12 Best Things To Do in Milan, Travel Guide, visit attractions
12 Best Things To Do in Milan,Travel Guide, visit attractions
We are happy to present you our unique travel guide for this amazing city, Milan that will help you discover the wonderful attractions of this country. If you read our article until the end you will know where to eat, things to do in Milan, at which hotel to stay, you will see the tours worth doing, you will learn tricks to save money, how to get here and you will discover the budget you need depending on the travel offers presented.
Table of Contents
Our itinerary from Italy written in separate articles from this one:
Turin; Savona-Genoa-Portofino; Milan; Bergamo; Verona; Padua-Bologna-Rimini-San Marino; Florence; Pisa-Livorno; Rome-Vatican; Naples; Bari-Lecce; Sicily; Sardegna.
Discover more of Italy with us!
After visiting the city of Bergamo, we left excitedly to the city of Milan and we want to tell you that we were eager to see the Cathedral,but not before making a good plan for our trip.
We had seen pictures and we had to wait long time to get here. We are so happy that we can share with you our Milan travel guide that was perfect for us for a day we spend in this beautiful city.
By the end of this article you will know everything about things to do in Milan, hotels and restaurants, tours and activities. Our Milan travel guide will be your inspiration for your next trip in Milan!
Informations
Milan is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The population within the wider Milan metropolitan area is estimated between 8.2 million and 12.5 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU.
Quick Tips
Temperature: Spring is the ideal weather to explore Italy. The crowd pull is highest during summer.
Language: The official language is Italian.
Currency: Euro aprox. 1$=0,82 EUR
Food Prices: Meal in a cheap restaurant=15 EUR, Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant=55 EUR
You can find more information about the visa here.
Now we will delight you with the 16 top things to do in Italy and the ultimate travel guide. Enjoy the advice we offer you for flights, activities, tours and hotels!
If you have already read our travel guide for the cities of Verona and Bergamo, you already know that there are areas in the city where you are allowed to enter by car between certain hours. If you violate this rule the fines are quite high. So please be careful with the ZTL areas! You can find more informations about these areas by searching on google about them.
Things to do
Milan Cathedral/Duomo di Milano
The Milan Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary, is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of St Mary , it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbishop Mario Delpini.
The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete-construction began in 1386, and the final details were completed in 1965. It is the largest church in Italy—the larger St. Peter’s Basilica is in the State of Vatican City, a sovereign state—and the second largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.
Victor – Emanuel – Passage
To the left of the Cathedral you can go to see the Victor – Emanuel – Passage.
Teatro alla Scala
The Milan Scala, Italian Teatro alla Scala in Milan, also called Scala, is one of the best and most popular operas in the world. It is located in Piazza della Scala, where the Opera House is located. The square takes its name from the church of Santa Maria della Scala, built here in 1381 and named after the donor Beatrice Regina della Scala, wife of Bernabò Visconti. La Scala in Milan seats 2,030 spectators. This is a great attraction to visit if you are not sure what to do in Milan when you stay longer here.
Royal Palace
Just near the cathedral you can also visit the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace of Milan is the city palace of Milan. Among other things, the Habsburgs resided here in Lombardy. The residence is located in the southeast of the cathedral square. The current external and internal appearance was shaped under the reign of Empress Maria Theresa: In 1778, the palace was rebuilt by Giuseppe Piermarini for Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este.
Sforza Castle
The Sforza Castle is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification.
Later renovated and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the largest citadels in Europe. Extensively rebuilt by Luca Beltrami in 1891–1905, it now houses several of the city’s museums and art collections.
Simplonpark
The next on our list was the Simplonpark, that is located behind the Castle and is one of the best known Milan attractions.
The Simplonpark is a 386,000 m² urban green space in Milan. It is located northwest of the city center. The Castello Sforzesco borders to the northwest and the Arco della Pace is located on the northwest side. Arena Civica is located to the east of the parc. It was opened by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Triennale Milano
The perfect architecture of the building combined with the interesting exhibition contribute to a really eye opening experience. Would recommend especially if you’re interested in architecture and design. In this amazing museum you fil learn very much about italian design and contemporary art. The permanent exhibition was full of beautiful and interesting objects from italian design history, and the temporary exhibits were also great. This one of the best Milan attractions when you need to relax or learn about italian architecture.
Arch of Peace
Simplon Gate is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (quartiere), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace (“Arch of Peace”), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.
Art Academy Milan
The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan is one of the most important art museums in Italy. It is based in the baroque “Palazzo di Brera”. The focus of the display collection is on Renaissance and Baroque paintings from Northern Italy, but the Trecento, the other Italian art landscapes and more recent art epochs are also represented alongside early antiquity and Dutch Baroque painting.
