So I’ve just booked a spring break trip to Florence and Milan. I’ve been to Florence before, and I have a couple friends who are there for the semester, so I think I’ll have a pretty good handle on what do to there. However, I’ve never been to Milan before. I am going with a couple friends who are in Rome for the semester, and if it helps to figure out what kind of stuff I’d be into, I’m an American male college student, with interest in cultural/intellectual things (e.g. art, architecture), but also typical things for my demographic (e.g. drinking and girls). So a few questions for those who know about Milan:
What should I do there? Where should I go to sightsee, hang out, etc.?
Any good restaurants or specialty types of food I should try (BTW I’m Jewish, so I don’t eat pork or shellfish)?
Negative things: Is it really as dirty and industrial as I have heard it is? Will I be bored out of my mind? Are the people there reasonably friendly to tourists? Is the crime problem worse than in other places in Italy? Our current plans are to stay in a youth hostel, though I don’t know which one (my friend made all the arrangements, and he’s currently out of contact). Is this a bad idea in Milan? Any particularly good or bad ones?
We are also planning to take a day and visit Como. Is this worth it? What should I see and do there?
Thanks in advance for any info anybody can provide, and any additional info on top of what I have asked would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve been to Milan dozens of times, but only for day trips from a school I worked at in Switzerland. I liked it. I found some nice restaurants off the beaten track…walk a few blocks from Duomo in any direction and look for places where the locals are eating.
Yeah, the city is a bit more American in that it is big, urban and somewhat dirty…but I like New York, so I thought Milan was like a big Little Italy, if that makes any sense. Another thing nice about Milan is that it has a somewhat bad reputation - so you don’t find as many tourists there as in other Italian cities, and that is fine by me. I have heard the night life is very good, but like I said, I was only there for day trips. Oh yeah…you might as well go see The Last Supper while you are there, and I forget the name of it, but there is a good museum not far from there. There is also the La Scala - the Opera House right next to what I believe is the world’s oldest indoor mall.
You will love Como…short trip from Milan, nice area to walk through, great open air shopping, lots of history…take the boat trip and see villas owned by the famous and infamous. If you should win lottery beforehand, stay at Villa d Este - it has a swimming pool built into the lake and the hotel has often ranked number one in the world.
And as long as you are in the area, pop up to Lugano, Switzerland…very pretty, very expensive and unlike any picture postcards of Switzerland you have ever seen. That is where the school was located where I worked.
I worked in Milan for a while a few years ago, and I sometimes visit there. I must say I liked it: there is traffic, yes, but a bit less, I feel, than other Italian cities. It is not true that Milan is a city of eternal mists and rains: it is marginally wetter than, say, Rome or Naples, but spring and summer are perfectly enjoyable.
The city centre is great for shopping, especially for clothes - I nearly had to drag my fiancee away last summer - but it is a bit pricey, at least for my purse. But I’m Italian, so people coming from countries with strong currency (USA and Japan) might find relatively good bargains.
As yours is a spring break, Fang, you won’t need this information now, but it might be useful in the future: I was advised to avoid Milan in September because of the many international trade exhibitions held during that month: hotel prices go way, way up. It is much cheaper in August, and I can back this with personal experience.
Oh, and it is not true that the Milanese are unfriendly.
In my opinion, Milan’s reputation is poor only because it’s in Italy and has to compete with cities like Florence, Siena, Venice, Verona, etc., which are all far more beautiful to look at.
However, there are certain charms to Milan. It features several beautiful Romanesque churches–Sant’Ambrogio being a personal favorite of mine. The Duomo is an impressive Gothic cathedral, though it leaves me feeling a bit cold–it’s worth a climb/lift up to the top, though, to take in all the pinnacles and sculptures, and the whole pile makes a nice backdrop to the piazza. Next to the Piazza del Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, which is a nice nineteenth-century shopping gallery with beautiful glass and iron barrel vaults. The shops and cafes within the gallery are very chic and very very expensive.
The Sforza castle is fairly nice, and includes several nice sculptures (including an unfinished Pieta by Michelangelo). The Brera Art Gallery (I think this is the one DMark refers to) has a very beautiful collection of paintings and is one of my favorite museums in Italy–very high quality works, but not as overwhelming in quantity as, say, the Uffizi.
And then there’s that Last Supper painting in the former rectory of Santa Maria della Grazie by some guy from Vinci…
Milan is also home to two of the most famous soccer clubs in the world–Inter and AC Milan.
I stayed at the official youth hostel the first time I visited–if my memory serves me, it seemed all right, though a bit distant from the city center (but you can easily take the metro to get into town). The only area in Milan where I don’t feel completely safe is around the train station–which doesn’t make Milan much different from any other city with a train station (and I’ve seen “scarier” train stations in other cities).
I was there 3 years ago, fantastic place. Check out the Duomo, it’s totally mind blowing. A block or so away there’s the Galleria, a huge indoor space. In the center (off a bit though IIRC) you’ll see a design on the floor, with a slight depression in it, and maybe a few tourists standing around. Make a wish and spin 360 on one foot, and your wish will come true!
Yep, that’s the zodiac mosaic–look for Taurus (the bull); you’re supposed to stand on the bull’s testicles and do your spin. There’s a round indentation where the testicles used to be–almost entirely worn away from the constant spinning.
By the way, here’s the website for the Sforza Castle.
One of the nice things about Milan are the pedestrian areas–you can (almost) walk all the way from the Duomo to the castle without having to deal with insane Milanese drivers.
Don’t miss the Cathedral, il Duomo. It’s the most insanely over-the-top piece of architecture you will ever see, and I think holds some sort of world record for the number of statues which are incorporated into it. As well as looking around inside you are allowed to get up on to the roof and walk around, see some of the higher statues up close and take in the magnificent view. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Don’t miss Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’. It’s deteriorating and they can’t really stop this happening. You will be disappointed in one sense, because it’s in such poor condition, but at least you’ll know you saw it while you could.
Padua and Mantova are not far away and both are a source of many delightful treasures. Padua has many masterpieces by Mantegna that are worth seeing.
Padua’s definitely worth a visit, but it’s a bit too far for a daytrip from Milan, unless you’re on your way to Venice (which is very close to Padua). ianzin, I think you mean Giotto, not Mantegna–Mantegna’s frescoes in the Ovetari chapel were almost entirely obliterated during the WWII. The nearby Arena (AKA Scrovegni) Chapel features beautiful frescoes by Giotto. The church-complex of Il Santo (Saint Anthony of Padua’s church) also has nice frescoes by Altichiero and Titian.
Mantua is much more “do-able” from Milan, and it’s really lovely–a couple of nice churches by Alberti, plus the fantastic Palazzo del Te. One of my favorite northern Italian towns.
Another daytrip possibility from Milan is Pavia–unfortunately, I haven’t been there, so I can’t say much about it. The Carthusian monastery there is supposed to be marvellous.
The Lake District is close by, and it’s very very beautiful–a nice place to recharge your batteries if you get tired of looking at decaying frescoes and musky Romanesque churches (not that I’d ever feel that way, personally…).