City trip Milan – the journey


FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - here's our planeWhoop whoop! Time for our city trip to Milan! We booked this city break to Milan only 2 weeks in advance, so short notice. It had been almost a year since we last packed our bags, and it was strange to travel carry-on only, but we managed. Our little world traveler was really excited about flying again and was looking forward to our stay in a new city.


Also read:
6 top things to do in Milan Italy with kids
City trip Milan: the basics
5 tips for successful city breaks with kids


Here’s the story of our journey to Milan in pictures.

Only hand luggage

After hauling a massive amount of luggage (too much) around South East Asia for 10 months it’s always a relief to travel with only hand luggage. There are some things I forgot to pack and some things I didn’t think of, but we’re not really missing anything. Please keep in mind that when you’re flying with Easyjet there’s a big chance you’ll have to put one of your hand luggage in the hold. Since most people fly with carry-on only, there simply isn’t enough space in the overhead compartments. We voluntarily checked in one bag (I had already counted on this and didn’t put anything important in that one bag) and then were forced to check in one more at the gate.

 FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - traveling with only hand luggage
How easy to travel with only hand luggage!

Budget travel tip: bring your own sandwhiches

Food is always so crazy expensive at airports and Amsterdam Airport is no exception. Since this trip would already cost enough, we decided to just bring our own fruits and sandwiches. Our little boy loves picnics 🙂

FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - quick bite at Schiphol Airport
Budget travel tip: take your own fruit and sandwiches to eat at the airport. Airport food is soooo expensive

Waiting at the airport with a toddler

We all know waiting at the airport with a toddler can be a challenge. Lots of airports have a little playground nowadays and we always bring some toy cars, coloring pages and pencils and some duplo for our little one to play with. The M gates and Schiphol airport are really basic and there really isn’t a lot to see and do there (they’re only meant for European destinations and mostly Easyjet and other budget airlines). Fortunately, someone was genius enough to design a seating area that incorporates a slide. How fun! Our toddler found a friend and they played for over an hour. So the wait didn’t take long at all.

FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - slide at the Schiphol airport M gates
There really isn’t anything to do at the M gates, but the slide kept our little one entertained

Flying with Easyjet

Like last year when we went to Vienna, we flew with Easyjet. They don’t offer a lot of service, not enough leg space and no extra’s, but that’s why their prices are so competitive. Other than having to put our hand luggage in the hold at the last second, while at the gate, I had no issues. The flight was short (only about 1,5 hours) and smooth.

On board

All three of us were happy to travel again, even if it was just for a few days. The day after we arrived in Milan our little one was already asking when he could fly again 😉

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What can I say… our little world traveler loves to fly



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Selfie on the plane! We’re all happy to be traveling again

Milan Malpensa Airport

Milan Malpensa is a relatively small airport and it didn’t take long for our bags to arrive. Our little world traveler was waiting like a pro, he already knows exactly how it works when you fly.

FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - waiting for our luggage
Waiting for our luggage at Milan Malpensa Airport. Our little world traveler knows the drill…

Milan Malpensa Express

It was easy to find the train to the city center, the Malpensa Express. It only took us about 30 minutes to get to Cadorna station from where we could switch to the red subway line M1 to reach our Airbnb apartment.

FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - Blog: City trip Milan - on the Malpensa Express train
It’s easy to get into the city with the Malpensa Express train

Dinner time!

Restaurants in our area are a curious mix of kebap/pizza or chinese/pizza. We chose the chinese/pizza combi and had our very first Italian pizza in Italy. It was actually quite good! Don’t forget to bring something to entertain your kids while waiting for your food. The little ones get cranky when it takes to long and they get hungry. Some toy cars always work wonders for our little world traveler (but he’s now progressed to the phase where the cars have to ‘talk’ to him and we’re the ones having to do the talking, haha)

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Toy cars are great to play with while you have to wait at a restaurant



FlipFlopGlobetrotters.com - blog: City trip Milan basics
What do you eat when you’re in Italy? Pizza!