What's the smartest way to use public transit in Milan?
Buy a 48-hour or 72-hour travel card from any ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) ticket machine or tobacconist rather than single-ride tickets, unless you are genuinely making only one or two trips. The flat-fee cards cover the metro, trams, and buses within the urban zone, and Milan's network is dense enough that you will use them more than you expect. Load a Mediaworld or tabacchi top-up card onto the ATM app if you want to go paperless. The metro runs on three main lines worth memorizing: M1 (red) for the center and Navigli area, M2 (green) for Centrale and Cadorna, M3 (yellow) for the Duomo and San Babila corridor. Trams are slower but cover neighborhoods the metro misses, particularly the east side toward Città Studi. Avoid taxis for short hops inside the ring roads; the fare structure makes them punishing for anything under four kilometers. Last metro is around midnight, so budget a rideshare for late nights.
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