© Federico Di Dio photography・Unsplash License

Italy

Milan

Italy's capital of fashion and design. Beneath the Duomo runs the country's largest metro network.

Metropolitana di Milano (Milan Metro)

Tap twice - once in, once out. The orange gates take a bank card or a phone directly, no sign-up and no fee. Rome taps once at the gate; bring that habit here and the missed tap-out bills you the maximum fare.

Updated on August 19, 2026

How to ride

  1. 1
    Check your destination is inside Mi1-Mi3
    M1, M3, M4 and M5 are all city fare. Only M2 needs a different ticket beyond Cascina Burrona.
  2. 2
    Get a card or a ticket ready
    Tap a bank card as it is, buy in the app, or get a RicaricaMi at a machine or a newsstand. Paper magnetic tickets no longer exist.
  3. 3
    Tap in at an orange gate
    Cards and tickets tap the reader on an orange gate, app tickets show their QR; nothing goes into the old ticket slot.
  4. 4
    Tap out with the same card
    Tap again on the way out even when the barrier stands open; skip it and you are billed the fare to the furthest station.
  5. 5
    Tap out and back in at some interchanges
    At San Babila, S. Ambrogio and Sforza-Policlinico you tap out, walk through and tap in again - the same ticket works.
  6. 6
    Tapped in with a card? Leave the gates before an S line
    Tickets stay valid on S lines; only the contactless card fails, so tap out at the interchange and buy a rail ticket.

Fares

Single fares2

Standard ticket (Mi1-Mi3, 90 minutes)
90 minutes from first validation; you can leave and re-enter the metro on the same ticket
2.2 EUR ≈ $2
Standard ticket (Mi1-Mi6, as far as Gessate)
For M2 beyond Cascina Burrona; Mi1-Mi4 costs 2,60 EUR and Mi1-Mi5 costs 3,00 EUR
3.5 EUR ≈ $4

Passes & multi-ride3

Day ticket (Mi1-Mi3)
24 hours from first validation, unlimited rides
7.6 EUR ≈ $9
3-day ticket (Mi1-Mi3)
Three calendar days, not 72 hours - it runs to the end of service on day three, 03:45
15.5 EUR ≈ $17
Carnet of 10 (Mi1-Mi3)
Each ride lasts 90 minutes; the carnet cannot be shared by several people at once
19.5 EUR ≈ $22

Estimates use exchange rates as of November 4, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride
VISAMastercardMaestroAmex
Tap the reader on an orange gate - on the way in and on the way out
Phone wallet
A phone or watch holding the card works the same way; no fee, no sign-up
Card payment at machines
Machines in M4 stations take cards only; ATM says nothing about other stations
IC card
No stored-value travel card exists; RicaricaMi holds tickets, not a balance
App tickets
ATM MilanoTrenord
Buy in the ATM Milano app, paying by card, PayPal, Satispay or MyBank
QR ticketing
At the gates: ATM app tickets and the City Pass use a QR at the gate, both in and out
Paper tickets
At machines: Paper magnetic tickets died in January 2026, and the swap window has closed too
Cash
At machines: No cash at ticket machines in M4 stations, and none at the gates either

Quick facts

Hours
05:40-00:30 approx.
Frequency
Every 2-7 min on central sections
Fares from
2.2 EUR+

Heads-up

  • A missed tap-out costs the maximum fare

    Fail to tap out and the system charges you as far as the most distant station from where you entered. From a Milan station that means an extra 1,30 EUR billed days later; tapping only on the way out, with no entry tap, costs 2,20 EUR plus 2,80 EUR - 5 EUR in all. Tap the exit reader even when the barrier is standing open.

  • A whole wallet at the reader charges the wrong card

    Never wave a whole wallet or bag at the reader. Milan's validators are universal - one device reads passes, bank cards, watches and phones alike - so several cards at once either jam the read or charge the wrong one.

  • Disputes over a charge must reach ATM within 90 days

    A claim about a charge you do not recognise has to reach ATM within 90 days of the debit; past that date no refund is considered at all.

  • A city ticket does not cover the far east of M2

    A city ticket does not cover the whole of M2. Heading east from the centre, city fare runs only as far as Cascina Burrona; from Cernusco S. N. out to Gessate the zone steps up. Even a day or three-day ticket leaves you fare-dodging if you ride on past that point.

  • Contactless is not read on Trenord or the S lines

    Contactless bank cards work only on ATM's own lines - they are not read on Trenord trains or on the Passante S lines. Mi1-Mi3 tickets, whether on RicaricaMi or in the app, stay valid on Trenord and the S lines inside STIBM, so buying again means paying twice. Only if you entered on a card do you have to tap out at Porta Venezia, Repubblica, Garibaldi or Dateo and buy a rail ticket.

Timetable

Operating hours 05:40-00:30 approx.
Typical duration Five lines and 134 stations cover most of the city; M4 runs from the centre to Linate airport in 12 minutes
Check the official site for the latest times and service status
An M4 platform; the next train's arrival shows on the display overhead. Taken Oct 2024 © Userisdeleted・CC BY-SA 4.0

Route map

5 lines ·125 stations
© OpenStreetMapOpenMapTilesData (ODbL)
Editor Naotaka