🇬🇧 A day and a half in Milan 🇬🇧

🇫🇷 Retrouve cet article en Français ici ! 🇫🇷

The first stop of our 15 days road trip in Italy was in Milan. You can go check our itinerary here.

In this article, I will talk about our stay in Milan, what we did, what we visited and where we stayed.

For how long ?

Milan was the first stop of our road trip.

We arrived on Monday 18 and we left on Wednesday, July 20th. So we visited for a day and a half. And it was more than enough.

Where to sleep in Milan ?

We slept in this Airbnb. It is located at about 40 minutes walk from the city center and historical center. So you should prepare your best shoes to walk a little !

We mainly chose this Airbnb for its price : 134€ for 2 nights. But also for its reviews, who were not bad.

From our point of view, this Airbnb is very well organised, clean and not too badly placed (It doesn’t bother us to walk a little). But we went there in the middle of summer, and at this time of the year, it is very very hot (between 35 and 40 degree Celsius (95 and 104 degree Fahrenheit) every day). The apartment is equipped with air conditioning but it was not working very well. So we spent 2 very difficult nights, trying to look for a little bit of freshness…

It is located in a very busy street, so we had a lot of noise at every moment of the day and the night (Prepare your earplugs !).

If you want to leave at another time of the year, I recommend it to you. Because despite the heat and the noise, it is a very beautiful apartment, with a great location.

Day 1 :

The first day we arrived in Milan around 7pm after a long travel day.

So we just ran errands and ate at the Airbnb.

Day 2 :

We left our accommodation around 10am on our way to the city center and the historical center of Milan. We spent the day walking around Milan to see as many as possible.

Milano Central train station

Our first stop was at the Milan Central train station. It is the city’s big train station, it has an average of 120 million travellers every year.

We didn’t go inside but the building was very impressive !

Teatro alla Scala

Once we arrived in the historical center, we walked past the Teatro alla Scala. The world famous Italian opera theatre. It is possible to visit it or to simply go watch a show.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

It was on of my favorite places in Milan ! It is a shopping mall with luxury shops (like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton…) and restaurants. The architecture is amazing.

You can also find in the center of the gallery a mosaic bull on the floor. The superstition says that turning around 3 times with your heel on the genitals of the bull brings luck ! Why not try your luck ?

Duomo di Milano

And straight out of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, we found ourselves in front of Milan’s Duomo. And it is very impressive, because it suddenly appears in front of our eyes ! It is absolutely beautiful and grand. It measures 11 700 square meters and it can accommodate up to 40 000 people. It is one of the largest catholic cathedral in the world.

After admiring the exterior, we went inside to visit it.

Then we went to see the archaeological digs of the cathedral, located underground.

And at last we went up on the rooftop of the cathedral ! We climbed 170 steps all the way to the summit, and we were able to have a beautiful sight on Milan and the main square « Piazza Del Duomo ».

To visit the Duomo, you can buy your tickets directly there on your cell phones. It is very simple to use and you just need an internet connection. If you can’t buy your tickets on your cell phones, there are a few tickets offices on site. There are « packages » that allows you to visit the cathedral, the archaeological digs, the roofs and the museum of the Duomo.

You can also buy your tickets in advance on the Tiqets application. We used it to visit Rome and it was great.

BE CAREFUL ! We went to Milan in the middle of summer, so shorts and skirts were out. However it is mandatory to cover your legs and shoulders inside the cathedral. Don’t forget to bring a little jacket or a scarf. It is also possible to buy a paper dress in front of the cathedral for a few euros.

Inside the Duomo

The archaeological digs

On the Duomo's rooftop

Milan Cathedral Museum

The museum is hosted inside the Palazzo Reale, right next to the cathedral.

It traces the cathedral’s history and you can find all of its treasure. If you are curious of its history and like ancien art, you will enjoy this museum. There are interesting pieces and objects. For me, I didn’t really appreciate it. I am not a big fan of all of this ancient art.

Sforza's Castle

The Sforza’s castle is an ancient fortress of the 15th century. Today it is transformed into a museum. You can find a lot of museums there (Pinacoteca, Egyptian, Prehistory, Decorative Arts…).

We didn’t visit any museum but we crossed the big yard. It is free for all and very pleasant.

From the Parco Sempione to the Simplon Gate

Once you crossed the Sforza’s castle, you will arrive inside the Sempione Park. It is a 47 hectares park, fill with a wide variety of flowers, plants and trees. But you can also find a library, an artificial lake and several edifice.

If you cross the park you will see the Arco Della Pace (Simplon Gate), on a very big and beautiful place.

The Simplon Gate

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano

This cemetery is a real open-air museum. Its entry is free and there are very few people because it is not the first attraction tourists visit. But I recommend it 100%.

This cemetery is known for its many artistic tombs. You can find Italian sculptures, greek temples, obelisks… It is one of my favourite place in Milan. Every corner, every alley is lined with spectacular tombs. The main entrance has a magnificent temple which today became a burial place for the biggest Italian personalities.

Piazza Gate Aulenti

This is the most modern place of the city. You can find many restaurants and stores but also nightclubs ! It is also here that the only skyscrapers bigger than the Duomo are. The biggest tower is the UniCredit Tower, who’s also the tallest tower in Italy.

Pizzeria al Passeggero

After a long day, we came home to take a good shower. Then we went to the restaurant just next to the Airbnb, the Pizzeria al Passeggero. We were able to eat our first pastas and pizza of the trip !

I don't really suggest you this restaurant. It was very practical because it was at the foot of the apartment, but I believe you can find better places by walking a little bit in the surrounding streets.

Day 3 :

We started our day around 11am, after packing all of our things and leave our Airbnb.

We already visited all of Milan’s main places, so we only had very few places left to see.

Saint-Ambrose Basilica

This basilica was built in the 11th century in the Lombard style, who then inspired the construction of the next churches in the same style. It is one of the oldest church of Milan. The entry is free and you can admire its yard with its 2 towers. You can also go inside the basilica.

We then decided to get back on the road for Venice, our next destination you can find on this article !

I really liked Milan, It is a very lively city and its architecture is very impressive. It is a city filled with history and amazing monuments.

From my point of view, a day and a half is enough time to visit the main places of Milan. But if you can spend 1 or 2 more days there, I’m sure there is a lot of other things to do.

You can also find our trip to Milan in my YouTube video down below. (But it is in French...!)

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Feel free to message me via the tab "contact" at the top right of the screen or subscribe to my Newsletter.

I will be back soon in a new article !

Laura :)