Milan Travelers Recommend

Milan is like an espresso for the soul. From the Gothic Duomo to the serene canals of the Navigli District to the San Siro football stadium, it’s like stepping back into a beautiful era where buildings have ornate augmentations, where pizza shops sell pizza made by real Italians, where sports cars suddenly make sense because they are driven at appropriately sporty speeds. Spend an afternoon exploring Bergamo, or ride the Bernina Express railway line through the Swiss Alps to luxurious St. Moritz.

Leonardo da Vinci embodied the Renaissance man. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, writer, engineer, inventor… the list goes on. Some of his images remain our most iconic even today: Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man. Although born just outside Florence in the town of Vinci and trained in a studio in Florence, he spent his early working life in Milan, under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, from 1482-1499. It was during this time that he painted The Last Supper in the dining hall of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, at that time intended to be the Sforza family mausoleum. This huge painting is reason enough to visit Milan. Leonardo completed only fifteen paintings because his active mind tended to jump from project to project. He also had a tendency for experimentation that meant many of his paintings did not last well.

Italy’s capital of fashion and finance has long been a top choice for a European city break and there are few better choices for a stylish getaway than Milan. Touring Milan isn’t always stress-free through – as Italy’s second biggest city, a major international transport hub and a hugely popular tourist destination, Milan has no shortage of crowds, especially during the summer months. To make your visit more manageable, plan ahead and make the most of pre-booked skip-the-line tickets for the city’s most popular attractions. With priority access, you’ll not only avoid the long queues, but save precious time that you can spend visiting other sights, hitting the designer boutiques or dining at the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants. First-time visitors will likely have the Duomo Cathedral at the top of their must-see list and there are numerous options for skip-the-line access.

While many people use Milan as a gateway to Italy, most don’t spend much time in the city. That’s a shame, because although Milan doesn’t look as quaint or charming as those hilltop villages in Tuscany you’ve been dreaming of, this center of banking and fashion has plenty to offer the visitor - especially if you love art. Milan was ruled for many years by families such as the Visconti and the Sforza, both of which did what ruling families often did - they patronized fashionable artists of their eras. This meant Milan became a major Italian center for art starting in the 14th century. Leonardo da Vinci (who is usually more closely associated with his native Tuscany) lived and worked in Milan for nearly 20 years - during which time he painted one of the most famous frescoes in all of Italy.

Take a ride on the Bernina Express, Switzerland's newest Alpine delight. This magnificent 3-hour train journey takes you along one of the most beautiful railway routes in the world. This north-south Alpine crossing offers breathtaking views as you travel over boldly curved viaducts and through winding tunnels. Rather than using cog wheel tracks to climb the steep alpine slopes, the track circles back on itself. The route travels amid the palms and oleanders of northern Italy in Tirano, taking you over the spiralling viaduct at Brusio and through the Bernina Pass into Engadine. Along the way you'll pass wild gorges and icy glaciers, cross soaring bridges and pass through looping tunnels and picturesque meadows. The train stops in the midst of ski runs and the original stone built Ospizio Bernina rail station, transporting you to the past with its hand signal desk and authentically stamped cardboard tickets.

The northern part of Italy is well-known for its picturesque lakes, but what might not be as well-known is that you can visit most of the lakes from a base in Milan. You’ll either have to make multiple day trips or plan to spend a few days exploring the lakes in a loop from Milan, but either way taking lake day trips from Milan is a great way to see the area. Lake Como Arguably Italy’s most famous lake, Lake Como is where you’ll find the beautiful town of Bellagio. Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore isn’t Italy’s largest lake (despite its name), although it is quite big. ake Garda Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake, and it sits between Venice and Milan. It’s a popular day trip, therefore, from either city. Lake Lugano The small lake between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como is Lake Lugano, which is almost entirely in Switzerland. Lake Iseo Lake Iseo is another small lake in northern Italy, sitting roughly between Lake Como and Lake Garda and entirely in the Lombardy region.

Venice is the kind of city that can inspire heavy sighs, particularly when you first arrive. Few places look so much like a postcard you can walk right into, and in that regard Venice doesn’t disappoint. Both the train station and the island city’s only parking lot empty right onto the famous Grand Canal - you could hardly ask for a better introduction. If your Italy itinerary doesn’t allow for a few days in the canal city, however, you can squeeze it into a day trip even from Milan. Sure, you might enjoy having more time in Venice than just a day trip, but the truth is that a single day in Venice is better than several days in other cities you could probably name. So why not go for it? Venice’s main sights can easily been seen in a few hours, but the real joy of the city is simply wandering its side-streets and back-alleys, which can take as long as you like. You can catch an early train from Milan’s Central Station to Venice’s Santa Lucia Station.

Italian food is considered to be some of the very best in the world, but the cuisines within the country are actually very regional. Milan is like what New York City is to the United States; it’s a city that attracts some of the best chefs in the country and beyond who want to put an innovative spin on traditional Italian dishes. Of course, there are classical Milanese items as well, and these always include milk, cream, butter and cheese. Rice is also much more popular in the Lombary region than pasta, mainly because it absorbs the milk, cream, butter and cheese more than pasta does. One of the most typical Milanese dishes and one of the symbols of Milan is risotto alla Milanese. It’s a sinfully delicious Italian rice dish made with saffron and beef bone marrow, topped with a bit of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Locals will tell you that one of the hands-down best places in the city to try risotto alla Milanese is at El Brellin on Vicolo Lacandai 3.

Milan has always been a city of great designers – from Leonardo da Vinci who was the court artist for the Duke of Milan, to Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Miuccia Prada, and Dolce and Gabbana. It’s not surprising then that this is a city which has defined how we shop as much as what we buy (it’s the only city I know where the policewomen wear high-heeled shoes.) If you want to get the best out of your Milan shopping experience consider booking a shopping tour in Milan.