What to do in Milan Italy
Milan is one of Italy’s main cities, but isn’t necessarily a city that visitors flock to when traveling the land.
Milan is Italy’s financial center and likewise one of the great fashion capitals of the world.
Those things sum to extraordinary high-end shopping and posh nightlife, but they don’t do much good for the hikers.
Milan unquestionably has some entertaining sights and tons of history, but except you are really a fashion person there might be better picks for those doing a short tour of Italy.

What To Do in Milan Italy

Alike so many other European cities, the main attractive force here is the old cathedral.
The Duomo, as it’s called, is a huge Gothic church that was constructed beginning in the late 14th Century.
You can get to the roof for astounding views of not only the city, but of the spires on top of the construction as well.
Referring to shopping, the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuale is just looking at Duomo Square and this historic indoor shopping mall is an attractive feature unto itself.

The well known painting The Last Supper was painted into a wall in a convent here, but it’s not in the shape it used to be in.
Da Vinci’s masterpiece dates from 1495 and is amusing to see face to face, but you must get bookings way in advance to get in.
In addition to fashion, Milan is best-known for its famous football (socer) teams.
AC Milan and Inter play at a stadium known as San Siro and tickets are from time to time accessible on game day or at least by scalpers out front.

Getting in Milan Italy

Milan is well located on the train lines so it’s a favorite stop for Eurail Pass holders or anyone else moving through northern Italy.
If coming up from further away than next doorway you’ll want to book a flight into Malpensa airport (code: MXP).
This is the biggest of three airports and the most popular for longer flights.
Also check Linate Airport (code: LIN) and Orio al Serio Airport (code: BGY) as each accommodates some local and low-cost carrier traffic.

Where To Stay in Milan Italy

The heart of Milan is reasonably compact and the public transportation is solid.
Since this is a commercial city on occasion things will be booked up at unplanned times so plan ahead.
There are a few hostels in Milan and the usual assortment of hotels in Milan as well.
Finding a cheap bed might be more difficult than getting one at one of the hotels in Rome, but if you start your planning in advance enough you should have no problems.
Prices tend to be very high for the business-oriented sites, but throughout slow times of year these same rooms can be very inexpensive.

The City

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, has a population of 1.3 million people.
It is the biggest industrial city of Italy with many different industrial sectors.
It is a magnetic point for designers, artists, photographers and models.
Milan has an ancient city centre with high and interesting buildings and palazzos, that is why so many people from all over the world want to see the city of glamour.

Climate

Italy's climate is predominantly Mediterranean: Alpine in the far north; hot and dry in the south.
Winter in Milan is relatively mild but foggy, with temperatures ranging from zero to 8 degrees Celsius.
Summer can be very humid with brief thunderstorms; temperatures range from 14 to 29 degrees.
From March through April temperatures range from 6 to 18 degrees.
From October through November they range from 6 to 17 degrees.

History

Milan’s origin goes back to 400 B.C., when Gauls settled and defeated the Etruscans.
In 222 B.C. the city was conquered by Romans and was annexed to the Roman Empire.
After 313 A.D., the year of the Edict of Tolerance towards Christianity, many churches were built and the first bishop was appointed: Ambrogio was such an influential person that the church became the Ambrosian Church (7 December is a holiday to honour Sant’Ambrogio).
In 1300 the Visconti family which are noblemen from Bergamo, Cremona, Piacenza, Brescia and Parma ruled and brought a period of glory and wealth to the city.
The Duomo was built in 1386 and became the symbol of Milan.
The Sforza family assumed the Castle and the power of the Visconti family and finally Milan got peace after many years of war against Venice and Florence.
Under the Sforza duchy the city began the development of sciences, art and literature.
Ludovico il Moro (Ludovico Sforza) called Leonardo da Vinci and “il Bramante” to his court. For further information see history.

Art & Culture

Milan has been a rich and important city all the time, it always was a place for famous artists of the various eras and offered a particular assortment of churches, buildings and monuments.
There has been a change of culture and art in the Renaissance with big a contribution in the period of the neoclassicism.
Milan offers a big variety of buildings, monuments and museums.
Most important church is the Cathedral which is the third largest church in the world.
It is overall made of marble, with immense statues, arches, pillars, pinnacles.
From the roof you can get a beautiful overview of the city.
Santa Maria delle Grazie was built between 1466 and 1490 and modified by Bramante.
In the Refectory there is one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci: the “Last Supper”.
Milan has many historic palazzos like the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) which is situated in the south side of Piazza Duomo.
The Sforza Castle is one of the symbols of Milan together with the Madonnina and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
All those sights together are just few reasons for a visit. See art and culture section.

