Italian GP - Where to stay in Milan?

G-Money

Howdy,

I'm trying to find some accomodation in Milan for the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix. I think we would be taking a train from Milan Central station so I was wondering if there are any hotels near there? From doing some research online, the central station seems like it's kind of out of the way. I suppose it would be nice to stay somewhere that's walking distance from the train station but maybe not too far from the city centre.

Camping is not an option

Anyone who's been, can you share tips about where you stayed in Milan etc?

Thanks!

Mena

We went in 2001 and decided against staying in Milan, and found a great place in Bergamo, which is not that far away, but we were driving so I've probably been as helpful as an inflatable dart board to you

viking

Went last year, stayed in Hostel Demo around the corner from Central Station. www.hosteldemo.com

Nice, clean and cheap. Perfect for F1 wekend.

Only complaint was that breakfast wasn't great... but meh wasn't too bothered by that.

ScumLord

http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/Milan

They don't just do hostels they do budget hotels and b&bs.

dor83

I've been to Milan a few times and to be honest any hotel near a metro station would be fine because they all go to central station, the Yellow and Green lines both go directly and for the Red you can change at Duomo which is the center of Milan. If you want to stay near Central Station the area is OK and you can generally get anywhere in the city from there.

viking

Also, give yourself plenty of time to get to the circuit. There are buses from the train station in Monza to the circuit, however depending on where you have tickets for, there could be a lot of walking from where the buses drop you.

Here's a GPS tracker from when I went to the GP last year:

http://www.buddyway.com/trip/gpelly/Monza-to-Race-Circuit

It shows the journey we took from the train station by bus to where the buses dropped us off just inside the park. We walked the rest and overall it took us 1.5 hours to get to our seats after having arrived in Monza itself.

dor83

This might be helpfully it's a lot of info about the circuit(its last years info I think) including how to get to the circuit. One thing to remember is that the station near the Lesmo turns is open directly from Milan on the sunday and could save you a lot of walking, the year I was there it was also open after quali on the saturday so might be worth checking out. Check out where your tickets are and see what the best option is, remember that the train is free on the sunday too, think you have to pay the other days but check it out.

enzo7

dor83 wrote: »

I've been to Milan a few times and to be honest any hotel near a metro station would be fine because they all go to central station, the Yellow and Green lines both go directly and for the Red you can change at Duomo which is the center of Milan. If you want to stay near Central Station the area is OK and you can generally get anywhere in the city from there.

ya would agree the metro is very good once your near a metro stop ur grand.

dor83 was half thinking of going to monza this yr again, any time b4 we always got the train to monza station and then the free jammed packed shuttle bus over to the circuit, was wondering whats the name of the train stop close to the lesmos?? can you walk to the circuit from there anything to avoid the fecking shuttle bus.

dor83

I don't remember exactly what the name was, I think it was called Lesmo station but I might be wrong. The guide I linked to says Biassono - Lesmo - Autodromo but as far as I remember it was the stop after Monza, the train I got went from there to Monza and then directly to Milan Central. I will have a look around and see if I can find the circuit map I had which had the station on it, it was right by the exit at Lesmo, a couple mins walk.

EDIT: I think this is the station that I got the train from, You might need to zoom out to see it.

G-Money

I think we will be getting the cheaper tickets, so probably general admission tickets or possibly tickets for the stand at Parabolica - they are about 40 euro more.

I will check out those links, thanks. I hadn't realised that Milan had a metro so that would make getting to central station a lot easier, hopefully.

Where did you folks watch the race from?

G-Money

BTW That hotel demo seems to be about 90 euro a night! Is that what you paid previously?

dor83

I had a general admission ticket and on the Saturday we watched from the chicane just before the Lesmos, seconda variante i think is what its called, it was a great view but gets very crowded. On th Sunday we got there at about 8:30am and there was no space, people were camped there, so we found a place on the straight after Lesmos where we could see a screen. If you dont mind spending the extra money I would recommend getting tickets for a stand because it saves a lot of hassle trying to find a good viewing spot and you tend to always have a screen in front of the stands.

For hotels I use http://www.1800hotels.ie/ for most of my trips, anywhere not just to Milan, and I have often got 4 star hotels in Milan for less than €50 a night single so there are some very good deals available but remember to check for reviews on other sites of the hotel before booking.

tororosso

Hi there, I have stayed in Milan quite a few times over the past 2-3 years. I stayed in the Hotel Florida around the corner from the Central STation a few times. It is only 3 stars and is not exactly luxurious but has everything you need for a comfortable stay! It normally costs about 80-90 euros per night (average hotel price in the area)

The area around the Central Station in Milan is pretty uninteresting and drab with not much to see within decent walking distance so if you are happy to just be beside the train station then thats ok. However as Dor83 says the metro goes right to the station so you could stay near any Metro Stop and probably find a nicer area nearer the Duomo..

