Navigating From Milan Malpensa To Lugano Ticino

Are you planning a trip to Switzerland and wondering the best way to get from Milan Malpensa to Lugano Ticino? Based on our personal experience of travelling multiple times a year between Lugano and Milan Malpensa airport, we’ve summarised all in a blogpost about navigating this journey for you to understand.

Read on to see the usual timetable of the trains, how to choose the right direct trains, where to buy tickets and the overall experience on what to expect when travelling by train from Milan Malpensa to Lugano Switzerland.

Milan Malpensa is the largest international airport in Milan, located approximately 50kms northwest of the city of Milan. Lugano, on the other hand, is a picturesque town in southern Switzerland, known for its stunning lake views and charming old town.

We personally live in Lugano, and when travelling abroad, Milan Malpensa is our first choice due to how easy and efficient it is to travel between the two.

We also get asked often, while based in Lugano, what the best airport is to fly to for visiting. Our first suggestion is always Milan Malpensa airport, with Milan Bergamo airport following as 2nd option. Below you’ll read why flying into Malpensa and taking the train is best to visit Lugano.

Milan Malpensa To Lugano Ticino

Read on to see all information we share about travelling from the airport to the Swiss city of Lugano!

Malpensa To Lugano Facts

Here are a few facts worth knowing about taking the train for this journey:

Taking the train from Malpensa to Lugano instead of taking a car means you will save 8.7 kilos of CO2
By taking a train, you would also save 4.0 litres of fuel that would be used by car
You can sit back and relax after your flight, with plenty of space and comfort. You can also eat and drink on the train providing that it’s not disturbing other passengers.
The trains are suitable for all ages and disabilities, with plenty of space and toilets.

Here are more stats from the SBB website regarding CO2 and energy consumption:

Milan Malpensa to Lugano

Based on logistic efficiency, one of the easiest ways to get to Lugano when visiting from abroad is to fly into Milan Malpensa airport.

Timetable

The trains from Milan Malpensa (T1 and T2) depart every hour from the airport towards Lugano, with the end station either usually Biasca or Airolo.

We find that the trains are mostly always on time, since the end station is Milan Malpensa (T2). So that taking the train from the end station of Milan Malpensa T2 or the next station at Malpensa T1 are in our experience always on time.

Due to this, the train also has plenty of space for sitting and bringing your luggage on board. The train does get busier along the way, but you’ll never have to worry about finding a seat when you get on at the airport.

Here are some examples from the SBB app showing from Malpensa T2 to Lugano, departing every hour every 13 minutes past the hour:

How long does the train take from Milan Malpensa to Lugano?

Then travelling from Milan Malpensa to Lugano is just a short 1 hour and 35 minutes direct train ride from terminal 1 and just a few minutes more with 1 hour and 41 minutes from terminal 2.

You can check this directly on the Switzerland SBB website or app, where you can also buy your tickets in advance.

Do you need to change?

There are direct trains from the airport, so actually travelling from Milan Malpensa to Lugano is very easy. You don’t need to worry about any changes during the journey and not needing to move your luggage to another train. The example images above show direct trains for the whole journey.

Of course do make sure you check the official train station departure boards for the right train and if there are any changes you may need to make, but this would be rare such as if there is any construction happening.

Sometimes there are strikes also in Italy, however the trains to and from the airport are usually not affected, so you shouldn’t need to worry.

What Are The Trains Like From Malpensa to Lugano?

Overall the trains are very clean and tidy. As Milan Malpensa T2 is the final destination of the train, it is often cleaned and trash is emptied before it departs again to Lugano.

The trains have plenty of space for luggage, such as overhead of the chairs. There are areas on the train for larger luggage too, as well as plenty of space for those with big suitcases or prams for children.

There are toilets on board, which are very large and usually clean and equipped with plenty of toilet paper. These are accessible for all too.

All trains offer both 1st class and 2nd class options, so make sure you sit in the correct area based on what ticket you buy. In our experience, the 2nd class seating on these trains are very ideal, clean and there is no need to upgrade to a 1st class ticket as you’ll easily find a seat when departing from Malpensa.

Prices Malpensa to Lugano

For a normal 2nd class ticket, with no subscriptions or discounts, this would cost per adult only 24.40 CHF one way. This is based on being in second class. See screenshot below from SBB website. This is a ticket directly from Milan Malpensa to Lugano on a specific train that I picked leaving at 13:19pm.

However the prices can range based on if you have any special discounts. For example, I have half fare subscription in Switzerland so I can buy the exact same train ticket in the example for only 19.20 CHF instead of 24.40 CHF.

You can buy your tickets on the SBB website directly, even though the train is starting and departing from Italy officially. The SBB website will then easily let you choose Lugano as your destination and allow you to pay online with most banking cards and other types of payments.

You can alternatively buy a train ticket at the airport when you arrive. There are machines at both Malpensa T1 and Malpensa T2 that you can on the spot purchase your ticket. At T1 there is also a ticket office area to buy the ticket from a staff member, but we advise just to use the machines as they are very user friendly.

Summary

We hope this post helps you out with travelling from Milan Malpensa airport to Lugano Switzerland.

We nearly always take the train, it’s reliable, not expensive and we’ve never experienced issues with strikes, cancellations or breakdowns.

The timings are also great for us when we fly! We usually buy our ticket in advance, but we love that you can also just buy it on the spot before the train departs and it won’t cost you a fortune.

There are of course other ways you can travel, such as with a night bus or a car. But we highly suggest to take the train for most convenience, easy and sustainable way to travel!