Milan by air: low cost, obviously. Chapter 1

The capital of Lombardy it's well connected by several low-cost airlines to dozens of european cities, and also a growing number of destinations in Northern Africa and Middle East. Thanks to its three airports, Milan can be considered the biggest low-cost italian hub. Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling, AirBerlin, Meridiana, TuiFly, Germanwings and many more fly here on daily basis moving thousands of business travellers, tourists and backpackers. In this post we'll speak about Milan's main airgate - Malpensa International.

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The biggest and busiest Milan's airport, located 48km north the city centre, it's mainly dedicated to traditional and charter flights, connecting Northern Italy to intercontinental destinations and touristic paradises worldwide. But, although not properly a low-cost gateway, in its Terminal 2, Malpensa hosts two heavyweighters: Easyjet and Volareweb. As you can see, their networks make Malpensa, above all, a good starting point for travellers directed to Southern Italy and Eastern Europe:

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Easyjet offers connections to: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Berlin-Schönefeld, Bristol, Brussels [Starts 18 June 2008], Bucharest-Otopeni, Cagliari, Catania, Edinburgh, Ibiza, London-Gatwick, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Marrakech, Mykonos [Starts 10 June 2008] Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca [Starts 20 June 2008], Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague.

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Volareweb flies to: Alghero, Athens, Brindisi, Cagliari, Helsinki [Starts 24 July 2008], Heraklion, Ibiza [Starts 21 July 2008], Krakow, Lamezia Terme, Ljubljana [begins May 6], Łódź, Malaga, Malta, Olbia [Starts 22 July 2008], Palma de Mallorca [Starts 21 July 2008], Paris-Orly, Pescara, Porto, Rhodes [Starts 26 July 2008],Timisoara, Warsaw [begins April 4], Wroclaw.

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Malpensa Airport is connected to the city center by one rail-express and several bus services. The train shuttle is quite efficient, but very expensive, with one-way tickets starting at 11 Euros (13,5 if purchased on board). Moreover, rail station is located in terminal 1, so, if landed in terminal 2, you will need to take the free shuttle-bus (rides every 20 min.).

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Buses are defenitly the cheapest solution. One-way ticket to Milan will cost you 6 euros, luggage included, and it takes about 50 minutes to the city centre. There is also a regular service to Milan Linate airport (10 euros) and to Turin.