Living in Milan

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Milan has an extremely efficient and well-established public transport system.. The ATM operates the metro, bus, tram and trolley services, which have the advantage of being integrated. Tickets, which can be bought from tobacconists, coffee bars and vending machines throughout the city, are validated on board and then have a time limit of 90 minutes travel on any of the transport options, or one ride on the metro. The city's metro is particularly efficient, inexpensive and user-friendly.

Metropolitana
The Milan subway network consist of 4 lines;

• MM1 - red line
• MM2 - green line
• MM3 - yellow line
• MM5 - purple line

There is an additional Passante blue line, suburban railway, running through 3 stops in central Milan and then heading out to the suburbs. Metro entrances are marked with a red square sign with a white "M". The Milano metro runs from 6:15 until 00:14.

Download Milan's Undergound Map >>

Tram
Trams, also known as trolley car, run throughout the city. They are orange or green and have either a long or a short carriage. The longer trams are more modern than the older wooden interior box shaped trams.

Bus
Buses are always orange. There are electric cable buses (filobus) as well as independent buses.
Tram stops as well as bus stops are marked by tall orange poles with a diagram of the tram or bus route.

BikeMi
BikeMi is Milan’s new Bike Sharing system. It is an easy, practical and ecological service . BikeMi is not just a simple bike rental service but a real public bicycle transport system to be used for short trips. All information are available on the website: www.bikemi.com

For more information about Milan’s public transportation system visit: www.atm-mi.it.

Shops - Shops are usually open from 10:00 to 19:30 from Monday to Saturday. Some shops close for the lunch break (about 1 hour). Most of the shops are closed on Monday morning. Department stores in the centre of Milan are open also on Sunday.

Supermarkets - Most of the supermarkets are open from 8:00 to 20:00 / 21:00 from Monday to Saturday. Some of them are open also on Sunday.

Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 13:30and from 14:45 to approximately 15:45. Each bank has its own opening hours. There are money exchanges in Piazza Duomo, Piazza Scala, Via Orefici, Via Dante, near the Central Station and the airports.

You can find exchange machines in Piazza Duomo/Via Mengoni, Piazza Meda, Via Marconi 1, at the airports, and at the Central Station. Money can also be changed at the central post office, Piazza Cordusio 1 (MM1 Cordusio), Central Station post office, and at Linate airport.

Post offices are marked with a yellow “PT” sign.

Post offices are generally open until the early afternoon: Mon - Fri 8.00 – 14:00, Sat 9:30 – 13:00.

Stamps are also available at tobacconists (T sign).

Post offices close to Linguadue:

Via Cappellini 17/19 tel. 026773311

Via Cardano Gerolamo 8 tel. 026702498

Via Rosolino Pilo 19/a tel. 022046789

The Central Post Office in via Cordusio 4 is open: Mon-Fri 8:00 – 19:00; Sat 8:30 – 12:00, Sun closed. Tel 0272481

Mobile Phones
Mobile phones are relatively cheap in Italy so it may not always be cheaper to hire one. In Corso Buenos Aires near the school you will find many shops selling mobiles phones. If you already have one, it is possible to buy a new SIM card with an Italian number which will help you to save money on local phone calls.

This is an indication of averange costs in Milan.

source: January 2014 www.numbeo.com

If you are a non-EU citizen
Health insurance for Italy has to meet the following requirements:

• it must cover expenses in case of emergency treatment and urgent hospitalization (recovery in casualty)
• it must cover the entire duration of your stay in Italy;
• it must guarantee the policy-holder’s return to his/her own country in case of serious illness
• it must be in English or translated in Italian and legalized by the Italian Embassy/Consulate
• it must also be valid in the Schengen Area.

The most economic health insurance policy in Italy is INA (Istituto Nazionale Assicurazioni) which covers emergency hospital and maternity charges. It costs € 49,00 for 6 months and € 98,00 for 1 year.
For further information please ask at the secretary’s office.

If you are an EU citizen
Before you leave for Italy you have to go to the competent Health Institution in your country in order to ask for an extension of your health assistance to Italy through one of the following issues:

• E 106 for study or work stays more than 365 days.
• the European Health Insurance Card (so called "TEAM Card") for stays up to 365 days, by which you are automatically covered in all EU-member countries for health cares considered as "necessary”

Medical Services
At Linguadue we can arrange an appointment for you at the International Health Centre, where you can get English-speaking medical, dental or psychology services. Do not forget to ask the doctor for the receipt of payment to get a refund from your health insurance once you are back in your country! Pharmacies are also a convenient place to have an advice on minor complaints, as the staff is medically trained. The Central Station pharmacy is open 24 hours, on the first floor departures gallery. We suggest that if you have a specific health complaint, obtain the necessary information and referrals for treatment before leaving home.

In Milan, like in most large cities, you need to take some simple precautions.
Do not carry large sums of money with you.
Do not take all your credit cards with you at the same time, and don't keep your passport, credit cards, money etc… together.
Use a bag which closes securely. Do not put your wallet where everyone can see it.
Do not leave valuable things like mobile phones, i-pods etc… lying around in public places.
Keep your possessions where you can see them and avoid wearing very expensive jewellery when you are going out.
At night avoid dark places that you do not know.
Inform your host family or a housemate if you are going to be out very late at night.
If you are travelling alone, particularly at night and if you are a woman, try to avoid empty public transport. If you know you are going to be out late , we suggest arranging for taxi services or radiobus to collect you and take you back to your accommodation.