Between Arona and Stresa

Milano / Milan / Mailand to Domodossola by train

How to take the train from Milan to Domodossola where connections are available with the Centovali railway

Domodossola is located along one of the two main railway routes between Italy and Switzerland, hence the express train service from Milan being provided by international EuroCity (EC) trains.

Though if you will be booking tickets last minute at the station, perhaps due to a spontaneous decision to take a ride on the beautiful Centovali Railway, then the slightly slower Regionale (RV) trains, will be money savers.

Whether you take the EC or RV trains a delightful journey along the shores of Lake Maggiore awaits you.

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Routes

Option 1: taking the express trains

Journey Summary

Travel Time
1hr 20min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Geneve or Basel

All trains also call at: Stresa

If you can book ahead then not only will you save a few €s, in comparison to taking the alternative Regionale trains, you'll have a faster journey too.
Though if you'll be booking tickets last minute at the station, these EC trains will be more expensive.

7 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

There are two different train services between Milano Centrale station and Domodossola:

(1) these EC trains can be cheapest, when the limited numbers of discounted Mini-Pris discounted tickets are still available.
Though the difference in price with the Regionale Veloce trains will only be a couple of €s if you’re booking in advance online.

Rail pass users should avoid these trains**as the €10 rail pass reservation fee can be avoided if you take the Regionale Veloce trains.

(2) The alternative Regionale Veloce trains become the cheaper option when the discounted tickets for these EC trains have sold out.

If you will be buying tickets at the station then you’ll save more than €10 in comparison to these EC trains; and the journey time is only 18 mins longer.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trenitalia from €9 approx

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.
Italiarail from €9 approx

Italiarail Guide

ItaliaRail lives up to its name by selling tickets for rail journeys within Italy and the core feature of its service is that it is primarily designed to be used by international visitors to Italy.
So the English translations of place names are used when looking up journeys and the terms and conditions for using each type of ticket are clearly explained.
It also clearly points out the additional costs of upgrading to other classes and types of tickets while spelling out the additional benefits of doing so.

Users of InterRail and Eurail passes can also book seat reservations on the Frecce and InterCity trains without paying a booking fee,

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsNot High Speed
Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa
Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa
Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa

If your reserved seat is on the right of the train (when facing the direction of travel) there are some fabulous views over Lake Maggiore after Arona.
All of the images were taken from the right of the train.

From Milano Centrale to Domodossola

Journey Summary

Travel Time
1hr 38 min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final destination: Domodossola

There are also slower alternative trains which leave from Milano Porta Garibaldi station.
Though we don't recommend taking those trains from Porta Garibaldi as they depart in the same hours as these trains from Milano Centrale.
So they don't plug the gaps in the intervals between departures from Milano Centrale; plus they're slower and not any cheaper.

8 x trains per day
These trains tend to depart every two hours, though there is four hour gap between 09:25 and 13:25.

Tickets

Book early and save: No

Tickets will cost the same price if purchased at the same station immediately before departure.

These Regionale Veloce (RV) trains are not as comfortable as the EC trains, but when the limited numbers of discounted tickets for the EC trains have sold out, they’re the cheaper option.
If you will be buying tickets at the station then you’ll save more than €10 in comparison to those EC trains – and the journey time is only 18 mins longer.

Rail pass users won't incur any additional charges if they take these trains.

This train service is operated by Trenord and not Trenitalia, but InterRail and Eurail Passes can be used on Trenord's trains.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trenitalia from €11 approx

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsNot High Speed

Good to Know

If you will be using an InterRail or Eurail Pass to travel between Italy and Switzerland and want to avoid the rail pass reservation fees payable on the EC trains , you can take these Regionale Veloce trains and connect in Domodossola into other regional trains on to Switzerland.

Those Swiss regional trains all call at Brig, where onward connections are available to Basel, Geneve, Lausanne and Zurich; and at Spiez; where you can connect for Interlaken.

Depart from Milano Centrale at 09:29 and 13:29 and you can connect in Domodossola for a Swiss regional train that will be direct to Bern.

Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa
Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa
Between Arona and Stresa Between Arona and Stresa

There are some fabulous views over Lake Maggiore, once the train has departed from Arona
All of the images were taken from the right of the train, so a tick in the box of taking these trains is that you can take seats on that side of the train when boarding.

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