Mobile internet in Milan: a visitor's guide
Milan is two trips in one: the weekend with the timed museum ticket, and the work week with the laptop and the video calls. Both run on the phone. What decides how it goes is whether your plan charges roaming in Italy, where the signal drops, and how close you are to a border that changes the rules.
See eSIMs for ItalyRoaming in Milan
- EU phone plans: Italy is in the EU, so roam-like-at-home applies, sometimes with a fair-use data cap that is lower than your allowance at home.
- UK phone plans: since Brexit it depends on your operator, and several charge a daily fee for Italy.
- Plans from outside Europe: usually international roaming prices or a daily pass. The detail is in our Italy internet guide.
- An Italy data eSIM sidesteps the question: fixed price on local networks (TIM (5G), Iliad (5G), Wind (5G)).
eSIM for Italy
Data on your phone the moment you land in Italy. No account, no app, no shop.
Choose your data
For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
And if it turns out yours cannot use it, write to us and you get every cent back.
Discount code
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
From Malpensa, Linate or Bergamo into the city
Milan is served by three airports and they sit at different distances from the city, so the way in is a train or a coach and the right one depends on which airport you landed at and what time it is. All of that is looked up on a phone, and the ticket is usually shown from the phone too, on the platform or at the coach door.
Airport Wi-Fi normally asks for a registration or a phone number and often cuts out after a set time, so do not build the arrival on it. Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi: it only starts counting when your phone connects to a network in Italy, so you can buy it weeks ahead.
Where the signal actually drops
Inside the metro tunnels coverage depends on the line and on the station, so expect gaps between stops and long interchange corridors with nothing. Load the route, the ticket or the call notes before you go down.
Indoors is the other one: basements, exhibition halls, old buildings with thick walls and underground car parks all swallow the signal, on any network. If a call matters, take it above ground or on Wi-Fi.
Working from Milan: calls, hotspot and tickets
- Video calls are the heaviest thing most people do on mobile data. A day of them is worth planning a size around, not squeezing into a weekend pack.
- Hotspot for the laptop is included and we do not cap the speed, so a hotel desk or a café table works as an office. You get 5G where the network has it.
- Cloud sync on a work laptop is quietly enormous: files, mail and backups all start at once when you tether. Pause the sync before you share the connection.
- Timed entry to see the Last Supper and other sites sells out in advance and is shown from the phone. Save it to your phone wallet or as a PDF the night before, and the door stops depending on signal.
How much data for a few days in Milan
- 3 GB: a long weekend of maps, messaging, tickets and some social media.
- 5 GB: a week at the same pace, with photos going up as you take them.
- 10 GB: one to two weeks with video calls, or a work trip on the laptop.
- 20 GB: a month, or a phone that shares its connection with a laptop all week.
If you want the numbers per app, see how much data you need.
Prices for Italy, day trips and the Swiss border
Data eSIMs for Italy: 3 GB for 4,49 €, 5 GB for 6,49 €, 10 GB for 11,79 € and 20 GB for 16,99 €. It is data only, so your own line keeps your number and WhatsApp, and recharging it does not mean installing it again.
The same eSIM covers the whole country, so the day trains to the lakes or to Turin are fine, with the times and the tickets on the phone as usual. Switzerland is the exception worth knowing about: it is around an hour and a half away and it is outside the EU roaming rules, so an Italian pack simply stops giving data once you cross, and so does roam-like-at-home on an EU plan. If the lakes turn into a day on the Swiss side, read the Switzerland roaming guide first.
Is there mobile signal on the Milan metro?
Inside the tunnels it depends on the line and the station, so expect gaps between stops and in interchange corridors. Load what you need before going down.
Do I need data when I land at Malpensa or Bergamo?
It helps a lot: which train or coach goes into the city, the times at that hour, the ticket and the message to your hotel all need it. Airport Wi-Fi usually asks you to register and does not last.
Will my Last Supper ticket open without internet?
Only if you downloaded it first. Save the QR to your phone wallet or as a PDF the night before and it opens with no signal.
Does an Italy eSIM work in Switzerland?
No. A country pack stops giving data as soon as you leave that country, and Switzerland is outside the EU roaming rules, so an EU plan does not roam free there either. Plan that part of the trip separately.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See eSIMs for Italy