There is a very nice four star hotel right beside Hotel Florida and it costs about 90 euros. If I can remember it I will let you know; might be Hotel International or something!!

enzo7

grandmaster wrote: »

I think we will be getting the cheaper tickets, so probably general admission tickets or possibly tickets for the stand at Parabolica - they are about 40 euro more.

I will check out those links, thanks. I hadn't realised that Milan had a metro so that would make getting to central station a lot easier, hopefully.

Where did you folks watch the race from?

ive always watched the race along the back straight which leads to parabolica get their very very early it pack up quickly. no screen doe, also look into kangaroo t.v never used it myself so dont know how good the coverage is in monza with all the trees ? but handy for getting times ect. i would go with seated tickets in parabolica doe if its only 40euro more.

viking

grandmaster wrote: »

BTW That hotel demo seems to be about 90 euro a night! Is that what you paid previously?

I got a rate of €350 for two nights in a 3 bed private. I used their own website for booking as it was cheaper, however it doesn't appear to be working now

Btw, had seats in prima variante (you can see exactly where we sat from the GPS tracker I posted before - just zoom into the finish point of the trip). Some pics I took from where we were sitting:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareth_p/sets/72157607311541781/

TaxiManMartin

We're looking for somewhere to stay for this too. Spending the week there.
Im told you can get buses from all the main stations when you show your ticket. Must get off my arse and do some more research. Times a wastin.

G-Money

I'm not sure they are numbered seats at the Parabolica, they kind of just look like benches. I was looking at the Prima Variante seats as well. They are just un-numbered bench seats as well?

Also I'm not particular bothered about staying near to central station anymore. Now that I know that it's easy to connect to it, that's enough.

viking

grandmaster wrote: »

They are just un-numbered bench seats as well?

Nope, they are benches as such but they are numbered.

Hopefully there won't be rain this year. Last year was the first time it rained at the GP in 25 years, the organisers were not particularly prepared for it and it turned into a rather big mud fest...

G-Money

Good to know about the numbered seats.

Where do people buy their tickets to the race? I was just going to buy them via the link on Formula1.com but I'm wondering if that's the best (cheapest) way to do it?

Am just wondering would I get the same tickets for less money if I bought them elsewhere.

enzo7

dor83 wrote: »

I don't remember exactly what the name was, I think it was called Lesmo station but I might be wrong. The guide I linked to says Biassono - Lesmo - Autodromo but as far as I remember it was the stop after Monza, the train I got went from there to Monza and then directly to Milan Central. I will have a look around and see if I can find the circuit map I had which had the station on it, it was right by the exit at Lesmo, a couple mins walk.

EDIT: I think this is the station that I got the train from, You might need to zoom out to see it.

cheers for that! i much do abit of research actually.

enzo7

grandmaster wrote: »

Good to know about the numbered seats.

Where do people buy their tickets to the race? I was just going to buy them via the link on Formula1.com but I'm wondering if that's the best (cheapest) way to do it?

Am just wondering would I get the same tickets for less money if I bought them elsewhere.

i always used www.grandprix-tickets.com, always found them good.

viking

I found it cheaper when bought direct from the circuit website:

www.monzanet.it

paddy cork

been to 3 races at monza ,as said earlier free trains to and from circuit on the sunday (milan centrale to lesmo) bought general admission tickets at the entrance up from the lesmo station .there is about a 20 min walk to the centre of the circuit(merchandise area and food).usually watch race after the parabolica corner big sceen in front of us and and as soon as race is over emergency gate is opened and mad scramble to see the victory podium (got sprayed with champayne one year).after this walk the mile or so down the track to the lesmo station.
g.a. price last year i think 65 euro
usually get hostal near station for 40 euro

G-Money

viking wrote: »

Btw, had seats in prima variante

I think this is where we might be getting tickets. What was the view like and which stand did you opt for in the end?

I also read something about being really squashed together on the seats. Is this true?

viking

Our tickets were for "Tribuna Esterna Prima Variante B", which if you are looking at the seating on monzanet.it translates to seating area "8b".

View was quite good, could see the cars enter the corner (right , left) then accelerate out. There were one or two spins and a few excursion up the escape road which ran close to the stands. There was a good view of the large TV screen also which was a great to have.

This is pretty much the same view that we had, maybe not as high up in the stand and more to the right:



More images here: http://www.f1grandprixtours.com/ital-outer-first-variant-grandstand-images.php

I don't recall it being too squashed with regards to seating, if it is you soon forget about it once the race starts.