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Firenze / Florence to Milano / Milan / Mailand by train
How to take the rail journey from Florence/Firenze to Milano
The Frecciarossa and Frecciarossa 1000 trains operated by Trenitalia share the high-speed route between Firenze and Milano, with Italo trains.
They have similar speeds, so the differences between them are to do with the on-board experiences, check out the 'Trains' guides below; and the fact that tickets for the Italo trains and Frecce trains can be purchased from different online booking agents - it's a route on which you can save by booking in advance.
However, the Intercity trains from Firenze to Milano still take the older 'classic' route, so they're slower, because they don't travel at high speed and also make more station calls
If ticket price and not speed is your key criteria, you can usually save money by taking these trains and they're a cheaper option for rail pass users; but they are not as frequent as the high speed services.
Connections are available in Milano Centrale station for locations with no direct trains from Firenze/Florence including towns in northern Italy such as Como and Stresa; and for Swiss destinations including Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, Luzern and Zurich.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the high speed Freecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Journey Summary
1hr 50min - 1hr 55min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Milano or Torino
All trains also call at: Bologna
The alternative trains:
As our guide to travelling by train in Italy explains, travellers often have a choice of train services when making journeys between major Italian cities.
This is the case on this route between Florence/Firenze and Milano, as there is a choice of three train services:
(1) These Frecce trains which are operated by the national rail company, Trenitalia.
(2) Italo trains, which compete with these Frecce trains on the high speed route, but can't be booked on Trenitalia.
(3) Slower, but typically cheaper Intercity trains which depart from Firenze Rifredi station.
1 or 2 trains per hour
(one departure per hour is the norm)
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date (these trains).
The high speed (AV) train service between Firenze/Florence and Milano is provided by:
(1) These Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
- Italo trains, which compete with the Frecce trains on this route.
Tickets for these Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will need to reserve prior to boarding these trains, either at the station (using a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket desk) OR by booking them online.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| ItaliaRail | from €29.90 | |
| Trenitalia | from €29.90 | |
| Trainline | from €29.90 | |
| Omio | from €29.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €29.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Most of these trains also call at Milano Rogoredo
Taking these trains to Milano Rogoredo can be a good option if your train journey from Rome will be concluding in Milan city centre.
The trains will call at Milano Rogoredo around 15 mins before they arrive at Milano Centrale.
Milano Rogoredo station is on Line M3 of the Milano Metro, the the same line also links Milano Centrale station to the heart of the city
But if you'll be heading to Duomo station which lives up to its name with a location by Milano cathedral, the end-to-end journey will likely be quicker if you make the connection into the Metro at Milano Rogoredo.
Milano Rogoredo is also connected to the city centre by frequent local commuter trains, which make calls at several stations including: Repubblica and Porta Venezia.
These trains travel on high speed lines for virtually the entire journey from Florence to Milan
Between Firenze and Bologna 95% of the journey is in tunnels.
Then between Bologna and Milano Rogoredo station, the trains travel at more than 280 km/h stretch of high speed line, which is fortunate as there's nothing much to see on this part if of the journey.
Option 2: taking the Italo high speed trains
Journey Summary
1hr 50 min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Milano or Torino
All trains also call at: Bologna
Most trains also call at: Milano Rogoredo which offers connections by Metro and local trains to multiple destinations in Milan city centre.
12 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 5 months ahead of the travel date
The high speed train service between Firenze and Milano is provided by:
(1) these Italo trains
(2) Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but these Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Rail passes cannot be used on Italo trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Italo | from €23 approx | |
| Omio | from €23 approx | |
| Trainline | from €23 approx | |
| Happyrail | from €23 approx |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
These trains take the same route as the Frecce trains.
Option 3: taking the Intercity trains
Journey Summary
3hr 38min
Daily
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
These trains depart from are usually scheduled to depart from Firenze Rifredi at around 08:17, 15:33 and 19:46, so target these times when looking up this journey.
Enter Firenze Rifredi as the 'Departure' station when looking up this journey on Trenitalia in order to find these trains
(Though you will need to book tickets from Firenze S.M.Novella station, if that's where you will be commencing your journey).
If you want to compare the cost of taking these Intercity trains with the alternative high speed service of Frecce and Italo trains, you will need to also look up this journey on Omio or Trainline.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €12.90 | |
| ItaliaRail | from €12.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you will be purchasing tickets, taking an Intercity train is cheaper from Florence/Firenze to Bologna, than taking either of the much faster high speed services.
Rail pass users will save €10 by taking these IC trains compared to the high speed trains.
Though if you'll want the peace of mind of being able to remain in the same seat for the entire journey, paying the optional €3 reservation fee is virtually essential.
However, these Intercity trains per day from Firenze/Florence to Bologna, depart from Firenze Rifredi station, which is some distance from the city centre
You'll need to take a local train from Firenze S.M. Novella to Firenze Rifredi, in order to connect into these trains.
If you will be travelling with a rail pass look up the times of the trains on from Rifredi and the connecting train, before heading to Firenze S.M.Novella.
Less of the 'classic' route that these IC trains use is within a tunnel compared to the high speed line, but these trains still travel through the Appenine Base Tunnel, which for many years was Italy's longest railway tunnel.
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