DUOMO

In more or less 10 minutes time using the subway you will bew able to reach one of the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, Milan's Duomo has a population of 6,000 statues, a solemn and lofty interior resembling a sequoia forest, giant multi-colored stained-glass windows and works of art to make any museum green with envy.
It's the seat of the one and only Roman Catholic diocese which - following its patron, Sant'Ambrogio still keeps to an ancient calendar of its own.
Which is why Milan is still going wild with its Carnival when the rest of the world has started Lent.
Take a walk outside, around the back of the enormous church, your nose pointing skyward to admire the interplay of pinnacles and buttresses.
Then go to the top floor of la La Rinascente store and look at the spires
face-to-face.

PORTA TICINESE

A very characteristic district, once the town's port. Strange as it may seem today, till 1928 Milan was penetrated, even close to the center, by canals - or Navigli - and barges.
Like in any other town, Milan's port was a lively place, with occasional seedier overtones. Ticinese is still a working-class district, although smart shops, restaurants and cafes now abound.
An exceptional church, San Lorenzo, is located here, with original Roman columns still standing in front of it.
Piazza Vetra (o piazza delle due basiliche) connects San Lorenzo to the equally splendid church of Sant'Eustorgio.
If you keep walking, about a hundred meters towards the suburbs, you reach the Darsena (Basin) and the external Navigli - these, picturesquely, still full of water.
It is an animated area too, where people hang out after dark, come for a drink, to have an ice-cream or listen to live music.

The Sforza Castle

Is a spectacular fortified palace built by the Visconti and the Sforzas, Signori of Milan, who held sway over Northern Italy between the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The Castle was extensively renovated around 1900 to house museums and libraries. Particularly outstanding is the art gallery, or Museo d'Arte Antica, containing both paintings and sculptures.
Its exhibits include the Rondanini Pieta', last and perhaps most moving masterpiece by Michelangelo.
For further information on the Museo d'Arte Antica, you can refer to
a key to Milan.

SANT'AMBROGIO

Dedicated to Ambrose, Milan's patron saint, this basilica is a typical example of Romanesque architecture of the first centuries after 1000 AD.

MAGENTA

A 19th century district flanking a street - Corso Magenta in fact - that has existed on this site since the times when Milan was capital of the Western Roman Empire (3rd century AD).
A short walk towards the suburbs brings you to the Renaissance church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It was in the convent here that, between 1495 and 1497, Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper his most famous and largest work.
visits must be booked by phone and last 15 minutes; Tue-Sun 8:15am-6:45pm; no credit cards; discounts for students, under 18 and EEC senior citizens over 65
tel. [+39] 02 89421146

CENACOLO VINCIANO

You can visit it by appointment only at number 02 89421146, performed at least 24 hours in advance, the visits are open from 8.15 to 18.45,
closed on Mondays.
The visit lasts 15 minutes.

MALPENSA

The shuttle bus is heading to the Central Station.
The ride will also take you about 45 min and the price is approx.
7,00 EUR.

LINATE

You can take the shuttle bus heading to the Central Station.
The ride will take you about 20 min and the costs are approx. 3,00 EUR.

POLDI PEZZOLI

Originally the private museum of a wealthy Milanese gentleman art-collector, Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli, the museum conserved this characteristic when the owner left the city of Milan on his death in 1878.
The museum is housed in the 17 century Porta building, which was mosified in the following century.
The 22 showrooms occupy both floors and the collection inclused great Italian 14th and 17th century paintings.
In addiction there are other collections of art objects including: jewellery; enamels; china; furniture; tapestries and armour.
The paintings include works by Botticelli, Piero Della Francesca, Mantegna, Pollaiolo and Guardi.
12, via Manzoni - MM3 Montenapoleone, Bus 61, Tram 1/2
Open: 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 a.m.
2.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Saturday closing: 7.30 p.m. - Closed Mondays.
(from April 1 to Sept. 30 closed Sunday afternoon).
Admission: 6,00 Eur.

