Milan (Linate): Style, Design and the Gateway to the Lakes

The Eurodrive guide

The marble spires and terraces on the roof of Milan's Duomo.

Linate sits right on the eastern edge of Milan, making it the handiest gateway to Italy's capital of fashion and design. Land here and you're minutes from the cathedral and the couture — and a short drive from the romantic lakes of Como and Garda. Here's how to begin.

First things first: the practical essentials

Refuelling near the airport. If you didn't take the optional full-tank service at pick-up, you can top up near the airport — there's no obligation to return the car full. The closest stop is the Beyfin station on Viale Forlanini, with 24-hour self-service just minutes from the terminal; the 24-hour Deda Carburanti in nearby Segrate is a reliable backup.

Getting into the city. Linate is now the eastern terminus of the brand-new M4 metro line, which reaches the centre (San Babila, a step from the Duomo) in around 12–15 minutes — remarkably quick for an airport transfer. By car the centre is a short hop, but mind Milan's Area C congestion charge and the historic ZTL: it is often easier to park on the edge and ride the metro in.

Where to spend your first night. Stay near the Duomo for the sights and the shopping, or in the arty Brera and canal-side Navigli quarters for restaurants and aperitivo bars.

Your vehicle. Your brand-new Renault is waiting at the M.D.S. PARC delivery centre at Linate airport, fuelled up for the city and the lakes under the short-term lease programme.

The glass-domed arcade of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Milan's essential sights

The Duomo and its rooftops. Milan's colossal Gothic cathedral, a forest of marble spires topped by the golden Madonnina, took nearly six centuries to build. Step inside for the stained glass, then take the lift or the stairs up to the roof terraces — you walk among the pinnacles with the city, and on clear days the Alps, spread below (the very view that opens this page).

The Galleria and La Scala. Beside the cathedral, the glass-vaulted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — the world's oldest shopping arcade — links the Duomo to Piazza della Scala and its legendary opera house. Spin your heel on the mosaic bull for luck, then browse the Quadrilatero della Moda, the couture grid of Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga.

The Last Supper and the Castello. Book well ahead to stand before Leonardo da Vinci's fragile 'Last Supper' in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Nearby, the vast Castello Sforzesco holds Michelangelo's unfinished Rondanini Pietà and opens onto Parco Sempione.

Brera, Navigli and design. Wander the cobbled art quarter of Brera and its Pinacoteca, then head to the Navigli canals for the ritual of aperitivo. Design pilgrims should add the Fondazione Prada and, in April, the citywide Salone del Mobile.

Lake Como and its lakeside villages, an hour north.

Foodie Milan: risotto, panettone and aperitivo

The classics. This is the home of risotto alla milanese, golden with saffron and often served alongside ossobuco (braised veal shank); of the wafer-thin, bone-in cotoletta alla milanese; and, in winter, of cassoeula, a hearty pork-and-cabbage stew. At Christmas the city fills with panettone, the tall domed sweet bread born here.

Markets and delis. Graze the historic Peck food hall near the Duomo, the covered Mercato Comunale in Piazza Wagner, or the street-food stalls of the Mercato Metropolitano. On weekends the sprawling Fiera di Sinigaglia flea market lines the Darsena.

Aperitivo hour. Milan invented the ritual: from around 6 p.m., order a Negroni or a Milano-Torino (the Campari-and-vermouth cocktail born in a Milanese bar) and the bar spreads out nibbles to match. The Navigli and Brera are the classic stages.

Lake Garda at Limone sul Garda, to the east.

Your first road trip out of Milan

The lakes are the prize, and from Linate's eastern edge you reach them fast. Lake Como, with its villa-lined shores and mountain backdrop, is about an hour north; Lake Garda, Italy's largest, lies around an hour and a quarter east; Lake Maggiore and its Borromean islands sit to the northwest. Beyond rise the foothills of the Alps and, further afield, the art cities of Verona and Venice.

The ideal first-day loop. Make it Lake Como. Drive up to Como town for its lakeside cathedral and funicular, follow the shore to elegant Bellagio at the fork of the lake, then hop the car ferry to Varenna and come home down the Lecco branch and the A4 motorway: roughly 150 km that gather the whole lake into a single, unforgettable day.

When to come: climate and seasons

Milan sits in the Po plain and has a humid continental climate: hot, sticky summers and cold, often foggy winters. April to June and September to October are the sweet spots — mild days, gardens in bloom or vines turning, and the lakes at their best. Summer is hot and humid, and in August much of the city shuts for the Ferragosto holiday, so head for the water. Winter is grey and chilly but atmospheric, with a great opera and design season; the fashion weeks (February and September) and April's Salone del Mobile fill the hotels, so book ahead.

If your road trips climb toward the lakes or the Alps, remember that on many northern-Italian roads winter tyres or on-board snow chains are compulsory from 15 November to 15 April — check the signs and equip the car before you head into the mountains.

Driving tips for Italy

Tolls. Italy's motorways (autostrade) are tolled: take a ticket as you enter and pay as you exit, by card or cash (avoid the yellow Telepass-only lanes).
Speed limits: 130 km/h on motorways (110 in the wet), 90 on main roads, 50 in towns — cameras (autovelox) are common.
Fuel: 'benzina' is petrol, 'gasolio/diesel' is diesel.
ZTL and Milan's zones: most Italian old towns have a ZTL (limited-traffic zone) that fines uncredentialed cars, so park outside and walk in. In Milan, the central Area C is a congestion charge you pay to enter the historic core, while Area B is a low-emission zone covering almost the whole city — your recent Euro 6 Eurodrive car meets the Area B emission standards, but you still pay for Area C, so parking on the edge and taking the M4 metro is usually simplest.

How far by car?

Approximate driving times from the delivery center.

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Photos : Daniel Case (CC BY-SA 3.0) · High Contrast (CC BY 3.0 de) · Николай Максимович (CC BY 3.0) · Aciarium (CC BY 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons.