Getting Around Milan on a Budget

Getting around in Milano has become quite hard and complicated if you don’t know what you are doing. There are only two ways to travel here safely and with little money. In order to understand this it is important to know about the most expensive way as well.

Avoid driving

Driving is expensive because of the high price on gas in Italy: 1,714 € per 1 liter, while it is 2,376 € for 3.78 liters in the USA.

Parking you car anywhere in the city is also expensive: the government is trying to gather some money and has sent out all of its public workers to give tickets to those who park in the wrong spot. Getting a ticket after 10pm used to be rare, now it’s pretty much expected. If you do have to park a car, keep the color coding in mind:

You get a 39 € ticket if you don’t respect the parking rules. But gas and parking aren’t the only expensive factors to add to the act of driving: entering the city will be impossible starting January 1st 2012. It will be mandatory to pay a ticket to enter in center city for the day for the ridiculous price of 5 € per car. It can get stressful and expensive.

Scoot around for less

The first cheap alternative is to rent a scooter or a motorbike. It’s fun and none of the rules listed above apply. The rent is low, the gas tank is small so it is likely to only use one filled tank per week: 7-9 €.

Get friendly with the locals on public transportation

Public transportation is the second cheap alternative. Milan has spread the ATM system throughout the city. You can buy one ticket for bus/trolley/subway for 1.50€, which is valid for 75 minutes after you stamp it. If you forget to stamp it, you get a 30 € fine and you are cordially invited to descend from the bus by the official in disguise. Unfortunately, while you can use your subway stamped ticket to go on a ground transportation vehicle, it does not work the other way around.

If you are looking to stay in Milan and use ATM for one week, I recommend buying the day passes: 4.50 € for unlimited trips in 24 hours, 8.25 € for unlimited trips in 48 hours and 8.40 € for 2 trips of 90 minutes validity each day for 6 consecutive days. There is also a special 48-hour card, AmaMi, for the price of 25 €: it allows you to travel freely with ATM and the railway system and receive discounted or free access to numerous museums and exhibitions. All these tickets are available at the subway station kiosks – buying a ticket when you are on the bus/trolley/subway is not possible!

Milano is a very expensive city for what concerns lifestyle, but if you learn how to travel in it and don’t get trapped in paying for useless items and tickets, it will radically improve your stay. In addition, it is not a very big city so walking and public transportation is a great way to save money.

Chiara Tarenzi is a poltical science student in Milan, Italy, hoping to become a very obnoxious journalist some day. She has a very large family split apart by the Atlantic Ocean: one side in Italy and the other in Philadelphia. She is a total american wannabe so BEWARE! She is also a beginner runner of half-marathons (very slow!) and intends to travel all over the globe to race and explore. Her favourite place in the entire globe has to be Crans Montana, an adorable small town hidden in the Swiss mountains.