MUSEO NAZIONALE DELLA SCIENZA E DELLA TECNICA

It was founded between 1947-53 in order to make known the origins and development of scientific theories and technological progress.
The various sections occupy 3 buildings: the one dedicated to aeronautical and rail transport is monumental.
The first building houses the technological and scientific sections,
on three floors.
On the first floor there is Leonardo's Gallery with the great artist and inventor's ingenious medels and original sketches.
A reproduction of Leonardo's famous self-portrait, engraved on plate-glass, welcomes visitors at the entrance.
Recently, educational laboratories have been opened.
The Railway Pavilion at the "Museo della Scienza"
With 28 sections, from informatics to motors of astronomy, 40.000 mq. of expositions, and a big wealth of 15.000 exhibits, the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnica "Leonardo da Vinci" of Milan is one of the most important technologic-scientific museum of the world.
The Museum presents a particular path that bring us in an happy period of the Italian artistic history: the Renaissance and its great men, among them Leonardo da Vinci, who more than others could join the concept of "art-science-technology" concept that during the centuries is disappeared with the predominance of an art on another.
To the genius of Leonardo engineer and scientist, is dedicated a big gallery, where there are not only the models of Leonardo's machines, but also numerous frescoes of XVI and XVII century, among them also a replica of the "Ultima Cena".
21, via San Vittore - MM2 Sant' Ambrogio, Bus 18-50-58, Tram 24
Open: 9.30 a.m. - 4.50 p.m.
Sat.Sun. 9.30 a.m. - 6.30 p.m. Closed Mondays (not holidays).
Entrance facilities for disabled.

MUSEO CIVICO DI STORIA NATURALE

The seat of this museum is in a building erected by the architect Giovanni Cerruti in 1893, in Neo-Romanesque style, with a profusion of ornamental terracottas.
It is situated in the area of the Public Gardens, near the Planetarium.
It was founded in 1838 when the Milanese nobleman, Giuseppe De Cristoforis and the professor of botany Giorgio Jan donated their naturalist collection to the Municipality of Milan.
One of the directors of the Museums was the renowned geologist Antonio Stoppani (monument to the right of the building).
Rebuilt after the devastation caused by war-demage, the museum has sections dedicated to mineralogy, geology and paleontology; zoology of vertebrates; entomology and botany.
The reconstructions of the various natural environments are of special interest.
55, Corso Venezia - MM1 Palestro, Tram 9-29-30
Open: 9.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m. Saturdays and holidays: 9.30 a.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Closed Mondays.
Admission: free of charge.

PINACOTECA DI BRERA

The impressive 17th century baroque Brera Palace, once a Jesuite college, now houses the Academy of Fine Arts, the Picture Gallery, the Brera Gallery, the Astronomical Observatory and the Botanical Gardens.
At the far end of the courtyard with 2 rows of connected arches (Richini),
a grand staircase leads up to the Gallery, which occupies 38 showrooms.
More than 500 pictures, moslty of the XV-XVII century Venetian school, are on view.
The Brera Gallery is world-famous for its masterpieces which include works by Mantegna (Cristo Morto); Piero Della Francesca;
Bellini (Pieta'); Raffaello (Sposalizio della Vergine); Caravaggio (Cena in Emmaus);Veronese (SS. Antonio, Cornelio e Cipriano);
and Tintoretto (Miracolo di San Marco).
28, Via Brera - MM2 Lanza, Bus 41-61
Open: 9.00 a.m. - 5.30 p.m.
Holidays: 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 a.m.
Closed Mondays.
Entrance facilities for disabled.
Admission: 5,00 Eur.

ACQUARIO CIVICO

Built in Liberty style by the architect Sebastiano Locati for the International Exibition held in Milan in 1906, the building was partly destroyed by the 1943 bombings.
It was rebuilt in the same style and a few years ago the interior was modernised.
In the numerous tanks frsh-water and marine fish are on view, together with various species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.
There is also a hydrobiological station.
2, via Gadio - Parco Sempione
MM2 Lanza, Bus 43-57-70, Tram 3-4-12-14
Entrance: free of charge.
Videotheque open to the public 9.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m.
Closed Mondays.