Milan Things To Do: A Guide With Our Top 7 Things To Do When You're In Milan
Milan, the city of fashion and couture, it's fast and filled with so much culture. It's the second largest city of Italy and it's the city that has the most skyscrapers in Italy. A destination suited for a quick getaway with strong coffees, great wines and a lot of flavourful pastas and pizzas.
Ciao amore mio. Scopri con noi la bellezza della città!
1. Duomo Di Milano
We visited the Duomo di Milano on our first day. We had read so many good things about the cathedral that it was really high on our list of things to do. The cathedral is just as impressive from the outside as inside. We highly recommend to either book your tickets in advance to avoid the crowd or be like us and get up early to stand in front of the entrance before opening times and be the first to get your ticket. Is the cathedral worth a visit? YES! Do you need to visit the all the way to the top? DOUBLE YES!
Important to know: There are a few regulations due to COVID-19 when visiting, make sure you read them before. Also, the entrance fees have a variation between: 5-20 euros. Click here to read them: Duomo Di Milano regulations
Location: Piazza del Duomo, easy to reach per metro line 1 or 3 stop: Duomo.
2. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Just a few steps away from the large Duomo di Milano, you can walk through the beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It could be the entrance hall of a grand opera theatre or a nostalgic cinema. Yet, it's a shopping mall with a couple of cute places to enjoy a cup of coffee and a majestic piece of cake. It's an extremely extravagant indoor shopping area with stores, such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada and more. With its super high ceiling and magnificent details you can wander around, enjoy a drink with the view of the Duomo.
Best time for photos: 4-6 o'clock for an empty hall. I can hear you thinking: 'That early?' YES! Because, at 6:30 PM the streets of Milan are already up and running.
Location: Metro line 1 or 3 stop: Duomo. Just across of the Duomo.
3. Museo del Novecento
Museo del Novecento, a museum in Milan that exhibits modern and contemporary art of Italy. If that's your taste, just like ours, you should put this on your list to visit. We loved the exhibition back in summer 2021 and we can bet they will have stunning one this summer again.
There are various collections of multiple artists exhibit of diverse styles visible, such as Futurism, Spatialism and Arte Povera. Museo del Novecento has its collection of important artists, such as: Giorgio de Chirico, Amedeo Modigliani, Umberto Boccioni, Lucio Fontana, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo and many more. You can also find many famous international artists such as, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Kee.
Location: Palazzo dell'Arengio. Metro line 1 or 3 stop: Duomo. Also, across of the Duomo.
Entrance fee: It has a variation between 5-10 euros.
4. Brera
Discover the beautiful romantic area Brera. This is the Montmartre of Milan, so if you like that area, definitely visit Brera. Brera was originally an area filled with painters and other artists. The people are so friendly here and when you visit during summer you can enjoy the less crowded streets for yourself and visit one of the various amazing restaurants, mama mia the food over there hits you in a good way.
This is also the 'clubbing area', where nightlife is mostly alive. You will find trending bars and great spots to dance the night away, go bar hopping or get some great cocktails!
Location: Take the metro line 1 or 3 and stop at the station: Montenapoleone
5. The Cinque Terre
One of Milan's greatest possibilities: Step on a train and take a journey to another place. We had planned a one day birthday trip to Cinque Terre, precisely: Riomaggiore. A beautiful area that also can be seen in the Disney Movie: Luca. It has colourful buildings all over from impossible heights, warm rocks aside the water and a stunning marine. Riomaggiore is definitely an Italian summer postcard. We took the train at 6:10 AM and arrived at 9:40, be aware it's a long ride all the way to Riomaggiore. We went snorkelling, but they also offer dive, kayak and boat tours.
If you're not traveling from Milan here are some train option to go to the Cinque Terre from these cities, as well as others in northern Italy. The duration of your train trip are listed below:
Rome | 5-6 hours Venice | 5-6 hours Verona | 4-5 hours
Milan | 3.5 hours
Florence | 2.5 - 3 hours
Lucca | 2 hours
Pisa + Genoa | 90 mins
What we wish to have known before we went:
- One day isn't enough, because the area during summer is very busy.
- Its famous photo spots are highly occupied, so to take a perfect shot in one day is almost impossible.
- There are many activities and tours to do and the vibe of the city soaks you up right away that you want to stay a night or 2.
- The most beautiful way to enjoy Riomaggiore is through a hike and there wasn't enough time for us to do that, unfortunately.
6. Italian Food
One of our favourite cuisines: Italian food, don't we all fancy a good plate of pasta or pizza?
We fell in love with a delicious bread named: Panzerotti. For those of you who are wandering what it is, it's a Panzerotti is the Neapolitan term for a savoury dough pouch that is filled with cheese or other delicious toppings. It's fried and traditionally in lard, but not it's Mae in oil. One funny aspect is that it's actually has different names in every region. In Puglia for instance, it is called a calzone, whereas in Naples they name it a Pizza fritter (fried pizza). It can be filled with tomato sauce and vegetables or meat and sauce, with or without cheese, but for the cheese lovers among us this is one big fantasy.
* Reminding you that this lovely dish only cost €2,80!
Here's a list of restaurants we went and found the greatest Italian dishes: - Miscusi a place recommended by locals and you can enjoy dishes such as, pasta, burrata and pizza.
- Cocciuto has an open kitchen, which means you can see how your food slowly, but with love gets prepared for you. They have a delicious brunch and dinner menu with a huge variation from poke bowls to massive pizzas.
- Marghe Our favorite pizza spot, personally. Its dough is soft, but crunchy at the right sides and the cheese... no words needed for an explanation about the taste. Their pepperoni and eggplant pizza was our favorite.
7. Things you need to know before you go
Before you go make sure you have a list of things or places you want to do or visit. Milan wakes up early and the time passes by really quickly.
Make sure you visit Milan in bearable temperatures instead of 30 to 40 degree heat, it’s just too hot during these temperatures! We wouldn’t recommend you making the same mistake that we made, although we had an amazing time!
Restaurants close early and they close in the middle of the day, so don’t plan a late lunch. Restaurants are closed after 2pm and reopen at 7pm.
Visit Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II because it’s just too gorgeous of a place to miss – even when you are not going to shop there.
Watch out for pickpockets. We didn’t experience anything but we had heard from other people that it happens a lot in Milan, unfortunately. So keep your bags and wallets close. A small bag or fanny pack is ideal.
Lastly, to share with you: We booked a 6 day trip to Milan and have spend one day in Riomaggiore, which means we had 5 days left in the heart of Milan. We would love to visit more places around Milan, spent some more time here and there and see what it has to offer more. And... to share a little secret with you: Our trip to Milan started when Joey convinced me to visit. I had so many thoughts about the city that weren't true. In the end, the architecture and hardworking culture left a lasting impression on me.
That's it, those where all the things we did in Milan and Riomaggiore. We hope you will have an amazing time when you're visiting Milan or Riomaggiore. Do not hesitate to ask any questions and if you like our articles definitely subscribe,
Love Steph and Jo
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