Stadio San Siro – Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

There are a few famous stadiums in the world, and when it comes to Italy nothing compares to the Stadio San Siro in Milan. It’s the biggest stadium in Italy, with a capacity of more than 80,000 people, and its distinctive design makes it instantly recognizable. What’s more, because it’s home to two of Italy’s biggest football clubs, there’s something going on just about every weekend during the Serie A season.

Milan’s monstrous stadium is one of many that goes by more than one name – but the reasons why some people call it one or the other are more complicated than you might think. Originally named the “Stadio Comunale” when it was built in the 1920s, it was officially renamed “Stadio Giuseppe Meazza” in 1979. Meazza was a famous player in Italy, one of the country’s greatest footballers – and although it’s true he wore the jerseys of both of Milan’s teams during his career, he’s best known as an Inter player (he played for Inter much longer than he played for Milan). So to this day, it’s typically Inter fans who refer to the stadium as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, while Milan fans prefer to call it Stadio San Siro (San Siro being the name of the neighborhood where the stadium is).

The city of Milan owns Stadio San Siro now, and both AC Milan and Inter are considered “tenants.” The stadium was initially the property and home of only AC Milan, with Inter moving in only in 1947. There have been recent rumblings that Inter may soon be building their own stadium and moving out again, but until they’re actually playing on a new pitch there’s no reason to make any changes to your travel plans.

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Stadio San Siro / Stadio Giuseppe Meazza – Information & Statistics

Name: Stadio San Siro / Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Address: Via Piccolomini 5, 20151 Milan
Teams: AC Milan & Inter Milan
Capacity: 80,074
Seating Levels: Three
Built: 1925
Owner: City of Milan
Stadium Website: http://www.sansiro.net/

>> You can read a first-person account of seeing a game at San Siro, which includes information about getting tickets on game day.

Seating Chart for San Siro

How to Get to Stadio San Siro

Stadio San Siro is located in western Milan, a little over 5km from the city center. On game days, the easiest way to reach the stadium is by using public transportation – even though the usual tram stop in the stadium’s parking lot isn’t in use until after the games, the city has buses set up to drop you off right at the stadium. Driving in Italy isn’t for the faint of heart, especially in the cities, and even if you’ve got a rental car in Milan you’re really better off leaving it parked in its garage and hopping on public transit to get to and from the game.

If public transit really isn’t your thing but you still don’t want to drive, there are taxis all over Milan – and simply saying “Stadio San Siro” when you hop in a cab is enough to get you where you want to go. You’ll need to make sure you don’t just say “San Siro,” however, because that’s a whole neighborhood in the city. Most taxi drivers will likely know you mean the stadium, but just to be sure you might as well throw the word in there. After a game, there are typically taxis circling in the area to pick people up.

Taking Public Transportation to San Siro

Your options for getting to Stadio San Siro on public transportation are varied – you can start on the Metro, the bus, or the tram. But on game days, you’re going to end up on a bus at the end, no matter how you start out.

On any day but game day, the #16 tram has a stop that’s literally right in front of the Stadio San Siro. The tram tracks criss-cross the paved “front yard” of the stadium – you’ll walk over them as you walk across the lot to get to your entrance. But on game days, the trams don’t go all the way to their San Siro stop. On game days, the #16 won’t go further than Piazzale Segesta (about two blocks from the Lotto Metro station), where everyone gets off the tram and onto waiting buses that take you the rest of the way. Even if you don’t know where Piazzale Segesta is, don’t worry – you’ll know what’s going on when everyone gets off the tram and heads for a bus parked nearby. Just follow the crowds.

There isn’t a Metro station that’ll get you very close to the stadium, so on anything but a game day you’d be stuck walking quite a ways from the Metro. But again, on game days, you can take the Metro line MM1 (the red line) to the Lotto station and then walk two blocks to the Piazzale Segesta. You’ll likely find a bus waiting to collect the people arriving at the piazzale by tram, or a small group of people waiting for the next bus to arrive. There are also often uniformed police officers around to help guide the crowds, so that’s also something to look for to make sure you’re in the right place.

There are two bus lines that will get you to the Stadio San Siro as well, if you don’t want to mix your public transit options too much. Bus #49 runs from southwestern Milan into the San Siro neighborhood, and although the Lotto Metro stop is its terminus (and it’s not a short walk from Lotto to the stadium), there’s a stop on the route called “Piazza Axum Stadio Meazza” that’s right next to the stadium. Get off there and you won’t have to walk more than a few steps to the stadium.

Bus #78 circles Milan from the northwest to the southwest, but two of its stops are close enough to the San Siro stadium to be a quick walk. Both of the stops have the name “Via Tesio” in them, so if you miss the first one you can hop off at the next. The stops are called “Via Tesio Via Harar” and “Via Tesio Via Patroclo,” but it’ll depend on which way you’re going which of those stops you’ll get to first.