Sant'Ambrogio
The church of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan in northern Italy was built from 378 by its current namesake, the church father Ambrosius, but in its present form it largely dates from the Romanesque reconstruction between 1088 and the end of the 12th century.In the way to Santa Maria delle Grazie to visit “the last supper” of Leonardo da Vinci we went there. No ticket was required.
Santa Maria delle Grazie
We boarded the M3 metro again and after two stops we reached the place where the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is.
We had to walk 5 minutes from de subway station but you will find on your way help to reach che church. It was very easy to find it.
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a Dominican church and one of the most visited of Milan‘s attractions. The church, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1980, is particularly famous for housing Leonardo da Vinci’s secco painting The Last Supper, created between 1494 and 1498, which is located on the north wall of the refectory.
Piazza Gae Aulenti
After visiting all these attractions we took the M3 metro to the Cathedral, and from there we took the M1 to the central train station. Once here we went to Piazza Gae Aulenti, which is about 10 minutes from the train station. We totally recommend you to visit this attraction.
If you will spend more days in Milan and you want to explore more, you can visit Bosco Verticale and Monza Cathedral, that is a bit far away from the city center.
Where to stay
A good night’s sleep is particularly important when you are travelling. Milan offers its guests a host of luxurious, charming and also out-of-the-ordinary accommodation.
Whether in the heart of the city, near the lake or surrounded by nature – Milan’s hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses guarantee a relaxing and invigorating stay.
We managed to find the best three companies that offer hotels, holiday homes and transportation. These are: Booking.com,Trip.com and Vrbo. We have already tested these companies and we warmly recommend them. As a result this will just bring you good deals for your next vacation.
Luxury hotels in Milan: Radisson Blu Hotel Milan, Hotel Mediolanum, Hotel Stradivari, Maison Milano.
Mid-range hotels in Milan : Hotel Charly, Hilton Garden Inn Milan North, Hotel San Francisco, Hotel Vittoria.
Budget hotels in Milan : Gogol’Ostello & Caffè Letterariol, Hotel Del Sole , Hotel Oregon.
Where to eat
Traditional Food and where to eat
Michetta (pane e salame”) at Taglio– Traditionally, bread and salami is a popular after-school nosh for partakers of the merenda, a cherished Italian mid-afternoon snack ritual.
Crudaiola all’Arturo at Latteria San Marco– Traditional Milanese cuisine, with its stews and polenta, is well suited to the winter.
Minestrone at Refettorio Simplicitas– a vegetable soup made with whatever one has on hand: the basics are beans, potatoes, onion, carrots and celery. Sometimes nothing else goes into the pot!
Polenta at Masuelli San Marco
Gorgonzola & Mascarpone- This is less of a “what” than a “how,” but there are few food experiences more quintessentially Milanese than aperitivo.
Panzerotto at Luini panzerotto shop steps from the Duomo– The pizza dough is slightly sweet, filled with a few ingredients (sweet or savory), closed in a half-circle, and deep fried.
Cotoletta alla Milanese at Trattoria del Nuovo Macello– the cutlet has been pan-fried in clarified butter and that the meat comes from milk-fed veal. At Trattoria del Nuovo Macello, chef Giovanni Traversone’s modern cotoletta is thick, juicy and rosy-hued inside, a fitting metaphor for the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary that characterizes Milan.
Ossobuco with Gremolata- “Ossobuco” is technically two Italian words – “osso” meaning bone, and “buco” meaning hole – that give you a sense of the highlight of this dish. Cross-cut veal shanks are simmered for ages in a rich broth made from red wine and an assortment of vegetables.
Risotto alla Milanese at Ratanà- Characterized by a distinct, saffron-infused golden hue, risotto alla Milanese is without question an important dish to seek out in Milan. There are hundreds of variants that range from terrible to mediocre to good to great.
Panettone at Pasticceria Martesana– Made from eggs, butter, sugar, raisins and candied fruits, panettone is a fluffy brioche whose demand peaks during the holidays, as it is a Christmas-table staple.
Cannoncino at Pasticceria Supino– The combination of a buttery, flaky puff pastry with the opulent crema pasticcera makes for one of the best pasticcini .
Negroni Sbagliato at Bar Basso – Equal pours of gin, Campari and red vermouth comprise a classic negroni, and when barman Mirko Stocchetto mistakenly mixed a negroni with prosecco instead of gin more than 40 years ago.
Restaurants
Trattoria Madonnina: Milanese traditional food, Cotoletta alla Milanese, ossobuco and traditional saffron risotto.
Pacifico-Fish plays first fiddle and is sometimes served in a very original way: guests slurp ceviche, for example, out of a martini glass à la James Bond.
Dongiò– the kitchen specialties are in southern home cooking, like the restaurant’s signature dish, spaghettoni alla tamarro, fresh pasta with tomato sauce and n’duja sausage, a spicy spreadable sausage paste made of pig shoulder and belly.
