UltimateCity Guide Milan
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The Duomo di Milano and the entrance arch of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on the Piazza del Duomo, under a blue sky The glass dome and painted lunettes of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, looking up from the octagon

The city guide to Milan, Italy

Best of Milan

The marble Duomo and its terraces, Leonardo’s Last Supper, La Scala and the Galleria, Brera and the Fondazione Prada, the Quadrilatero della Moda, Bartolini’s three stars and the aperitivo on the Navigli: Milan, checked place by place.

Launch edition · Autumn 2026

Where to eatWhat to see
The red carriages of the Glacier Express crossing the stone arches of the Landwasser Viaduct below a snow-capped peakSister guideULTIMATE Rail JourneysThe story of the train, the great journeys and where to book themA cruise ship in the Bay of Kotor, MontenegroSister guideULTIMATE CruisesLines, ships and itineraries, from river to expeditionThe Matterhorn in winter above ZermattSister guideULTIMATE Ski ResortsSeason dates, hotels, après and ski schools, resort by resortThe Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its gardens, Saint-Jean-Cap-FerratSister guideULTIMATE PropertyBrera, the Quadrilatero and Porta Nuova: agents and how buying works in Italy

Milan, from the Duomo to the Navigli

Milan is Italy’s capital of fashion, design and finance, and a city of great art behind its sober façades: the Duomo, Leonardo’s Last Supper, La Scala, the Pinacoteca di Brera. Here are the grand hotels and the 2026 MICHELIN stars, the pasticcerie and aperitivo bars, the museums, the fashion streets, the canals and the new towers of Porta Nuova, and day trips to Lake Como, Bergamo, Lake Maggiore, Pavia and Turin. We’ve checked every listing against the venue’s own website or an official source, and we leave out anything we can’t confirm.

The Duomo, the Last Supper and La Scala: how to read Milan

In depth

The city of the Duomo

Duomo·In depth

The marble cathedral, the Galleria and La Scala, the Sforza castle and the Last Supper: how to read Milan in a few walks.

Read the story

Arts + Culture

All of Arts & Culture

Brera and the Ambrosiana, the Last Supper, the Fondazione Prada, the Triennale and La Scala.

Renaissance altarpieces on a red wall in a room of the Pinacoteca di BreraArts + CultureArts & Culture in MilanGalleries, design, opera and music

Milan by neighbourhood

From the Duomo to the Navigli, each area has its own guide: the marble heart, the lanes of Brera, the fashion streets, the canals, the new skyline, the castle and the park, the Fondazione Prada and the university quarter.

A salon at Cracco in Galleria, with flower-patterned wallpaper, panelling and an arched alcoveNeighbourhood guideThe Duomo & the GalleriaThe marble heartThe arcaded courtyard of the Palazzo di Brera, home of the Pinacoteca, with the bronze statue of NapoleonNeighbourhood guideBreraArt and lanesThe Via della Spiga at Christmas, with garlands across the street and fir trees by the shop doorsNeighbourhood guideThe Quadrilatero della ModaFashion streetsThe Naviglio Grande at dusk, with an iron footbridge, lit cafés and their reflections in the canalNeighbourhood guideThe Navigli & TortonaCanals and designThe Porta Nuova skyline with the UniCredit Tower and the planted balconies of the Bosco VerticaleNeighbourhood guidePorta Nuova & IsolaThe new skyline

On foot

The centre of Milan is compact: walk from the Duomo through the Galleria to La Scala and Brera in a quarter of an hour.

  1. Neighbourhood guideCityLife & SempioneCastle, park and towers
  2. Neighbourhood guidePorta Romana & Fondazione PradaArt in a distillery
  3. Neighbourhood guideCittà Studi & LambrateThe university quarter

Plan your trip

The practical things to know before you go: entry, the airports and the trains, booking the Last Supper and the Duomo, and three days for a classic first visit.

