AC Milan Tuesday 19th September 6.45pm local time
Getting there
You've basically got three airports to choose from. Linate and Malpensa are the
two official Milan airports (even though Malpensa is 25 miles away), and then
there's Bergamo, used by most budget airlines.
If you fly to Bergamo, the airport is actually
Orio
al Serio.
It's about 30 miles north
east of Milan. There are regular buses to the nearest station, from where you catch a train to
Milan central station. Total journey time is about an hour and a half. It's an
intermittent service, with some trains going to stations in Milan other than the
main one. You can look up times
here. A better option is the regular direct bus service between the airport
and the main station. It runs every half an hour and costs €10 each way. Click
here for more info or to book.
Linate Airport is 12km east of Milan. The new Metro extension (line M4) will
take you to the centre of Milan in only 12 minutes. There's a mainline station
at Malpensa, from where there are direct trains to one or other of the stations
in Milan.
If you catch a train into Milan, or anywhere else for that reason, then
make sure you don't fall foul of the "validation" process that has caught out
foreign travellers for decades. Basically, a ticket for a local or regional
service was until very recently valid for two months, and you had to insert it
into a machine before boarding to get the date and time stamped on it. This
prevented you using it multiple times. Failure to do this would normally result
in a hefty fine, with ignorance not considered a defence. That two month period
was though drastically reduced during the pandemic, the whole validation thing
became less of an issue, and the machines are being removed. The current
position is very confusing, but the advice at the moment is to write the date
and time of the train on your ticket before you start your journey.
Guides
Lonely Planet
Rough Guides
Ciao Milano
Where to drink
Thankfully there isn't a city-wide drink ban for the day, as there was when we
played Inter. Not that it stopped us. There's hardly anything around the ground.
Los Locos Chiosco looks canny, but no doubt it'll be rammed. The bars in the
Navigli district will apparently be welcoming Toon fans. Likewise the
Bootleg Pub (open from 6 on Monday, 11 on Tuesday). See the map below for
locations of these.
Getting around and to the ground
The transport system in Milan is fully integrated. A ticket, costing €2.20 can
be used for 90 minutes on buses, trams and the Metro. A 24 hour ticket is €7.60.
Tickets can be bought at Metro stations, Tabacchi, some bars, and also on their
app (Google/Apple).
Also, you can tap on and tap off with contactless. For more info, see the link
at the bottom.
The San Siro, officially the Stadio
Guiseppe Meazza, is quite a way out from the centre. You can get there on the
underground. The recently constructed driverless M5 line, which runs every 3 or
4 minutes and takes 10 minutes or so from the centre, reached the San Siro in 2015. Alternatively there's a number
16 tram from Piazza Cordusio, just west of the cathedral. Journey time is about
half an hour.
Map
Milan transport
Stadium Guide
Official AC site
NUFC away fan advice
NUST away fan advice