Milan's second busiest station...

Most mainline trains use the magnificent Milan Centrale, but the French TGVs to/from Paris, some Italian high-speed trains and many many Italian suburban trains use Milan Porta Garibaldi station.

Station overview:  See location map

Built in 1961, Milan Porta Garibaldi is Milan's second busiest station after Centrale, handling most of Milan's suburban traffic as well as some mainline trains.  The station has 12 terminus platforms and a further 10 through platforms located in tunnels underground.

Milan Porta Garibaldi, exterior...

Milan Porta Garibaldi concourse, inside the main entrance, at street level.  You go down escalators to platforms 1-13.

A view of the terminal platforms 1-12 (this is platform 11), one level down from street level.  The TGVs to/from Paris & Nightjet sleeper train to/from Munich, Salzburg & Vienna use these platforms.  The through platforms 13-20 can be seen to the right...

Milan Porta Garibaldi, main entrance...

Which platform for your train?

• Finding your train...

  The station has 22 platforms (binario in Italian).

  Platforms 1-12 are terminus platforms at ground level, numbered from left to right as you look towards the trains.  These surface terminus platforms are the ones used by the TGVs to/from Lyon & Paris and by the Nightjet sleeper train to/from Vienna, Salzburg and Munich.

  Platforms 13-20 are through platforms located adjacent to platforms 1-12, these feed into a tunnel to cross the city underground.  The half-hourly regional trains to Milan Centrale usually leave from platform 20.

  A further 2 underground platforms handle local trains on the Milan Passante line.

  The station departure boards shows which platform each train leaves from and there are train departure indicators on every platform.  You can easily walk between any two platforms in just a few minutes.

• There is a simple ticket check when entering the platform area, mainly intended to control access for non-travelling undesirables. I generally find that anything vaguely ticket-like waved in their general direction gets you through.

• Tip:  If you go to www.viaggiatreno.it/viaggiatrenonew on your phone and select Milan Porta Garibaldi you'll see the planned platform number for your train even before it is announced on the station departure boards.  A good way to stay one step ahead!

Changing trains at Porta Garibaldi

• Changing trains at Porta Garibaldi is very straightforward.  There is easy level access between all platforms, you can walk between platforms around the back of the buffer stops without having to pass through any ticket check.  It only takes a few minutes to change trains, even if you were changing from platform 1 to platform 22.  Just make sure you allow for any delay to your first train - if a booking website suggests a connection, it will be a reasonable one.

• When connecting between two Trenitalia trains, as long as the scheduled connection is over 15 minutes, you are entitled to later onward travel at no charge if a delay means a missed connection.  Online systems will only suggest valid connections.  See Trenitalia staff if you need reserved seats on a later train.

Free WiFi

• Milan Porta Garibaldi has free WiFi.  Select the WiFiStation, network and on https://portale.wifistation.it either sign in with a Facebook or Twitter account or enter your mobile number to have a verification text sent to you (this works with international numbers including UK +44 mobiles).

Left luggage, ATMs, safety & security

• There is no left luggage facility at Porta Garibaldi.  Use the one at Milan Centrale instead, for prices & opening times see the left luggage page.

• There are ATMs in various locations around the station.

• There is nothing particularly unsafe about any Italian station, but as in any busy place, be aware of the possibility of pickpockets.

Ticket office

• The main Trenitalia ticket office (marked Biglietteria/Tickets) is off the main concourse, over to your right as you walk in the main entrance.

Ticket office.  Photo courtesy of Michael Turnstall.

Food & drink

• It's a busy station with various retail & food outlets, but I have no particular recommendation.  Let me know if you find somewhere good for a coffee, beer or stocking up for a journey.

Hotels near Milan Porta Garibaldi

Local transport:  Walking, metro, taxis

• Walking:  It's a 2.5 km 31-minute walk from Milan Porta Garibaldi to Milan cathedral and the beautiful 19th century shopping mall, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

• Taxis:  For a taxi fare calculator see www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Milan-Italy&lang=en.  Taxis are usually plentiful outside the station, although they are not cheap.

• Buses, trams, metro, Milan urban transport:  Porta Garibaldi is on metro line M2.  For urban transport see www.atm.it.

How to transfer between Porta Garibaldi & Milan Centrale

• It's a 1.7 km 22-minute walk between Milan Porta Garibaldi & Milan Centrale, although (having done it) not a particularly attractive one.

• A taxi between Porta Garibaldi & Milan Centrale takes around 8 minutes and costs around €8.50.  See taxi fare calculator.

  Tip:  When transferring from Milan Centrale to Porta Garibaldi, it's quicker & cheaper to use the western taxi rank on the platform 4 side of Milan Centrale (rather than the eastern rank on the platform 21 side), as the taxis from the western taxi rank can head directly west towards Porta Garibaldi without having to negotiate the main square in front of the station.

• Metro line M2 (coloured green on metro maps) links Milan Porta Garibaldi (shown as Garibaldi FS on metro maps) & Milan Centrale (shown as Centrale FS).  It's just 2 stops, trains run every 2-4 minutes, fare around €2.  For metro map & info see www.atm.it.

• Trenitalia local trains link Porta Garibaldi & Milan Centrale every 30  minutes, reducing to hourly late at night.  They take 9 minutes from Centrale to Porta Garibaldi, or 11 minutes from Porta Garibaldi to Centrale.  Fare €2 at the urban tariff.  You may prefer option this to going underground with the metro.

  At Milan Centrale, look for a train to Malpensa-Aeroporto, these typically leave from platform 1 and the first stop is Milan Porta Garibaldi.

  At Milan Porta Garibaldi, look for trains going to Milan Centrale, these typically go from platform 20.