Places to Visit in Milan

Travel notes

Sadly, it has taken me another long break to get back to writing 😦 I am restarting with our Milan trip. Most people know Milan as a centre of fashion and shopping, but Italy and Milan also bring art, history and historic buildings to mind.

Milan is Italy's second-largest city after Rome. My notes described its Duomo as Europe's fourth-largest cathedral. Beside it is Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the world's oldest shopping galleries. We arrived by Metro and came face to face with the enormous Duomo as soon as we emerged. I hadn't expected it to be so huge and magnificent; I was amazed. You can visit the interior and go up for the view. I think it was €11 per person.

I described Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II as the world's oldest shopping centre. Its architecture is magnificent for its era, but I expected a larger interior and more shops. There were restaurants and a few very luxurious stores at ground level rather than floors of shops. I wouldn't eat at the restaurants here: they were expensive and aimed at tourists, and the food might disappoint. I suggested using Foursquare to find somewhere better 😉 Both the inside and outside are undeniably grand, though. There is also a spot where people place their heel and spin round: supposedly that means you will return to Milan! Don't ask me where—you will probably see others doing it.

Monza, about 15 kilometres north of Milan, has the famous motor-racing circuit used for Formula One. AC Milan and Inter, two of Italy's biggest football clubs, are Milan's teams.

We came out and joined the crowds on the street opposite. Everything was fairly close together in this orderly, distinctly European city. I really liked Milan's particular atmosphere. My advice is to join the crowd and explore 🙂

Just behind Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a statue of the famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.

The Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie

Milan's Dominican church and convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper on the refectory wall, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sforza Castle

The Italians we met were warm, helpful and smiling, used to dealing with visitors. They also reminded me of us 🙂 A little tense at times, especially while driving, and very talkative everywhere: buses, trains, the Metro and restaurants. Noisy like us! England often feels the opposite, especially on the Underground, where everyone sits so seriously and quietly. Some people weren't very fluent in English, but we could communicate; their accent sometimes made it sound almost like Italian. As for food, don't leave without pizza and pasta. We found good, reasonably priced places and were happy with them. Shopping depends on your budget, of course. There are excellent stores and famous names such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Lacoste and Armani—the list is long. There are affordable local shops too, like OVS, which I thought was good. But if you want to treat yourself to a designer label because you are in Milan, that is another matter 🙂

Transport was orderly and easy. The Metro reached almost everywhere we wanted to go and wasn't confusing. If I remember correctly, I recorded a day ticket at around €3 per person.

The Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie

Milan's Arco della Pace—the Arch of Peace

This famous street is very close to and opposite the Duomo. Flags from many countries were hanging up, and seeing the Turkish flag made me especially happy 🙂 There was everything here: cafés, restaurants, well-known and less familiar shops. A very enjoyable place.

Towards evening, we went to Navigli. It is a lovely district that stays alive at night, with lots of restaurants, bars and music, especially popular with young people. You should definitely stop here too.

This shop had wonderful paintings. If that interests you, I recommend a look: there were some beautiful pictures.

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