Terrazza Triennale– One of the most beautiful rooftops in the city has a fabulous view of the Parco Sempione. While the waiters serve fruity cocktails, head chef Stefano Cerveni prepares spaghetti with mussels and prawns.
Trippa– One of the most popular chefs in town, Diego Rossi has set out to honour offal, creating unfussy renditions of tripe, kidneys, liver, heart, lung and sweetbreads. His risotto, cooked to perfection, is known throughout Milan, and his menu changes constantly depending on the offer and the season. Rossi’s secret: He never uses more than four ingredients per dish.
Ristorante Giacomo-the extensive menu skews towards seafood, serving dishes like paccheri with swordfish and eggplant, a large selection of raw carpaccio and tartare, plus market-fresh fish.
Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia– includes dishes like semolina ravioli with codfish, risotto with zucchini flowers, purple shrimp and burrata and squid from the Adriatic in ink sauce.
Piz – Choose between the Margherita the Delicata Bianca (fior di latte, poppy seeds, chives) and the Marinara (San Marzano, crushed garlic, basil) and be amazed. Each option is deceptively simple but exceptionally well-prepared using only the highest quality ingredients.
You can try some amazing culinary tours, that will sure satisfy every italian cuisine lover!
Saving Tips
Flea markets: There are multiple and cheap markets in Milan. Perhaps the most well-known flea market, where well-priced jewelry, leather goods, books, clothes and furniture.
Buy a blochetto: Tram, metro and bus tickets cost €1.50 for a single rides, but if you plan to get good use out of Milan’s metropolitan transportation system, it’s a good idea to buy a ten-pack (blochetto). The pack costs €13.80, and unlike other passes, you can use the tickets interchangeably on all forms of transport.
Stock up on stuzzichini: The Italian version of a “happy hour” comes with its fair share of fine food. Order a drink at a bar around 6 or 7 p.m. on most any night and you’ll usually be greeted with free appetizers (stuzzichini) in the form of olives, cheese, bread and maybe even pizza or pasta dishes.
Use a water bottle – Save money by investing in a good water bottle and then drink from the tap. Milan’s water is delicious and totally fine to drink.
Free Sights and things to do in Milan
Via Speronari: The Via Speronari is one of the oldest streets in Milan. Located just a quick block from the Duomo.
Leonardo’s Horse: is just a short tram ride from Milan’s Duomo or city center (tram 16) or a 10-minute walk from the Lotto Metro stop.
Churches – By Italian Holy Law, no place of worship may charge entry. This means that almost all of Milan’s churches are free to enter!
Free Museums:
Free Milan museums every day: Pirelli Hanger, Casa Museo Boschi di Stefano
Free milan Museums on first Sundays of the month: Museo Civico di Storia Naturale
Free Milan museums on the first/third Tuesdays of the month (after 2 pm) + first Sundays: Sforzesco Castle Museums, GAM, Museo del Risorgimento.
Parks – Milan has some pretty good ones too that make for a lovely afternoon. The best are Montanelli, Sempione, and Lambro.
Civic Aquarium of Milan– Free every Tuesday after 2 pm and every day a half-hour before closing.
Buy a special pass – If you’re planning to see a lot of the city and go inside Milan’s must-see sites and museums, then you may want to invest a City Pass. This card will allow free entry into many of Milan’s attractions and will even give you special rates for public transport.
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Day trips from Milan: Como, Bergamo, Lugano, Bellagio, Cinque Terre, St. Moritz, Varenna, Venice, Interlanken, Genova-Portofino, Verona-Lake Garda, Stresa-Lake Maggiore.
Como and Bergamo are two excellent day trips from Milan. Both can be combined into a single day or visited individually. Bergamo is a gorgeous town at the base of the Alps that is often ranked as one of the best places to live in Italy. Lake Como is just out-of-this-world beautiful, the magnitude of which has attracted celebrities from all over the world.
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Shopping
Milan is considered as the fashion capital of the world in addition to cities like New York, Rome, London, and Paris.
The city is known for world-renowned fashion designers including Miuccia Prada, Gianni Versace, Giorgio Armani, Domenico Dolce amongst others. Milan is a versatile destination for lovers of fashion.
The best shopping months are in spring and autumn. The summer sales in Milan always begin in July. After the public holidays in January, the winter sale takes place. In December, most shops are also open all day on Sundays. August is the worst month for a shopping trip, as many shops are closed, especially in the outskirts.
If you would like to do some shopping in Milan, the city’s most popular fashion stores are :
Corso di Porta Ticinese: Between the Via Edmondo de Amicis and the Piazza 24 Maggio are Milan’s most alternative stores. Custo, Diesel or Miss Sixty share the area with vintage clothing boutiques and young designers.