Before you goMilan essentialsEntry, the airports, the Last Supper and getting aroundThe great booking hall of Milano Centrale, with its glass vaults and marble wallsGetting aroundGetting aroundThe airports, the trains and the metroA Negroni Sbagliato being topped up with sparkling wine at a bar counterItineraryThree days in MilanThe classic first visitThe octagon of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II under its glass dome, with shopfronts and mosaic floorLuxury guideLUX LivingThe finest addressesThe Fornasetti Suite at Mandarin Oriental, Milan, with a column and ceiling printed by Fornasetti and green walls hung with mirrors and platesItineraryThe Gold weekendMandarin Oriental, Seta and Verso Capitaneo
  1. ItineraryThe Platinum weekendThe Four Seasons, La Scala and Bartolini

Our advice

Book the Last Supper before you fly

Visits to Leonardo’s Last Supper last fifteen minutes, for up to forty people, and sell out months ahead. Book only on the official site, cenacolovinciano.vivaticket.it, and plan the rest of the day around your slot. Milan essentials

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Beyond Milan

Lake Como, Bergamo, Lake Maggiore, Pavia and Turin, all within reach for the day by train: villas and gardens, a walled upper town, baroque islands, a marble monastery and the capital of Piedmont.

Bellagio on its wooded point between the arms of Lake Como, with the Alps beyondBeyond MilanLake ComoVillas, gardens and boatsThe Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo’s Città Alta, with the arcaded Palazzo della RagioneBeyond MilanBergamoThe upper townThe baroque terraced garden of Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore, with statues, obelisks and a lily pondBeyond MilanLake Maggiore & StresaThe Borromean IslandsThe carved marble façade of the church of the Certosa di PaviaBeyond MilanPavia & the CertosaA marble monasteryThe Mole Antonelliana above the roofs of Turin at dusk, with the snow-capped Alps behindBeyond MilanTurinThe baroque capital of Piedmont

Our advice

Take the aperitivo at six

Do as the Milanese do: stop at the end of the afternoon for a Campari at Camparino in Galleria or a Negroni Sbagliato at Bar Basso, then go on to dinner. Milanese Cuisine

In depth: Milan, from the Duomo to design

Milanese cuisine, the city of the Duomo, art and design, eating, the grand hotels, film, rail and where to buy: the stories behind the city.

The Duomo di Milano floodlit at night beside the great Christmas tree on the Piazza del DuomoSant’AmbrogioChristmas in Milan7 December: the patron saint’s feast and La Scala’s first nightA bowl of saffron risotto, risotto alla milaneseEatMilanese CuisineRisotto, cotoletta, ossobuco and panettoneFeatureMilan, the classic and the newGrandeur, style, the table and the city after dark

At the counter

In a Milanese bar, coffee taken standing at the counter is quicker and cheaper than at a table: do as the Milanese do.

  1. FeatureMilan on filmRocco, La Notte, I Am Love and House of Gucci
  2. The back storyArt and designBrera, the Ambrosiana and the Fondazione Prada

By rail across Italy with the ULTIMATE guides

South to Rome, east to Venice and the great train journeys of the world: Milan is the hub of northern Italy’s railways.

ULTIMATE RomeRomeSouth by high-speed trainULTIMATE VeniceVeniceEast by high-speed train

The ULTIMATE City Guides around the world

See all Europe

Planning a longer journey? Each city in the network has its own independent guide, written with the same care and checked place by place. Here are the guides that are live, with more on the way.

Canal houses and bridges in Amsterdamthe NetherlandsULTIMATE AmsterdamThe canal ring, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, canal-house hotels, twenty MICHELIN-starred tables, brown cafés, and day trips to Haarlem and Keukenhof.The Alhambra in Granada in the evening lightSpainULTIMATE AndalusiaSeville, Granada and the Alhambra, Córdoba, Málaga, Cádiz and Jerez, Ronda and the white villages, Doñana and Cabo de Gata.The floodlit Acropolis and Parthenon at dusk, seen from Philopappos HillGreeceULTIMATE AthensThe Acropolis and the Plaka, rooftop bars facing the Parthenon, the Athens Riviera and the Greek islands: our original guide, and our deepest.The road winding out to the lighthouse on Cap de Formentor, Mallorca, above the open seaSpainULTIMATE Balearic IslandsMallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera side by side, and how to hop between them by ferry.The Sagrada Família lit up at nightSpainULTIMATE BarcelonaGaudí and the Sagrada Família, the Gothic Quarter, four Three-Star MICHELIN kitchens, the beaches and day trips to Montserrat and Girona.Belgrade's old town and the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Michael above the Sava at sunsetSerbiaULTIMATE BelgradeWhere the Sava meets the Danube: a buzzing capital of art, classical music and famous nightlife, with a new waterfront and the mountains of Zlatibor and Kopaonik.

See all 81 guides

HOT TOPICS · Have Your Say

The latest from our readers: visitors and Milanesi on La Scala, the aperitivo, design week and the quartieri.

