Driving around in a car or other motor vehicle in central Milan can be quite adventurous, especially in the city center, and if you're an experienced driver, it's probably best to avoid getting into that situation. The distance makes Milan a perfect city for a car vacation.
Motorway ring around Milan
The main entrances and exits to the city are the A1 highways (known as the "Autostrada del Sole", or "Autosole" and which is 759.6 kilometers long) that connect Milan with both the Florence, Rome, reaching as far as Naples and the A4 (Autostrada Serenissima, a 525-kilometer stretch between the cities of Turin and Trieste), connecting Milan with Venice and Verona.
The A4 is eight lanes on the section between Milano Est and Bergamo.
Two other highways to the city are the A7 (Autostrada dei Giovi and is 133.6 kilometers long) to Genoa and the A8 (Autostrada dei Laghi which extends 42.6 kilometers) and connects the city with Varese.
Around Milan, the A51, also known as the Tangenziale Est di Milano, is an approximately 30-kilometer stretch of highway that bypasses the eastern side of the city.
Together with the A50 and A52 highways, it forms a 74.4 km long highway ring around Milan, one of the longest in the Italian road system. It is tolled and operated by the Milano Serravalle - Milano Tangenziali S.p.A. company.
Parking spaces in Milan
If you decide to drive into the center of Milan, you will certainly need to park somewhere. It takes a certain amount of patience to find a free space to park your vehicle.
Parking in the city center can be a problem, as parking spaces for non-Milanese are limited and expensive.
Milan's public transport company (ATM) has many parking spaces on the outskirts of the city center, at metro stations (good to use if you are coming from the highway and plan to stay in Milan for a couple of days).
They are cheap and (relatively) safe. Information on these parking spaces can be found on atm.it
There are also many privately run car parks, with hourly rates ranging from around €2.5 to €4. Almost all of them allow you to park there for several days (although it will cost you a bit).
Close to Milan Central Station (Stazione Centrale di Milano), it is possible to park at Garage 2000 SrL via Achille Zezon 2, which offers a discounted day pass for those with a train ticket.
The price is €2/hour or €19/day. Also well placed is the International Parking Milan Central. It is located underground and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can reach the station in 5 - 10 minutes on foot.
The parking garage is guarded around the clock. The parking space can be reserved in advance via parkcloud.com There are also other companies that provide information on their websites about the availability of parking spaces. These include parclick.com, car-parking.eu and neoparking.com.
If you book a hotel in the city center, there are several that offer parking spaces, such as the Hilton Milan, located one block from the central station.
Heart Milan Apartments San Sepolcro Duomo, located 220 meters from Duomo Cathedral and Aiello Rooms San Babila, in the heart of Milan with 600 meters to La Scala Opera.
But it is also possible to park at the curb in most places in central Milan, as well as in the city's suburbs. These parking spaces are marked with blue lines, and drivers should pay for their parking space and show the ticket on the dashboard.
The cost per hour for these increases the closer you get to the center of the city. Also, be careful not to park in front of any driveways or loading zones and make sure you don't park on the side of the street that will be cleaned on a particular date. Also, do not park in spaces within yellow lines, which are reserved for the residents of the area.
Fee system in "Area C"
It is also important to know that at the beginning of 2012 Milan introduced a charging system for the inner city, called 'Area C'.
Private cars entering this area must pay a €5 fee from Monday to Friday between 07:30 and 19:30. Information on this fee is available in English on the website comune.milano.it.
Hybrid, dual-fuel (gas or petrol) and electric cars are exempt from the charge. Prohibited from entering this area are cars with old diesel and petrol engines and private vehicles over seven meters.
To enter this area, you must purchase and activate an entrance ticket. The ticket can be purchased at parking meters, kiosks, tobacconists, ATM shops (the company operating public transport in the city), on the Intesa Sanpaolo website and the areac.it website, in the city's online service "Servizi Online" or in the city's parking garages.
You can also call the customer center at +390248684001.