Highlights

• Milan Duomo (cathedral), beautiful outside and worth a tour of the inside
• Arco della Pace
• Sforzesco Castle and park
• Colonne di San Lorenzo
• Naviglio Grande canal
• Santa Maria delle Grazie Basilica
• Cenacolo Vinciano– see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
• Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping
• ADI Design Museum
• Teatro alla Scala Opera house
• Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery
• GAM – Galleria d’Arte Moderna
• Cimitero Monumentale
• Palazzo Marino Town Hall
• Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
• Milano Nord parkrun
• Velasca Tower 1950s architecture
• Pirelli Hangar Bicocca art museum
• Monumental Cemetery of Milan

Before you go

• Milan is the English name for Milano
• The second largest city in Italy after Rome, Milano is the regional capital of Lombardy
• Known as a fashion capital in Europe
• Buy tickets in advance for Duomo and Last Supper
• Food from Milan often has the word Milanese and there are many local specialties to taste
• Many museums are closed on Mondays, and smaller shops may have reduced hours
• Also, during August, many smaller shops may be closed for summer holidays
• Although the city is relatively safe, be aware of pickpockets
• Summer can be very hot or humid, so Spring and Autumn are nice times to visit
• I found this website Introducing Milan useful

Transport

• The main international airport is Milan Malpensa Airport, about an hour from the city by public transport or car. Closer to the city by metro is Milan Linate, with domestic and shorter international flights
• Funnily enough, to transfer between metro lines from the airport to my hotel, I had to go outside and walk 10 minutes down a street!
• To the north of the city is Milano Centrale Railway Station
• Milano has a metro system, buses and trains which are reasonable and easy
• You can explore the centre on foot, but public transport or taxis might be needed

Accommodation

• I stayed at the four-star Crowne Plaza Milan City, which is located just above the Sondrio metro station (M3). The metro connection was great to get to the centre and to Linate airport. It’s also less than 10 minutes walk to Centrale rail station
• The room was spacious and comfortable, and I used the top floor fitness room with a view
• There is an outdoor, rooftop pool during the warmer months
• Breakfast was expensive and I tend not to eat a lot in the morning, so I just picked something up each day from a nearby bakery or cafe
• As usual, I recommend checking reviews on Google Reviews or using AirBnB

Food

There are a number of dishes that come from Milan, often with the word Milanese in the name. For example: Costoletta alla Milanese, Risotto alla Milanese (with saffron), and Minestra di zucca alla Milanese (pumpkin soup). Additionally, you may recognise these other well-known foods: Panettone, Ossobuco, and Minestrone soup.

However, when I first visited Milan for a short time, I was only able to try some Italian snacks on the move.

Luckily on my second, longer visit, I was able to taste many more local foods.

Snacks and Desserts

Cioccolatitaliani was a great stop for coffee, hot chocolate and pastries. Suprisingly, the dark hot chocolate came with some coffee.

Panificio San Giorgio is a local bakery and the olive focaccia was amazing! The cakes were good but very sweet.

Gusto Misto gelato is a small cafe, gelateria. The dark chocolate fondant flavour was delicious!

Panzera Milano Cioccolateria e Gelateria is a cafe and chocolate shop. The chocolates are beautiful and are good for eating or for gifts.

Antica Gelateria Sartori is an ice cream stand outside of Centrale. The pistachio flavour was wonderful and not too sweet.

Spun Tiramisu is a cute, trendy place with different flavours of tiramisu. I went with the classic as I wasn’t sure about other flavours including peanut butter. However, some Italians in front of me ordered the Nutella and Pistachio versions and they looked yummy too.

Restaurants

Officina del Riso Isola was a lucky find in a residential neighbourhood not too far from my hotel. I tried the Bignè di riso, little rice bites. One with courgette, crab, and caviar, and the other with swordfish, stracciatella and pistachio.

San Giorgio Ristorante-Pizzeria dal 1999 had delicious pizzas and seemed very popular with locals for lunch. Prices were so reasonable and they made my Sofia pizza in a heart-shape!

Pizza Shambò is a pizzeria located near Centrale, with standard and gourmet pizzas. I tried the sausage and broccoli pizza and loved it! The broccoli was the long-stem version and the sausage was delicious. They were friendly and quick!

Osteria de Milan is not far from Central station and has most of the typical dishes of Milan. We were served the Milanese meatballs as a pre-starter. Of course, they also had the saffron risotto with ossobuco and that was huge and delicious!

Gifuto Milano is a Japanese fusion restaurant with a la carte and all-you-can eat menus. I tried a mixture of their sashimi, maki sushi, grilled prawns, tempura and tataki. Most of the dishes were tasty and fresh, but a couple tasted a bit old and I did not like the mayonnaise and almond flakes sprinkled on the maki.