Milan travel guide: where to start and what to book
Milan rewards people who plan the first morning and leave the rest loose. Two things need a booking, the Last Supper and the Brera gallery. Everything else works on the day.
Milan in short
The city is a set of rings around the Duomo, and almost every sight in this guide lies within a few metro stops of it. It is a working city first and a museum second, which is why it feels brisk, a little severe in places, and best in the evening when the aperitivo crowd takes over the pavements.
Winters can be grey and foggy; spring and autumn bring the pleasant days and the rain together. Pick your month from the best-time page, and read the metro page before you buy any ticket.
How many days
- Two days: the Duomo and its roof, the Galleria, the Castello and an evening on the Navigli. Skip the museums.
- Three days: add the Last Supper, Brera and the Monumental Cemetery, and keep one slow afternoon for nothing at all.
- Four days or more: give one whole day to a lake or a walled town from the day trips page.
Three days, in order
Day 1: the centre on foot
Reach the Duomo when it opens and take the lift to the roof while the marble is still cool. Walk through the Galleria to La Scala, then cross to the Castello Sforzesco for the courtyards and park. Finish at Brera for dinner.
Day 2: art, then the canals
Book the Last Supper for the first slot you can get. Spend the late morning at the Pinacoteca di Brera, €20 for the Grande Brera ticket, then take the afternoon off before the Navigli come alive around seven.
Day 3: the cemetery or a lake
With a clear sky, take the train to Lake Como and be back for dinner. Under cloud, walk the Monumental Cemetery, which is free and unlike anything else in the city.
If it rains
November is the wettest month at the Linate weather station, with about 104 mm, and October follows with 82 mm. The good news is that the best sights have a roof.
- Morning: the Duomo interior and museum, from 9 am.
- Afternoon: the Castello museums, €10 full price, open until 5.30 pm.
- Evening: an aperitivo in a bar with a table inside, then a long dinner.
- Any time: the glass-roofed Galleria keeps the worst of a shower off your head.
Where to stay
- Centro Storico
- Next to the Duomo, La Scala and the Galleria. You pay for the address, and in return you can walk home from anything.
- Brera
- Narrow streets, small galleries, the best bars for an early evening. Quieter than the Duomo area after dark.
- Navigli
- Lively to a late hour, so light sleepers should ask for a room facing the courtyard.
- Around Centrale
- Many cheaper hotels and the airport trains at your door, on metro lines M2 and M3. The streets around the station are rough at night.
- Porta Garibaldi and Isola
- Modern towers, small bars in Isola and a quick ride on M2 or M5 to the centre.
- Corso Buenos Aires
- A long shopping street with the metro under it and plenty of bars for an aperitivo.