Although very different from other Italian cities and small towns, Milan has a unique charm that mesmerizes every tourist. With a brilliant metro system, it is very easy to go around the city, and keeping the central station as the starting point, it is really easy to navigate around. Life in Milan is fast-paced and it’s a paradise for shopaholics.
Here are a few tips on spending a weekend in beautiful Milano.
Duomo Cathedral Duomo in Milano is by far one of the most impressive sites I have ever seen. The carving and architecture are so intricate and detailed that it blows my mind. The cathedral is gorgeous from the inside and so is the view from the top. It’s almost a 250 steps climb but totally worth it. A combined ticket for cathedral entry and climbing up stairs is 11 euros and don’t forget to cover your shoulders and legs in order to get permission to enter the cathedral.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Right adjacent to the cathedral, this Galleria is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world. In my opinion, it is also the grandest shopping mall. With high-end brands and lovely fancy restaurants around the gallery is full of stunning art on the ceilings and roof. There is also a bull mosaic on the floor which is always surrounded by tourists who put their right heel on the bull and run three times for luck.
Santa Maria Delle Grazie World famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci “The Last Supper” dating back from the 15th century is displayed here. The best way is to book your visit online in order to view the painting and you get only 15 minutes to appreciate it, so make it worth it.
Gucci Cafe: Once in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, don’t forget to try espresso at Gucci Cafe while people watching. It might take a while to get a free table, but it’s worth the wait. Coffee is almost 3 times more expensive than anywhere else in Italy, but it’s a good experience to enjoy a delicious espresso at a luxury café while in Italy.
Ristorante Gatto Rosso The restaurants at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II are all amazing (expensive compared to other places in Milano) but the service and food are brilliant. I had vegetarian pizza at Ristorante Gatto Rosso and I highly recommend this place.
Marchesi 1824 - Historic Pastry Shop of Milan Experience the Milanese spirit of good taste at this lovely pastry shop.
Cafe Savini, Milan
A bit expensive, but its a classy place for a fancy coffee date.
Ciccio Pizza In the neighborhood close to the metro stop of Loreto, I once discovered an amazing pizza place: Ciccio Pizza. The pizza is made fresh in front of you and it’s as good as pizza in Napoli. I have spent a few months in Italy already and tried tons of places but the pizza I had at Ciccio has made a new benchmark for my expectations of pizza quality. Street address: Via Teodosio, 37, 20131 Milano. The place gets very crowded from 8 pm onwards so make sure to go early to get a table.
Easiest and fastest getaways from Milan
Lugano, Switzerland There is a bus (Flixbus) that goes from Milan Lampugnano Metro station at around 1 pm and takes a bit over an hour to reach Lugano. The bus costs around 16 euros for a day trip. From the bus stop, it’s a mere 20 minutes walk to the lake. We went there to spend almost 6 hours by the lake reading a book and eating gelato (expensive gelato: since it's Switzerland everything seems a lot more expensive as compared to Italy). Lugano is a beautiful town where locals speak Italian and there are beautiful parks and graffiti everywhere and the lake is the highlight.
Como Another easy destination from Milan is Como by train. it is merely a 40 minutes train ride and the tickets can be purchased on the day or online at Trenitalia or the go euro website. I went to Como by myself several times. It takes around 15 minutes to walk from the train station to Lake. Since the hostel, I used to stay at was a two-minute walk from the lake I spent most of the weekend at a cafe doing my Italian homework or reading a book while soaking in the beautiful view. If you have enough time, do try to visit the neighboring towns around the gorgeous Lake Como.
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