Getting to Rho Fiera

Fiera Milano Rho is the largest exhibition complex in Europe, and it is not in Milan: it sits fifteen kilometres to the north-west, on the boundary between Rho and Pero. The good news is that both a metro line and a railway station reach it, and both exits open onto the fairgrounds.

By metro

The red M1 terminates at Rho Fiera Milano. It is the simplest way: no special ticket, no booking, you tap through the barrier with a contactless card exactly as for any other journey.

From the Duomo it takes about thirty minutes. From Loreto and the whole eastern side of the city you get there without changing, because the M1 crosses Milan from end to end. On fair mornings the trains are full but frequent: one every two or three minutes.

One thing catches people out: the M1 splits into two branches at Pagano. The train for Rho Fiera is the one showing Rho Fiera Milano; the other goes to Bisceglie. It is written on the front of the train and on the platform screens.

By train

Rho Fiera station is served by suburban and several regional trains, and the exit gives directly onto the fair forecourt. It is faster than the metro if you start from:

• Central Station — about fifteen minutes.
• Porta Garibaldi — a little over ten.
• Milano Certosa or Bovisa — a few minutes.

If you are arriving from another city by high-speed train you may not need to enter Milan at all: some services stop at Rho Fiera directly. It is worth checking when you book.

By car: possible, but

There are paid car parks around the pavilions and a dedicated motorway exit. On big event days, though, road access is congested for kilometres and the car parks fill early.

If you arrive by car from abroad or another region, the sensible choice is to leave it where you are staying and take public transport. Milan has a paid restricted-traffic zone in the centre (Area C) and a very large low-emission zone (Area B) that also applies to vehicles passing through.

Where to set off from

Instinct says stay as close to the fair as possible. That instinct is almost always wrong: there is no town around Rho, there are pavilions and slip roads, and you come back to Milan in the evening regardless.

What matters is being on the M1 or one change from it. From our apartments:

From	How	Time
Città Studi and Loreto	M1 direct	~40 min
Bicocca and viale Pirelli	M5 + change to M1	~45 min

The advantage of the second option is not the time, it is the route: you avoid crossing the centre at rush hour, which during fair weeks makes a real difference.

The weeks when the city fills up

The Salone del Mobile in April is the event that exhausts Milan's beds, with the Fuorisalone taking over every district. The fashion weeks in February and September are shorter but just as intense. Then there is the whole calendar of trade fairs, which covers most of the year.

For the Salone, book six months to a year ahead. That is not a sales line: it is how long it takes to find something at a normal price.

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