The best places to buy young fashion in Milan are Via Torino and Corso Buenos Aires.
The Corso Buenos Aires is a Milanese high street and it is also the longest shopping street in all of Europe. There are 350 shops spread over more than a kilometer. This means you need to set aside adequate time if you intend to undertake a shopping spree. It has many affordable options like Benetton and H&M.
Via Torino: Part of the Piazza del Duomo, the Via Torino has the most popular brands like Zara, H&M, Pimkie, Calzedonia, Foot Locker and Pull and Bear.
Via Dante is the pedestrian zone between Castello Sforzesco, Piazza Cordusio and Cathedral Square. There are plenty of shops from well-known fashion brands here.
Both the young international fashion brands such as H&M and the Italian chains such as Intimissimi are represented in these streets. In between there are bars and gelaterias for the small hunger and thirst in between. Brera design district In the design district of Brera, which consists mainly of pedestrian zones, you will find beautiful shops for jewelery and bijouterie, small art boutiques and handmade fashion.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
This glass-covered shopping arcade houses some of the most prestigious shops in Milan.
There are several other designer stores including Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Replay, Zara, H&M, Armani, Versace, Luisa Spagnoli to name a few.
Outlet malls for affordable shopping in Milan If you are looking to get your hands on a designer piece without the gut wrenching price tag, Milan is the right place for it. The best-loved outlet is Corso Como Outlet and it is the budget shopper’s version of a famed concept store carrying the same name.
You will see racks of Helmut Lang and Chloe at the outlets. Even the best designers occasionally have unsold pieces at the end of the season and the malls offer variety with quality.
Head to Il Salvagente to get your hands on designer pieces like Miu Miu, Armani, and Dolce and Gabbana.
Transport
Tickets to buy to travel in and around Milan
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2€ ticket. Valid 90 minutes
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Daily ticket. Valid 24 hours, 7€
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3 days ticket. 12€
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Carnet 10 tickets. 18€
These tickets (Mi1-Mi3 fare zones) are valid on metro lines, buses, trams, trolleybuses and are also accepted on S lines (suburban railways). You can also reach Rho Fiera on line M1 (consider the S lines as an alternative) and Assago Forum on line M2.
Where to buy tickets
Tickets can be purchased from the automatic machines located in all metro stations or at any authorised resellers. You can also buy a ticket via ATM official app.
You can pay the metro directly at the ticket gate (look for the orange one) just with your contactless card. Touch in at the start of your journey and touch out at the end. The system will automatically calculate the right fare for your journey (after 4 journeys the daily fare is applied). Read here for further information.
Bus line 73 connects the city center (via Gonzaga, behind piazza del Duomo) with the airport arrival hall doors. Check the departure times from Linate and from Duomo. Pay contactless directly on board or buy a ticket at the ticket machines, in front of the terminal exit. You just need a Mi1-Mi3 ticket to get on board (standard 2€ ticket, daily pass, carnet, etc.).
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Getting here
Very close to the Italian lakes and other remarkable towns and villages, the capital of Lombardy currently has over 36 million passengers arrive or depart from Milan’s airports. That is the reason why Milan has three airports and lots of visitors.
There are three airports in the city of Milan which serve to both domestic and international flights. It is difficult to find non-stop flights from the United States to Milan. Nevertheless, there are many one-stop flights between international airports like Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Boston (BOS), Houston (IAH) and Dallas (DFW). These are not necessarily expensive.
Even though it is a relatively small city, there are three airports in Milan. Milan Linate has the shortest distance to the city center which is only 8 kilometers. A relatively small airport, it is natural to find short-haul flights from Italy to Europe.
Milan Malpensa is the largest airport in Milan and it is 50 kilometers away from the center of the city. There are three options to arrive at the city center from Malpensa Airport. Buses or trains departing from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The third airport of Milan is not located in Milan but in a town called Bergamo which is considered to be a Milan county. And the distance between the airport and Milan is 50 kilometers.
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The train is a fast and comfortable means of transportation that will save you precious hours to get to Milan. Indeed, in addition to offering you the possibility to stretch your legs and walk through the cars, some trains can reach 300 km/h and the railway stations, often located in the heart of the city, are therefore easy to find and very accessible.
In addition, travelling by train, you will be able to discover the picturesque landscapes of the regions you pass through to get to Milan.
The bus, like carpooling, often has the advantage of being the cheapest way to travel. In addition to that, even if the trips for Milan can be longer or of the same duration as by car, today’s buses are equipped with comfortable seats and often benefit from a free wifi connection. This will allow you to do your favorite activities without worrying and thus, not to see the time passing. Bus companies offer bus trips to Zurich. With Busbud you travel cheaply from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Turin, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Zagreb, Bratislava, Prague and other cities to Milan.
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