You don’t have to stay in Milan to see Milan. You can stay right here in Stresa and be in the center of the city in about an hour. When I have made the early morning commute I always get a comfortable seat, and after a little time reading or planning or people watching, I arrive in Stazione Centrale or Stazione Garibaldi. From these stations I can leave and walk, or transfer to the Metro system and travel anywhere.

Even if this will be your first and only opportunity to visit Milan it’s possible to get an overview of some of the major sites in one day. The Duomo, La Scala Opera House, the Castello Sforzesco, and a viewing of DaVinci’s Last Supper can be visited, at least briefly, before catching an evening train back to Stresa. And if you’ve already been to Milan several times, then you have the freedom to travel in at your leisure and take advantage of the culture, the fashion, the shopping, and the food of this trendy city in any way you like.

Here are some basic instructions for taking the train from Stresa to Milan. Purchase your roundtrip ticket at the Stresa train station. (You can read more about the station here.) Be sure whether you want to arrive at Garibaldi or Centrale, and then ask for a ticket, andata e ritorno, roundtrip. The price will vary, but it’s approximately 11 euro as I write this. Remember to punch your ticket into one of the yellow boxes you’ll see hanging on the wall of the station near the tracks. This validates your ticket for this portion of the trip. Watch the clock and the monitors for the arrival of your train, and then enjoy the ride. Once arrived in Milan, if you want to take the Metro, you’ll need to stop at a tabacchiera, the tobacconist, which is really the newspaper stand, and purchase tickets for the subway. Each ticket costs 1 euro and is good to use anywhere on the Metro system. Now, one word of caution. On your return trip Stresa will not be the destination shown on the monitors. As is the norm, the final destination will be shown. Trains returning to Stresa usually will be those heading for Domodossola, but you may feel more content if you ask at the information desk, just for peace of mind.

That’s all there is to it. Easy, economical, and fast, and you’re traveling like a real Italian.

Trenitalia: www.ferroviedellostato.it

The Trenitalia Web site provides all schedule and fare information and is available in English. Tickets can be purchased online. Note that on the site, as well as on tickets, monitors, and signs, Milano Stazione Centrale is indicated as MI C.LE, and Milano Stazione Garibaldi as MI P.GA.