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Milan...yay or nay?

misstravelbug

100+ Posts
hi,

I am contemplating 3 nights in Milan to bridge our 2 month trip. We will coming from 11 nights in Piedmont/Turin and on our way to 7 nights in Venice in late May.

I have been researching and reading TR's and it seems many have a love/hate relationship with Milan.

So what do YOU think of the place?
 
Sounds like you may have picked up my views!

*One positive is clothing - if you like fashion, there are outlets around the city selling designer stuff at high street prices or less, allowing those who normally see designer as overpriced, to indulge themselves a little as they rummage through the clothes. For those who like designer clothing some of these shops may be unmissable.

Here's one listing found in a quick search, the place we went to was near Montenapoleone metro station, so might have been the Dmagazine mentioned below:
https://www.simonseeks.com/travel-guides/shopping-milan-cheaper-side-street__174074

* there you go, I have something positive to say!
 
Well there is no shortage of 'best things to see and do in Milan' type websites obviously and it all depends on what your interests are. For some, seeing The Last Supper would be a must on any trip to Italy and for others with no interest in art, it is entirely missable.

I think you have to do your own research on what Milan has to offer and decide if what you find holds enough interest for you. I never put much stock in what others think about a place.
 
I would say yay. The duomo and especially the roof top as well as the "last supper", a trip to the Peck food emporium, La Scala, the Galleria and great restaurants are enough to make a great 2 or 3 days, for sure. Forgot to mention the Castle (I haven't made it there yet).
 
Several years ago we had a trip to Piemonte and considered taking a few days in Milan at the beginning. But I think there was some kind of trade show on, and the hotels were all super-expensive. So we decided to spend a few days in Bergamo instead, and we were so glad we did. We really loved that town.

Then a few years later, we were flying home from Milan, and planned to arrive a day early so we could see the city and decide if we wanted to go back sometime. Well, the airline (EasyJet) cancelled our flight from Bari at the last minute and we had to spend the whole day we had planned for Milan rebooking flights and traveling. So we decided we were just fated never to see Milan -- and anyway, we have reached a point where we really don't enjoy big cities much any more. We are much happier in villages.
 
Thanks for your replies.

LOL, Ian, almost everyone on Fodors says a similar thing, but many there are fast travellers, hence the question here. :)

I have bookmarked the outlets Southeast of Turin as well, our clothes prices in Australia are ridiculous so it will be a fun day out. I am not that interested in browsing high end designers with the kids in tow though, and I would rather allocate the $$$ to more travel, but I always buy something beautiful to remember a trip by, so who knows!

Roz, we also enjoy villages, and we will have just spent 6 nights or so in Torino, but there are a few places I like the look of. I will check out Bergamo.

Jan, al Peck is one of the places on my list for sure! And the castle, Galleria and La Scala. If I can easily get tickets for the Last supper I would see it but it's not on my top 100 for Italy.

I will read and check out some more trip reports, blog and forum posts...

I have just booked Venice accommodation and we have 3 nights between dropping DH off at Milan and when we have to be there. Hmmmm, decisions, albeit great ones to have x
 
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I will add a yay! I avoided Milan for years but was so surprised how much I loved it when I finally stayed there for the first 2 nights of my trip in 2011. Defnitely visit the Duomo with a climb to the rooftop. I enjoyed my visit to the Castello Sforzesco and loved seeing Last Supper. The San Lorenzo Maggiore church is very interesting and I stumbled upon a little gem - the Chiesa di San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore while there.
 
Thanks to you all. At this stage we think we will have 3 nights in Milan and do some exploring. My 7yo son loves opera so La Scala would be cool to see.
 
I finally spent some time in Milan last fall, it was never high on my list. I didn't get to everything I wanted to see so I guess I'll have to go back. The Duomo is beautiful and we toured La Scala but were unable to get tickets for a performance, despite getting on the web site the morning they went on sale. It was ballet season, not opera, and a local hero was coming home to dance so the tickets went in an instant. Next time.
 
Milan is a fascinating place, full of many different kinds of interesting, historic, and/or beautiful things. The love/hate comes in with the very Northern attitudes, nowhere near as laid back/casual/accommodating/fatalistic as in much of the rest of Italy. So if you're thinking Italian folk, adjust to "with a dash of Germanic".
 
Cross-posting this - a list of restaurants posted on a wine forum, by a forumite (Filippo) returning back home to Milano this year.

Where do I start on restaurants in Milan?

Milan is THE fashion city so even restaurants are slave to fashion more than anywhere else. If you recall the recent ceviche-mania across London restaurants, it does not really compare to what happened to pizza and burger restaurants.

Let’s get those out of the way first. For pizza the leader is Pizzium and the runner-up Lievita’ (they have 6/7 types of Margherita). For Burger go to Fatto Bene or Pescaria (mostly fish). You need to consult the websites to check out the menu. They are extremely varied and interesting.

For fish you have essentially 3/4 places. Langosteria, the place I brought Paul Day to. They have a main restaurant and a bistrot. You have Da Giacomo very see and be seen but the fish is very good. Finally you have two establishments like Al Porto and the Arrow which are old school but very good. A new opening is Bar Mare close to where I live these days. I have yet to try it. Alice within Eataly in Piazza XXV Aprile is also very tasty.

The Modern Italian Bistro I normally go to is Osteria Brunello, allegdly with a Tuscan slant but it is really an italian bistro. The Cotoletta is properly made (on the bone and cooked in fat) and they have Bartolo 2006 at EUR 130 or Biondi Santi 2010 BdM for the same monies.

Other places I would strongly recommend: Osteria 28 Posti another modern bistro, L’Erba Brusca the most frenchy bistro but still so milanese, Ratana’ quintessential Milanese (though Milanese cusine is more suitable for fall/winter. Manna is not really central but excellent.

The restaurant I go to the most is a very very unpretentious Bacco Da Carola e Andrea near Giacomo. He is a chef from Salder (two ** Michelin). For meat go to a real Tuscan restaurant (your menu will be prosciutto al coltello, fiorentina and courgette/potato fires and a bottle of Pergole Torte): il Giardino Dei Segreti.

Re aperitivo, I would hit Radtezsky in Largo La Foppa. This is THE place and very Milan. You may not like it but it will give you a feeling for the city. There are another zillion of places but should you feel the urge hit the only real wine bar in Milan: Cantine Isola where you can have everything you like and the best bargains are on bottles that are very difficult to get in the UK.

Milano is the world capital of sandwiches with all sorts of top ingredients. Hit De Santis in Corso Magenta and you will not be disappointed. Avoid lunchtime (1330/1430) because it is popular with students with the nearby Universita’ Cattolica. Though now classes are over.

Finally other random places: Trattoria Mauselli for Piemontese fair, Osteria del Nuovo Macello, Aromando Bistrot (an AMAZING cellar with old bottles), Al Pont de Ferr (At the Iron Bridge) another v good traditional restaurant), Dry which makes wonderful cocktails and excellent pizzas, N’Ombra de Vin a wine bar with an amazing selection of bottles, grab one and drink it (same price as take away but no one knows)

For breakfast go to Pave’, Cucchi, Blend, Taveggia or the best bar in Milan: Bastianello (reassuringly expensive in an Italia way).

I forgot the Skandi/Italian cusine of Essenza but it may be a little too modern.

The top blog is Dissapore.
 

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