Milan

Is Milan safe?

Milan is safe from serious violence, and its roads are the safest of any big Italian city. Eurostat counts 16 homicides in the metropolitan area in 2023, about 0.5 per 100,000 people. But Milan has the highest rate of reported crime in Italy: 6,952 reports per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to the Il Sole 24 Ore index of Interior Ministry data. Most of that is theft, and the city also leads the country for street robbery.

The trend is better. At the end of 2025, the prefect said crime in the city had fallen about 8%, with robberies down 15% and pickpocketing down 9%.

We score Milan 74, just above Florence and Rome (both 73). Milan has more street crime than Rome but far safer traffic.

Street robbery and the teenage gangs

Milan's distinctive problem is robbery in the street. Police recorded 2,615 street robberies in the metropolitan area in 2024, the highest rate in Italy, and Eurostat data show robberies rising from about 2,600 in 2020 to more than 4,100 in 2023. Many are carried out by groups of teenagers who surround a victim at night and take a phone, a chain or a watch, sometimes showing a knife. The prefect warned in December 2025 of violence by young people "with the knives that everyone has".

Visitors are not the main targets, but they are not immune. The places with most reports are nightlife and transit areas: the Navigli and the Darsena, Corso Como and Porta Garibaldi, and the area around Centrale station. From December 2024 the prefect declared "red zones" at Piazza del Duomo, the Darsena, the Navigli and the Centrale, Porta Garibaldi and Rogoredo stations, where police can order people with records for violence, theft or drug offences to leave. Such orders are usually extended, but Il Post notes that the Interior Ministry has not published city-level data to show whether they work.

The European Commission's 2023 survey of how safe residents feel at night did not include Milan. In Turin, the nearest city it covered, 49% said they feel safe walking alone at night in the city and 60% in their own neighbourhood; Verona, a little further away, had 64%, and Rome 38%. Gallup puts Italy as a whole at 60%, and women at 44%.

Thefts at Centrale, the Duomo and on the metro

Theft is the crime you are most likely to meet. Milan leads Italy for reported thefts per head (120,542 in 2024) and ranks third for pickpocketing and second for snatch thefts. The hot spots are predictable:

• Milano Centrale, its platforms and the ticket machines, and the square outside.
• Piazza del Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, where bracelet and pigeon-feed sellers distract tourists.
• Metro line M1 (red) at Duomo and Cadorna, and M2 (green) at Centrale and Garibaldi.
• Crowded trams through the centre, and the airport buses and trains.
• Restaurant tables in the Navigli and Brera, where phones left out disappear.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary also warns that thieves in Italy distract drivers, for example by pointing out a fake flat tyre, and that thefts from parked cars are common.

The Olympics effect

Milan co-hosted the Winter Olympics with Cortina in February 2026. Extra policing and investment in transport came with the Games, and the falling crime figures from 2025 came during the build-up. Whether the improvement lasts is what the next Interior Ministry figures will show.

Smog in the Po Valley

The Po Valley traps pollution under still winter air, and Legambiente's Mal'Aria report, based on ARPA Lombardia data, puts the city's average PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary at 20 µg/m³ in 2025, four times the WHO guideline. One station passed the daily PM10 limit on 66 days, almost twice the legal maximum. Winter is worst; spring and early autumn are much cleaner. For a short trip, this is a discomfort more than a danger, but people with asthma or heart disease should check the regional forecast.

Summer brings heat and violent thunderstorms. The Seveso and Lambro rivers flood parts of the north of the city, such as Niguarda, after heavy rain. Earthquake risk is low.

Roads: the good news

Istat counted 1.7 road deaths per 100,000 residents in the city in 2025, the lowest of Italy's large cities and about a quarter of the rate in Catania. Traffic is still heavy. Cyclists are at risk from tram tracks and turning trucks, and drivers often ignore zebra crossings, so wait for cars to stop.

How to stay safe in Milan

• At Centrale, keep luggage in front of you and buy tickets only at the machines or the official office.
• Leave expensive watches and jewellery at the hotel if you plan a late night out.
• After midnight, take a taxi or ride-hailing car from the Navigli rather than walking to quiet metro stations.
• In winter, check air pollution alerts if you have a lung or heart condition.

How we scored it

Traffic safety (88) and violent crime (86) are Milan's strongest factors. Theft and scams (55) is the weakest, reflecting Italy's highest theft rate. Health and environment (70) is lower than for most European cities because of Po Valley smog. Walking at night (63) uses Turin's answer to the EU's 2023 survey, which we use for every European city, because Milan was not surveyed.