Grande Milano, or Greater Milan, is the urban area surrounding the city of Milan, the capital of Lombardy in Italy. This guide covers the locations surrounding Milan that fall within the boundaries of the Metropolitan City of Milan, as well as Monza and Brianza under the administrative split of Lombardy. The Lake Como area and province of Lecco are a district of Greater Milan exclusively for the super-rich and VIPs.

One can assume that all of the towns around Milan are just bedroom communities providing the big city with extra labour force, this is very much not the case with Grande Milano. Many of the localities have their own unique character and history, with town centres full of architectural heritage and much to offer in terms of culture and sightseeing. As most are within half an hour of Milan, extending your visit to the city with day trips may enrich your experience exponentially.

Cities

• 1 Milan (Milano) — the capital of Lombardy and the Metropolitan City of Milan, and the centre of the metropolitan area
• 2 Lake Como and Lecco province district (Lake Como) — all the area of Lake Como and province of Lecco become a very exclusive district of Milano only for super rich and vip.
• 3 Abbiategrasso — its Visconti Castle was built in 1382
• 4 Monza — known primarily for the racing track, but also boasting a beautiful large park and a pedestrianized historic town centre
• 5 Legnano — the only town other than Rome named in the Italian national anthem
• 6 Paderno Dugnano — one of the youngest cities in Italy, only created as such in 1989
• 7 San Donato Milanese — possession of the archbishops of Milan, reachable from Milan by metro
• 8 San Giorgio su Legnano — since 1957, hosting the annual Campaccio, a cross country running event which attracts world class athletes

Other destinations

• 1 Abbey of Viboldone (Abbazia di Viboldone) – is an abbey in Viboldone, a frazione of San Giuliano Milanese
• 2 Agliata Basilic (Basilica Agliate) – is a basilic in Agliate, a frazione of Carate Brianza

Abbey of Viboldone

Understand

The northern part of Grande Milano contains the historic land of Brianza, which spills to some extent onto the provinces around Lake Como. The metropolitan city of Milan is an Italian metropolitan city in Lombardy. Planned for the first time by law no. 142 on the new system of local authorities of 8 June 1990, art. 17-21, was definitively established by the law of 7 April 2014 n. 56, replacing the pre-existing province of Milan starting from 1 January 2015. With a population of 3 249 722 inhabitants, it is the second most populous metropolitan city in the country after the metropolitan city of Rome and covers an area of 1,575.65 km² comprising 133 metropolitan municipalities. It borders to the north with the province of Varese and the province of Monza and Brianza, to the east with the province of Bergamo, to the south-east with the province of Cremona and the province of Lodi, to the south-west with the province of Pavia and to the west with the province of Novara (Piedmont). It also includes the municipality of San Colombano al Lambro, an exclave between the provinces of Lodi and Pavia.

Get in

Arriving from Milan, you can either take a S-train, which stops at every station on there route, or a “Regionale”/“Regionale Veloce” which will stop in less and more major locations.

The hub from which almost every S-train pass through is Milan Porta Garibaldi, where lines S1, S2, S5, S6, S7, S8 and S13 meet, although Milano Cadorna is also useful, with lines S3 and S4 departing from here. Monza can also be a useful hub, since here you can take the S7, S8, S9 lines and “Regionale/ Regionale veloce” regional trains (to and from the cities of Lecco, Como, Bergamo and Lugano and several other towns and villages)

S-trains are usually every 30 minutes all day, from 5-6 a.m. up to 9-11 p.m. depending on the line. The farther from Milan it is, the sooner the service usually stops. Some outer lines may be cut back in mid morning or on Sundays, but at least hourly service is usually guaranteed thanks to the many intersecting lines.

These are primarily commuter trains, so keep in mind they serve the most complete routes (and are at the most crowded) at peak times and may run shorter routes or times on festivities and Sundays.

Ticket price depends on the zone you depart , arrive and pass through, with no distinction between regional or S-trains and are valid on every route, inside the fare zone you purchased; this applies only if you are depart and arrive inside the STIBM, or the “Milan and Brianza integrated fare zone”.

For trains outside this area, you’ll have to specify the station you depart from and arrive to, since the ticket will be valid only on that specific route; if your train departs or ends in Milan, regardless if it was from inside or outside the STIBM fare system, you can use every railway service inside Milan: for up to 6 hours from validation if outside the STIBM, for less if inside (depending on the zone) .

Every STIBM is also valid for every transport inside Milan for a set amount of time since the first validation, which is mandatory for every ticket prices (ticket inspectors can be sympathetic if you show you made an innocent mistake in good faith, but they can also levy the normal fine, which is up to €100).

If you do not know how to validate, immediately look for and ask an official (they are all in standard recognizable uniforms, usually but not always in the first train carriages) or the driver (if on buses or trams) where and how to validate your ticket: if you were actively looking for them to validate your ticket, you will not be given any fine; it can be subject of personal opinion whether you were or were not looking for, so make sure you do it quite visibly.

Check the “Trenord” website for more information (all S and regional train are run by the company).

Do

• 1 Olimpia Milano, Via Giuseppe di Vittorio 6, Assago (Metro: Assago Milanofiori Forum). One of Italy's most storied basketball teams, playing at Mediolanum Forum (aka Forum di Assago) in the outer Milan suburb of Assago. Olimpia plays in both the top domestic league, Lega Basket Serie A, and the continent-wide EuroLeague. The arena is also a major concert venue. 

Go next

Province of Milan