Car Hire Sesto San Giovanni

Car Hire

The northernmost stop of the Metro M1 line serving the city of Milan stops at the small commune of Sesto San Giovanni. This small city northeast of central Milan, otherwise known as Sesto San Giovanni, is an ideal place to secure car rental. Sesto San Giovanni is conveniently located near both Milan, a city best explored by public transit, and the surrounding Lombardy countryside where transportation options other than car are hard to find. Sesto San Giovanni is best known for its factories and diverse population.

Who to Book With
Many Milan visitors choose to get car hire in Sesto San Giovanni because they can safely leave their vehicles in the community before taking public transit to Milan, but still easily drive into the nearby countryside. The Sesto San Giovanni city centre contains two Sixt branches, a Europcar office and a handful of independent operators like Maggiore Rent. Online reservations are accepted by most local vehicle rental providers.

Best Time to Go
Sesto San Giovanni enjoys the same pleasant Mediterranean climate as its much larger neighbour, Milan. This means visitors can expect mild, yet unpredictable, winter weather between November and February, the city's least busy months. The hottest months are July and August. Visitors who arrive in the autumn months of September and October or the spring months from April to June will encounter the region's most pleasant temperatures and lower crowds than in summer. Sesto San Giovanni's hotel rates tend to be cheaper than those at accommodations closer to Milan.

Need to Know Essentials
To claim your hire car, these documents need to be shown:

- A current International Driving Permit or EU driver's licence
- Secondary photo ID, like a passport
- The credit card used to make the booking
- A reference number or booking record

Read our FAQs for more information.

Driving
Driving around Sesto San Giovanni may be less chaotic than driving in nearby Milan, but motorists should nonetheless keep their eyes peeled for occasional reckless drivers. Viale Fulvio Testi and Viale Monza are the main roads connecting Sesto San Giovanni to Milan, but motorists are strongly encouraged to park their vehicles at a commuter car park and take public transit into the larger city. Sesto San Giovanni is situated west of the A51 and south of the A4.

Our Guide to Italy features further driving information.

Transport

As the Metro M1 line's northernmost stop, Sesto San Giovanni is well connected with the rest of metropolitan Milan. In addition to Milan's underground metro network, several bus lines as well as the S-line suburban rail network travel between Sesto San Giovanni and the larger city. Taxi fares between Milan and Sesto San Giovanni can be costly. Sesto San Giovanni is a distance from all three major Milan airports.

Trains and Metro
The Metro M1 line which links Sesto San Giovanni to Milan city centre is just one of the three lines comprising Milan's underground metro system which is operated by ATM. Milan also boasts a comprehensive suburban rail network named the S-line.

Buses
ATM operates the buses which travel between Sesto San Giovanni and Milan, many of which stop at the Sesto San Giovanni metro station. Buses run until 02:00 and use the same integrated ticket system as Milan's metro, tram and suburban rail networks. Urban tickets costing £1.30 each are valid for 1 hour, 30 minutes from the beginning of any ATM public transit journey, but all day tickets are also available for £3.90.

Taxis
Taxis are the most expensive public transportation choice both around Sesto San Giovanni and throughout the rest of Milan. Radio Taxi vehicles stand ready at both taxi stands in Sesto San Giovanni, but taxis can also pick up passengers who hail them from anywhere in the city. A £5.20 surcharge is applied to standard metered fares after dark.

Exploring

As Sesto San Giovanni's own tourist attractions are restricted to a few parks and athletic fields, most visitors head straight for the much larger Milan. However, tourists may wish to pry themselves away from the designer boutiques and stunning palazzos of Italy's second-largest city long enough to enjoy Lombardy's peaceful, rural countryside. The crown jewels of the region's medieval monarchs can be admired at the nearby pedestrianised town of Monza, while the Oltrepo Pavese wine growing region is an hour's drive away in the opposite direction.

Recommended Drives

Milan – Italy's second-most populous city is most famous as a fashion and finance hub, but history buffs may prefer to admire Milan's world famous Teatro alla Scala opera house and countless centuries-old palazzos. Window shoppers walk above intricately-carved mosaics and beneath a majestic glass dome at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Monza – Motorists may not be able to drive around the pedestrianised town of Monza after making the half-hour journey from Sesto San Giovanni, but they can visit the racetrack which hosts Italy's F1 Grand Prix race each year. Monza's other main attractions are the crown jewels once worn by Lombardy's medieval kings.

Lake Maggiore – Italy's second-largest lake forms part of the country's boundary with Switzerland and stands under a 1 hour drive from Sesto San Giovanni. The likes of Charles Dickens and George Byron have written about the beauty of the fishing village of Stresa, while lake pirates used to live in the 13th and 14th century Malpaga castles along the lake's shores. Visitors can also cross the border into Switzerland to visit its largest predominantly Italian city, Lugano.