, 4 to 6 on Sundays
M5	5:40am (6am Sundays and holidays) from Bignami	12:01am from Bignami	Every 3 to 4 minutes on weekdays, 4 to 6 on weekends

The M4 and M5 times are from ATM’s timetables valid from 15 March 2026. For the M1, M2 and M3, treat 5:30am and 12:30am as approximate and check the first and last trains from your station in the ATM app. Summer timetables with fewer trains apply for part of July and August, on dates that change every year.

After the metro closes, ATM runs a network of night buses inside the city on the same tickets. On the M4 route, the NM4 night bus links Linate Airport and San Cristoforo.

Metro stops for Milan’s main sights

Most sights in the center are close together, and you can walk between many of them. The metro helps for the longer hops:

• DuomoMap and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIMap: Duomo (M1, M3). Our Duomo tickets guide explains which ticket to buy.
• The Last Supper at the Museo del Cenacolo VincianoMap: Conciliazione (M1), or Cadorna (M1, M2). Book ahead with our Last Supper tickets guide.
• Sforza CastleMap: Cairoli (M1), Lanza (M2) or Cadorna. See our Sforza Castle guide.
• Pinacoteca di BreraMap and the Brera streets: Lanza (M2) or Montenapoleone (M3).
• The Navigli canals and the DarsenaMap: Porta Genova (M2). Our Navigli guide covers the canals and the evening scene.
• Basilica di Sant'AmbrogioMap: Sant’Ambrogio (M2, M4).
• Bosco VerticaleMap and Porta Nuova: Garibaldi (M2, M5) or Isola (M5).
• Cimitero MonumentaleMap: Monumentale (M5).
• San Siro stadiumMap: San Siro Stadio, the M5 terminus. On match days, see AC Milan and Inter tickets for the route to your sector. GetYourGuide sells San Siro stadium and museum tours.

A hotel near a station with two lines saves you changes. Duomo (M1, M3), Cadorna (M1, M2) and Centrale (M2, M3) are the most useful, and you can compare hotels near the Duomo on Booking.com. Our guide to where to stay in Milan lists the nearest stations for each area. For a full plan built around these stops, see one day in Milan or 2 days in Milan.

The metro to the airports and train stations

Linate is the only airport on the metro. The M4 reaches the center in about 12 minutes on a €2.20 ticket; our guide to Linate to Milan has the details, plus the buses to Centrale.

Malpensa is not on the metro. Take the Malpensa Express from Cadorna (M1, M2) or Centrale (M2, M3), which needs its own train ticket because ATM contactless does not work on Trenord trains. Our Malpensa to Milan guide compares the train, buses and taxis, and Milan’s airports explains which one you are likely to use.

Train stations. Milano Centrale is on the M2 and M3, four stops from Duomo on the yellow line; the Milano Centrale guide shows where the metro entrance is. Porta Garibaldi is on the M2 and M5, and Cadorna, for the trains to Como, is on the M1 and M2.

Accessibility

All M4 stations and most stations on the other lines have lifts and escalators. The older M1, M2 and M3 are less consistent than the M4 and M5, and lifts do go out of service. ATM shows the live status of every lift and stairlift on its accessibility page and in the app, and its help line (+39 02 48 607 607, then 1) can plan an accessible route with you. Platforms have intercoms to reach staff, with SOS buttons on the M4 and M5.

With large suitcases, use the lifts where they work and avoid the busiest interchanges at rush hour.

Is the Milan metro safe?

The metro is busy and generally safe, and the main problem is pickpocketing. The US State Department lists pickpocketing on buses, metros and in train stations as its main everyday warning for Italy, and police have arrested pickpockets at Duomo metro station.

• Keep your bag zipped and in front of you in crowded cars and on escalators.
• Keep phones and wallets out of back pockets.
• Late at night, when the metro has closed, take a white taxi from a rank or book one through an app such as FREENOW or appTaxi rather than accepting a ride from someone who approaches you. Our taxis in Milan guide has the fares.

Our first trip to Italy guide covers money, cards and the rest of the safety basics, and how much a trip to Italy costs puts the metro fares in a daily budget.