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Stories from Milan, Italy

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Milan City Guide, in one place.

Culture

Arts + Culture

All of Arts & Culture

Brera and the Ambrosiana, the Last Supper, the Fondazione Prada, the Triennale and La Scala.

Renaissance altarpieces on a red wall in a room of the Pinacoteca di BreraArts + CultureArts & Culture in MilanGalleries, design, opera and music

Areas

Milan by neighbourhood

From the Duomo to the Navigli, each area has its own guide: the marble heart, the lanes of Brera, the fashion streets, the canals, the new skyline, the castle and the park, the Fondazione Prada and the university quarter.

The marble terraces on the roof of the Duomo di Milano, between rows of carved spires and statuesNeighbourhood guideThe Duomo & the GalleriaThe marble heartThe arcaded courtyard of the Palazzo di Brera, home of the Pinacoteca, with the bronze statue of NapoleonNeighbourhood guideBreraArt and lanesThe Via della Spiga at Christmas, with garlands across the street and fir trees by the shop doorsNeighbourhood guideThe Quadrilatero della ModaFashion streetsThe Naviglio Grande at dusk, with an iron footbridge, lit cafés and their reflections in the canalNeighbourhood guideThe Navigli & TortonaCanals and designThe Porta Nuova skyline with the UniCredit Tower and the planted balconies of the Bosco VerticaleNeighbourhood guidePorta Nuova & IsolaThe new skyline

On foot

The centre of Milan is compact: walk from the Duomo through the Galleria to La Scala and Brera in a quarter of an hour.

  1. Neighbourhood guideCityLife & SempioneCastle, park and towers
  2. Neighbourhood guidePorta Romana & Fondazione PradaArt in a distillery
  3. Neighbourhood guideCittà Studi & LambrateThe university quarter

Practical

Plan your trip

The practical things to know before you go: entry, the airports and the trains, booking the Last Supper and the Duomo, and three days for a classic first visit.

The marble façade and spires of the Duomo di Milano on the Piazza del Duomo, under a blue skyBefore you goMilan essentialsEntry, the airports, the Last Supper and getting aroundThe great booking hall of Milano Centrale, with its glass vaults and marble wallsGetting aroundGetting aroundThe airports, the trains and the metroThe glass dome and painted lunettes of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, looking up from the octagonItineraryThree days in MilanThe classic first visitThe octagon of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II under its glass dome, with shopfronts and mosaic floorLuxury guideLUX LivingThe finest addressesThe Fornasetti Suite at Mandarin Oriental, Milan, with a column and ceiling printed by Fornasetti and green walls hung with mirrors and platesItineraryThe Gold weekendMandarin Oriental, Seta and Verso Capitaneo
  1. ItineraryThe Platinum weekendThe Four Seasons, La Scala and Bartolini

Our advice

Book the Last Supper before you fly

Visits to Leonardo’s Last Supper last fifteen minutes, for up to forty people, and sell out months ahead. Book only on the official site, cenacolovinciano.vivaticket.it, and plan the rest of the day around your slot. Milan essentials

Day trips

Beyond Milan

Lake Como, Bergamo, Lake Maggiore, Pavia and Turin, all within reach for the day by train: villas and gardens, a walled upper town, baroque islands, a marble monastery and the capital of Piedmont.

Bellagio on its wooded point between the arms of Lake Como, with the Alps beyondBeyond MilanLake ComoVillas, gardens and boatsThe Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo’s Città Alta, with the arcaded Palazzo della RagioneBeyond MilanBergamoThe upper townThe baroque terraced garden of Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore, with statues, obelisks and a lily pondBeyond MilanLake Maggiore & StresaThe Borromean IslandsThe carved marble façade of the church of the Certosa di PaviaBeyond MilanPavia & the CertosaA marble monasteryThe Mole Antonelliana above the roofs of Turin at dusk, with the snow-capped Alps behindBeyond MilanTurinThe baroque capital of Piedmont

Our advice

Take the aperitivo at six

Do as the Milanese do: stop at the end of the afternoon for a Campari at Camparino in Galleria or a Negroni Sbagliato at Bar Basso, then go on to dinner. Milanese Cuisine

In depth

In depth: Milan, from the Duomo to design

Milanese cuisine, the city of the Duomo, art and design, eating, the grand hotels, film, rail and where to buy: the stories behind the city.

The Duomo di Milano floodlit at night beside the great Christmas tree on the Piazza del DuomoSant’AmbrogioChristmas in Milan7 December: the patron saint’s feast and La Scala’s first nightClear water and riverside woods on the Ticino, in the Parco della Valle del TicinoIn depth: nature & wildlifeWild MilanA vertical forest and the Ticino valleyA bowl of saffron risotto, risotto alla milaneseEatMilanese CuisineRisotto, cotoletta, ossobuco and panettone

At the counter

In a Milanese bar, coffee taken standing at the counter is quicker and cheaper than at a table: do as the Milanese do.

  1. FeatureMilan, the classic and the newGrandeur, style, the table and the city after dark
  2. FeatureMilan on filmRocco, La Notte, I Am Love and House of Gucci
  3. The back storyArt and designBrera, the Ambrosiana and the Fondazione Prada
  4. The back storyEating in MilanBartolini and the trattorias
  5. The back storyThe grand hotelsFrom La Scala to the Centrale
  6. The back storyMilan by railThe Centrale, the Frecciarossa and the lakes

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