Milan Metro

Milan Metro

The Milan metro is made up of four lines and is the most extensive in Italy. Its construction was completed in the 1960s.

Despite the Milan Metro only having four lines and 111 stations, it is currently the longest metro line in Italy - measuring 58.7 miles - 94.5 km. It surpasses the metro in Rome, which only consists of three lines.

The Milan Metro is one of Europe’s most modern metro systems. Although the first projects to build a metro rail network were designed at the beginning of the twentieth century, it wasn’t until 1957 that the first metro line was set up. The Milan Metro was inaugurated nearly ten years later, in 1964.


Plano de metro y trenes urbanos de Milán
Milan metro and urban train map

The four metro lines in Milan are numbered and have various colours:

  • Line M1 (red): This line is useful, especially if you are travelling to Milan on business and want to reach the Fiera Milano. The line also stops at the Duomo and San Babila.
  • Line M2 (green): The M2 stops at Milano Centrale.
  • Line M3 (yellow): The M3 is probably the most convenient line for tourists. It stops at the Duomo, in Via Montenapoleone (the most important commercial area in Milan) and Milano Centrale.
  • Line M5 (purple): The M5 is integrated with the regional trains. Visitors will find the following stops interesting: Garibaldi station and Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
  • The Milan Metro is currently working on the fifth line (blue line).

Note that if you are staying in the centre of Milan, it is probable that you will not need to take the metro except to go to the airport.

Where to purchase the metro tickets?

The metro tickets and travel cards can be purchased in the metro stations, kiosks and off-licenses.

If you need to take the metro on a regular basis, we recommend buying various one-way tickets at a time or purchasing a travel card.

Schedule and frequency

The metro opens every day from 6 am until 12:30 am (midnight). On 25 December and 1 of May, the metro opens from 7 am until 7:30 pm.

The frequency of the Milan Metro depends on the time of day, on the line and the day of the week, but generally the trains arrive every 2-4 minutes. Outside the city centre, for example, the last stops of the M2 line, trains run every 30 minutes.


Information on the various types of metro tickets and travel cards are found on the following article: Tickets and travel cards in Milan.