- By air to Genoa
- To the sea by train
- Bus travel option
Milan is the recognized capital of fashion, the capital of Lombardy, an old beautiful city with many attractions, shops and restaurants. The presence of three airports in the vicinity of Milan makes this city even closer. Just a few hours separate Milan from the Ligurian coast, you can plan your perfect vacation: wander around the museums and theaters in Milan, visit all the fashion exhibitions, purchase new wardrobe items, and then relax on the beaches of the Italian Riviera.
Many tourists come to Genoa to go further - to the resorts of the Ligurian Sea. In Genoa, you can stay for a few days to see the House of Christopher Columbus, walk along Via Garibaldi with magnificent palaces, whose doors are always open for tourists, and visit the largest aquarium in Italy.
You don't need to involve travel agents or local guides to find out how to get from Milan to Genoa. The two major Italian cities are connected by rail, bus and air links.
By air to Genoa
There are no direct flights between Milan and Genoa. Carriers Alitalia, Lufthansa and Meridiana offer flights with at least one stopover in Rome, Munich or Naples. The flight lasts from 3 to 8 hours. The most acceptable option in terms of time and cost is the flight of the Alitalia company with a duration of 3 hours and 20 minutes. The plane makes a dock at Rome's Fiumicino airport. It lasts 45 minutes. In principle, during the day, Alitalia aircraft make about a dozen flights to Genoa via Rome. The cost of tickets for all flights is the same - 157 euros, only the departure and transfer times are different.
A more profitable route from an economic point of view was developed by the Meridiana air carrier. Her plane makes one long stop (about 10 hours) at Naples Capodichino airport. The cost of the flight is 137 euros. The flight is in the morning, but the plane lands in Genoa at 21:55. This means that if you wish, you can spend the whole day walking around Naples. Tickets for other flights to Genoa cost around 400 euros and more.
All planes depart from Milan Linate Airport. It is the closest airport to the center of Milan, which serves not only international but also domestic flights. You can get to this airport by city buses No. 73, which starts from the Duomo, and No. 923, the final stop of which is near the San Raffaele hospital.
From Genoa Airport, named after Christopher Columbus, you can take the Volabus bus to the Genova Brignole train station, which is located in Piazza Verdi, right in the historic center of the city. To the Sestri Ponente area from the airport there is a regular bus number 124. Finally, the shuttle takes passengers from the airport to the Genova-Sestri Ponente railway station, and taxis take tourists anywhere in the city.
To the sea by train
A great idea is to travel from Milan to the Italian Riviera, the most popular city of which is Genoa, by train.
The advantages of traveling by train over traveling by car are great:
- while driving on the highway, can a driver afford to be distracted and admire the sunset on the sea? On the train, you can look out the windows all the way, enjoying the beautiful views;
- during the trip, you can read, work on a laptop, watch a movie. Thus, several hours of travel are not wasted;
- "Enemies" No. 1 of any motorist are "traffic jams" on the roads and forced stops in the service areas of cars. On the train, you can forget about problems with cars and tracks.
Genoa and Milan are about 150 km away. They can be traveled by train in two hours. The journey will increase by 1 hour if the destination is the commune of Sestri Levante, which is located on the coast of the Ligurian Sea to the east of Genoa. The cost of travel to the capital of Liguria varies from 9, 90 euros for inter-regional trains to 19 euros for high-speed trains such as InterCity. This is not a high price compared to the amount you would have to pay for gasoline if you travel from Milan to Genoa in a rented car.
For those who prefer to travel by rail to the Riviera, it is advisable to keep in mind the maximum workload of the train going to Genoa on Friday evening and the train returning to Milan on Sunday evening. Many residents of Milan go to the sea for weekends. The same problems with the lack of seats and train tickets can appear on holidays and during school holidays. The way out of this situation is to book a ticket in advance on the Italian Railways website.
The first train from Milan leaves from Milano Centrale Central Station at 6:10, the last one leaves at 21:10. The final stop of the trains is at the Genoese Porta Principe train station.
Milan and Genoa train stations can be reached by public transport. Milano Centrale train station is located northeast of the historic city center in zone 2. The easiest way to get to the train station is using the metro. The required station is called Centrale FS (lines M2 and M3). Trams 5, 9, 10 and some buses also run to the station. It would be more expedient to take a taxi from the hotel.
Genoa's Porta Principe Train Station is a few meters from Piazza Principe Metro Station. There are also the terminus of several city bus lines here.
Bus travel option
Another way to get to Genoa is to take buses from Flixbus, Bus Center and Baltour. The buses cover the distance between cities in 2-3 hours, depending on the number of stops on the way. Bus tickets are cheap (5-9 euros), so such trips are preferred by students and tourists who save their money. The first bus in the direction of Genoa leaves at 6:15 am, the last at approximately 9:00 pm. Buses run at intervals from 30 minutes to several hours.
From Milan, buses start from different stops: Lampugnano train station, central train station - Milano Centrale, a suburb of Milan - San Donato Milanese. In Genoa, buses stop at the Genova Principe Fanti d'Italia bus station.
