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How to take the rail journey from Florence/Firenze to Milano
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Firenze / Florence to Milano / Milan / Mailand by train
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.
Routes you can take to go from Firenze / Florence to Milano / Milan / Mailand
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: taking the high speed Freecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
1hr 50min - 1hr 55min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 or 2 trains per hour
(one departure per hour is the norm)
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
Other Ticket Providers
Italia Rail 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.
Though Italiarail will charge a booking fee, typically of around €3.
The Early Bird service
Italiarail has launched an 'early bird' pre-booking service for journeys by Frecce trains.
Tickets can be booked up to a year ahead of travel at a flat-rate price per route, before the tickets have been released for sale by Trenitalia.
If when they are placed on sale, the price is cheaper than what you have already paid to Italiarail, it will automatically refund the price difference.
Conversely, if the price is more expensive, you won't be charged the price difference.
You can also have the peace of mind of securing your seat(s) on the Frecce train(s) when you are first planning a trip.
If before the tickets are placed on sale, you decide to change your plans, you can request a refund; but once the tickets are released for sale, you will then be bound by the terms and conditions of the ticket(s) you have booked.
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.
Save A Train Guide
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.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
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.
Tickets
Save by booking in advance: Yes, for more details on how to obtain the cheapest prices for Frecce trains see the guide to Italian rail tickets.
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date; though the booking period will be typically be shorter when looking up journeys for travel after the second Sunday in December.
The high speed (AV) train service between Firenze/Florence and Milano is provided by:
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia and
(2) alternative Italo trains
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed up to 6 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are typically made available around 3 to 4 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
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.
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 with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
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.
Route Information
Option 2: taking the Italo high speed trains
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
1hr 50 min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x train per hour
Purchase Tickets
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
Italo Guide
Italo trains compete with the Frecce services, provided by the national rail operator, Trenitalia, on the high speed routes which link major cities in Italy.
The Italo booking site only sells tickets for journeys by its trains.
Happy rail Guide
Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.
HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.
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.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
These trains take the same route as the Frecce trains.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:: around 3 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 6 months in advance, but these Italo train tickets are made available around 3 to 4 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.
Route Information
Option 3: taking the Intercity trains
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
3hr 38min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
3 x trains per day
Purchase Tickets
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.
Italia Rail 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.
Though Italiarail will charge a booking fee, typically of around €3.
The Early Bird service
Italiarail has launched an 'early bird' pre-booking service for journeys by Frecce trains.
Tickets can be booked up to a year ahead of travel at a flat-rate price per route, before the tickets have been released for sale by Trenitalia.
If when they are placed on sale, the price is cheaper than what you have already paid to Italiarail, it will automatically refund the price difference.
Conversely, if the price is more expensive, you won't be charged the price difference.
You can also have the peace of mind of securing your seat(s) on the Frecce train(s) when you are first planning a trip.
If before the tickets are placed on sale, you decide to change your plans, you can request a refund; but once the tickets are released for sale, you will then be bound by the terms and conditions of the ticket(s) you have booked.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you will be purchasing tickets, taking an Intercity train is cheaper from Florence/Firenze to Milano, 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 three InterCity trains during the day from Firenze/Florence to Milano, 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.
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.
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