Traveleriences
The marble spires of Milan Cathedral

Milan, Italy

Ideal: 2 daysBest: Apr–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Expensive
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In 60 seconds

Milan in 60 seconds

Milan is Italy's working city, and its pleasures are less obvious than Rome's or Florence's: a Gothic cathedral you can walk on, Leonardo's Last Supper, a great picture gallery in Brera, and an evening ritual — aperitivo — that it more or less invented. Book the Last Supper weeks ahead. Go up to the cathedral roof by lift or stairs, then walk through the Galleria to La Scala. Spend the evenings in Brera or along the Navigli canals; the Metro covers the rest, and trains for Lake Como, Bergamo and Verona leave from Centrale and Cadorna. Two days covers the city; add a third for Lake Como, an hour away by train.

ArtNightlife

Best for

  • Design
  • Food
  • Luxury
  • Museums

Known for

  • The Duomo
  • The Last Supper
  • Aperitivo

Skip if

You want postcard Italy. Milan is a modern business city first, and August is quiet, hot and half closed.

Your match

Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Milan fits them. Choose interests

See

Must experience

The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.

Eat

Where to eat

A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?

Local

Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.

Ratanà

Expensive

Milanese classics, rethought

Risotto alla milanese and ossobuco, done with care, near the Bosco Verticale.

IsolaBook aheadRisotto

Trippa

Moderate

Modern Milanese trattoria

A small trattoria honouring offal and Milanese tradition, in Porta Romana. Book well ahead.

Porta RomanaBook aheadTrattoria

Osteria Lagrandissima

Moderate

Country osteria

Homemade pasta and seasonal Lombard cooking, north of the Martesana canal.

MartesanaLocalPasta

Casual

No booking, no ceremony, reliably good.

CreDa

Inexpensive

Gastronomia and deli

Nonna-style meatballs and parmigiana from a contemporary deli counter in Crocetta.

CrocettaDeliLunch

Sidewalk Kitchens

Inexpensive

Street-side food hall

A collective of kitchens under one roof near Porta Garibaldi, good for a quick, varied lunch.

RisorgimentoCheapFood hall

Special occasion

Worth planning the evening around.

Da Giacomo

Expensive

Seafood · 1989 dining room

A Milanese institution for seafood in a dining room designed in 1989.

RisorgimentoClassicSeafood

Spore

Expensive

Fermentation-led tasting menu

A fixed tasting menu built around ferments made in-house, in Porta Romana.

Porta RomanaBook aheadTasting menu

Coffee & fika

Mornings, and the slow hour between things.

Orsonero Coffee

Inexpensive

Specialty coffee

A small specialty coffee bar near Porta Venezia with carefully sourced beans.

Porta VeneziaFilterSmall

Beyond the obvious

Hidden gems

Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.

San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore

Frescoed church · Milan's 'Sistine Chapel'

A plain façade on Corso Magenta hiding walls covered entirely in Renaissance frescoes.

MagentaArtFree

Villa Necchi Campiglio

Moderate

1930s villa and garden

A modernist villa with its pool and garden, kept as it was; run by the Italian heritage trust FAI.

Porta VeneziaArchitectureGarden

Bosco Verticale

Tower blocks planted with trees

Two residential towers in Porta Nuova covered in trees. Best seen from the park at their feet.

IsolaArchitectureFree

After dark

Bars & nightlife

Bar Basso

Moderate

Home of the Negroni Sbagliato

A 1950s bar where the Negroni Sbagliato was invented, served in an outsized glass.

Città StudiClassicCocktails

Orientation

Neighbourhoods

How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.

Brera

Galleries and cobbled streets

The art academy, the Pinacoteca and small streets of boutiques and restaurants.

Navigli

Canals and aperitivo

Canal-side bars where Milan goes for aperitivo; Sunday markets along the water.

Isola

Modern Milan around Porta Nuova

A former working-class quarter beside the new towers and the Bosco Verticale.

Stay

Where to stay

Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.

Brera

Very expensive

Central and characterful

Walkable to the Duomo and Castello, with good restaurants at the door.

CentralCharming

Porta Venezia

Expensive

Liberty architecture, metro hub

Art Nouveau streets, bars and good transport, at better value.

BarsMetro

Navigli

Expensive

Canals and nightlife

For evenings by the water; a tram or metro ride from the centre.

CanalsNightlife

Practical

Know before you go

Getting in
The Malpensa Express runs from Malpensa to Cadorna and Centrale; Linate is on the M4 metro.
Getting around
Five metro lines and trams; tap a contactless card at the gates.
Money
Euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
Aperitivo
Early evening, a drink often comes with snacks or a buffet — Milan's version of happy hour.

Plan this trip — useful links

YesMilano — official tourism site (opens in a new tab)ATM — metro and trams (opens in a new tab)

Context

History in 5 minutes

Enough to make what you are looking at legible.

  1. 1386

    Work begins on the Duomo; it takes nearly six centuries to finish.

  2. 1495–1498

    Leonardo paints the Last Supper for the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

  3. 2015

    Milan hosts the World Expo, reshaping Porta Nuova and the city's skyline.

Further out

Nearby escapes

Worth a day if you have one to spare.

Lake Como

Alpine lake and villas

Train to Varenna or Como, then the ferries between the lakeside villages.

By regional trainFull dayLakes

Bergamo

Walled upper town

A funicular up to the Venetian-walled Città Alta, an hour by train.

By regional trainEasyHistory

Certosa di Pavia

Renaissance monastery

A monumental Carthusian monastery with an elaborate marble façade, south of Milan.

By train to Certosa di PaviaArchitectureQuiet

Go further

Routes through Milan

Multi-city trips that stop here, with the transport between them.