The pros and cons of having a car in Milan
Should you have a car in Milan? Think hard about whether having a car in Milan is for you! 😉
Milanized! Crew
Having a car in general seems like an excellent idea. It's convenient, you can go from A to B without depending on the public transport schedule, go somewhere nice on the weekends, etc.
However, one might want to think twice before embarking on the adventure of owning a car in Milan, which undeniably has its pros, but they also come with some cons.
There are so many awesome places you can go to by car
Having a car allows you to go on day trips, weekend trips, and travel abroad in a few hours. Just within Italy, for example, there are a lot of lovely places to go to, whether it's beaches, mountains, lakes, or picturesque cities.
When it comes to traveling, having a car will not disappoint!
During the summer you can go to the beach within 2 hours of driving, and during the winter you can go somewhere nice in the mountains within an hour and a half.
If you have a few days to spare and are feeling a little adventurous, you can drive to Ljubljana and get there in around 5 hours, the same goes for Innsbruck, Basel, etc.
The first con of having a car in Milan is... having a car in Milan
First off, good luck finding a place to park your car! If you're lucky enough to find a spot on the streets, some people will vandalize your car just because they can. Be careful where you park your car.
You can find a "box" or a "posto auto" to avoid leaving your car on the streets. They are usually not very expensive.
Oh, and if you see a street that has a sign that says "Zona di Traffico Limitato", don't enter that street, unless you are allowed to do it.
Traffic
Right off the bat, traffic is horrible during rush hours. If you live within or near the city center, it's best not to go to work by car. Take the metro. It works pretty well and it's convenient. (Watch out for pickpockets though! 😉)
If it's raining and you have the option to work from home, you might consider staying home. Traffic is already horrible and many people don't drive when the weather is fine, but they will if it rains and the streets will be even more packed with cars.
Parents are going to want to take their kids to school by car when it rains, and there will probably be zero parking spaces nearby, so everyone will park their cars wherever they can, for example, in front of an exit, behind a parked car, therefore blocking that car, or just stop the car in the middle of the street, blocking the entire traffic!
Where to park the d*mn thing!
Finding a place to park your car is so difficult, sometimes you'll see people doing some really weird stuff, like literally just stopping the car in the middle of the street, turning the hazard lights on, and going do whatever it is they need to do.
Please don't be that person! 😭 Traffic is already bad enough (it deserves its own article, really...), don't make it worse!
Conclusion
Drive your car only when it's necessary to avoid headaches. Avoid driving during the week, especially during rush hours. Favor taking the metro and /or biking. You'll see you get to places faster and less stressfully than with a car.
It's still nice to have a car though. Milan is located in a very central area where you can go to many places with a car.
Good luck with your driving adventures!