At the end of the game, you’ll spill out of the stadium and find a waiting fleet of #16 trams lined up one after another. Unless you’re going somewhere other than the city center, the easiest thing to do is pile onto the tram that’s closest to the front of the line (and not already completely stuffed with people) and ride it into the center. The last stop on the #16 line is about a block behind the Milan Duomo in Piazza Fontana.

>> For more information about public transportation in Milan, see the city’s official transportation website.

Driving to San Siro

As mentioned, driving in Milan can be complicated and confusing at the best of times – and on a game day, when the crowds around San Siro stadium are exponentially larger, you’ll have to contend with the challenges of both driving and parking near the stadium. But if you just don’t want to take public transportation or pay for a taxi, then you can certainly drive your car to the stadium. Keep in mind that Milan is one of the cities in Europe to have implemented an “eco-charge” – meaning you’ll have to pay a fee to drive a car into central Milan.

If you’re in central Milan, or already somewhere inside the Tangenziale (ring road) that circles the city center, the best thing you can do is pick up a very detailed street map of Milan in order to figure out your options for a route to get from where you are to the stadium. Luckily, because the stadium isn’t right in the oldest part of Milan, the streets around the Stadio San Siro are a little easier to drive on than the tight and winding ones of the historic city center.

For those of you coming into Milan from points outside the city, here are the directions suggested on the stadium’s own website (based on where you’re coming from):

A1 (Autostrada del Sole) – The A1, or “Autostrada del Sole” (Highway of the Sun), runs from Naples in the south to Milan in the north. From the A1, after you cross the border of Melegnano, get on the Tangenziale Ovest toward Malpensa. Take the Milano Via Novara exit and follow the signs for San Siro.
A4 (Milano-Torino) – Coming into Milan from Turin or beyond on the A4, get on the Tangenziale Ovest toward Linate after you cross the border into Milano Nord. Take the Milano Via Novara exit and follow the signs for San Siro.
A4 (Milano-Venezia) – If you’re coming into Milan on the A4 from the other direction, from Venice or other points in the east, take the Milano Certosa exit and follow the signs for San Siro.
A7 (Milano-Genova) – Coming into Milan from the Genoa area on the Ligurian coast, you’ll take the A7 and then get onto the Tangenziale Ovest toward Malpensa when you cross the border into Milano Sud. Take the Milano Via Novara exit and follow the signs for San Siro.
A8 (Milano-Laghi) – From points around the Italian Lakes or other places in northern central Italy, take the A8 and then the Tangenziale Ovest toward Linate when you cross the border into Milano Nord. Take the Milano Via Novara exit and follow the signs for San Siro.

>> For more information, or to plan your route specifically, you can consult the official website for Italy’s autostrade.

Parking at San Siro

There is a parking lot next to the stadium at the corner of Via Harar and Via Federuci Teslo, and the lot itself has roughly the same size footprint as the stadium next door. If you’re early enough and lucky enough, you’ll get a spot in that lot. It’s important to keep in mind that post-game, getting back out of this lot may take quite awhile with all the traffic (both cars and people) flooding out of the stadium.

Perhaps your best bet for a parking lot near San Siro that’s not right next to the stadium and will let you take advantage of public transportation to get you from the lot to the stadium is the Lampugnano parking lot (Lampugnano Parcheggio). It sits to the north of the stadium, and there’s a Metro stop right there (also called Lampugnano) on the MM1 (red line). On game days, there are buses waiting to take people from the Lampugnano Metro station to the Stadio San Siro – just like there are near the Lotto Metro station. So park your car at the Lampugnano lot and hop on a bus for the rest of the journey.

Don’t Miss the Stadio San Siro Museum & Tour

If you’re staying in Milan for a day or two on either side of the game you’re going to see at San Siro, a tour of the stadium itself is not to be missed if you’re a fan of the sport. There’s a great museum at San Siro that includes all kinds of historic items from both AC Milan’s and Inter’s past – there are old jerseys, photos, boots, tickets, and there’s also a lovely trophy case. But even better than the museum is the stadium tour.

You can choose to just go through the museum, but for a few extra euro you’ll get a guided tour of the stadium – including an opportunity to sit in the VIP seats and visit each of the home teams’ locker rooms. There’s also a gift shop around the corner from the stadium museum entry, if you can’t make it to the Milan or Inter fan shops in the city center.

>> Learn more about visiting the San Siro Museum

Other Things You May Need for a Trip to See a Game at San Siro

photos, top to bottom, by: the_junes, goatling, LHOON, chrisada, redjar, robinbos