    Have your say in HOT TOPICS

    The Last Supper (Cenacolo Vinciano)

    This week's pick

    The Last Supper (Cenacolo Vinciano)

    Santa Maria delle Grazie·Museum

    Visits to Leonardo’s Last Supper last fifteen minutes, for up to forty people, and must be booked on the official site, cenacolovinciano.vivaticket.it. Book before you fly.

    Find out more

    Every list in the guide

    Plan your day

    The gold-leaf Haunted House building of the Fondazione Prada against a blue skyItineraryArt and design: Milan in a dayOne dayVarenna on Lake Como, with wisteria and stone urns in the foreground and mountains behindItineraryA day trip: Lake Como by train and boatOne dayThe garden façade of Villa Necchi Campiglio and its swimming poolItineraryA property viewing day: Brera, Porta Venezia and Porta NuovaOne day
    1. ItineraryBy rail: Milan to Turin for the dayOne day, by train

    Know your neighbourhoods

    Our favourites right now

    Restaurants

    1. 1Risotto alla milanese, the cotoletta and eighteen starred tables: how Milan eatsMilano · In depth
    2. 2Milanese CuisineMilano · In depth: food
    3. 3Enrico Bartolini al MudecTortona · Fine dining
    See all 42

    Cafés

    1. 1Marchesi 1824Corso Magenta · Pasticceria
    2. 2Pasticceria CovaVia Montenapoleone · Pasticceria
    3. 3TaveggiaMilan · Café and pasticceria
    See all 6

    Bars

    1. 1Camparino in GalleriaGalleria · Bar
    2. 2Bar BassoCittà Studi · Bar
    3. 3Nottingham ForestPorta Venezia · Cocktail bar
    See all 6

    Hotels

    1. 1Palazzo hotels and the fashion houses’ own addresses: the grand hotels of MilanQuadrilatero · In depth
    2. 2Mandarin Oriental, MilanLa Scala · Grand hotel
    3. 3Four Seasons Hotel MilanoQuadrilatero · Grand hotel
    See all 19

    Sights

    1. 1The Duomo, the Last Supper and La Scala: how to read MilanDuomo · In depth
    2. 2The Duomo di Milano and its terracesDuomo · Cathedral
    3. 3The Last Supper (Cenacolo Vinciano)Santa Maria delle Grazie · Museum
    See all 10

    Arts & Culture

    1. 1From Brera’s Raphael to the Triennale: Milan, the city of art and designBrera · In depth
    2. 2Pinacoteca di Brera (Grande Brera)Brera · Art museum
    3. 3Pinacoteca AmbrosianaDuomo · Art museum and library
    See all 28

    Parks

    1. 1Parco SempioneCastello · City park
    2. 2Giardini Indro MontanelliPorta Venezia · Public gardens
    3. 3Biblioteca degli Alberi (BAM)Porta Nuova · Park
    See all 5

    Walks

    1. 1The Duomo to BreraDuomo · Walk
    2. 2The Quadrilatero della ModaQuadrilatero · Walk
    3. 3The Navigli and the DarsenaNavigli · Walk
    See all 6

    Shopping

    1. 1The Quadrilatero della ModaQuadrilatero · Fashion district
    2. 2Rinascente Milano DuomoDuomo · Department store
    3. 3The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIGalleria · Shopping arcade
    See all 7

    Health

    1. 1Emergencies: call 112Milan · Emergency number
    2. 2Policlinico di Milano (Ospedale Maggiore)Porta Romana · University hospital
    3. 3Ospedale NiguardaNiguarda · Hospital
    See all 6

    Property

    1. 1Brera palazzi and Porta Nuova towers: buying in MilanMilano · In depth
    2. 2The notaioMilan · Official step
    3. 3Codice fiscale: your Italian tax codeMilan · Official step
    See all 7

    Developments

    1. 1Porta NuovaPorta Nuova · Development
    2. 2The Bosco VerticaleIsola · Development
    3. 3CityLifeCityLife · Development
    See all 7

    Motoring

    1. 1Taxiblu 02 4040Milan · Taxi
    2. 2Area C: the city-centre chargeCentro · Driving rules
    3. 3Area B: the low-emission zoneMilan · Driving rules
    See all 5

    Getting Around

    1. 1The Stazione Centrale and the fast lines: Milan by railCentrale · In depth
    2. 2Milan Malpensa AirportMalpensa · Airport
    3. 3Milan Linate AirportLinate · Airport
    See all 9