MILAN, ITALY: LUXURY TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE FASHION CAPITAL
- Last updated: September 9, 2026
- Read Time: 41 min
I have been to Milan several times, and I love it more each time. Most people treat it as a pass-through: land at Malpensa, see the Duomo, leave for Lake Como the next morning. I understand why. Milan does not hand you its beauty the way Florence or Rome do. It keeps it behind courtyard gates, on the fifth floor of a 1930s palazzo, inside a former seminary that is now one of the most elegant hotels in Italy.
That is exactly why I think it is underrated. This is a city of restraint and polish, where the art rivals any city in Europe (Leonardo’s Last Supper, Hayez’s The Kiss, Michelangelo’s last sculpture), the fashion is on every corner, and the aperitivo hour is a civic institution. It has fewer headline sights than other Italian cities, which means you can actually enjoy the ones it has. Give it three or four days and it will change your mind.
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Inside this guide
Milan Travel Tips
CURRENCY — The official currency in Italy is the Euro. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, so you rarely need cash, but carry some for small coffee bars, market stalls and the occasional taxi.
STAY CONNECTED — Wi-Fi is widely available throughout Italy. For reliable connectivity, buy an eSIM before your trip (Airalo works perfectly in Milan) so you are online the moment you land.
BOOK AHEAD — Milan is a city of reservations. The Last Supper sells out months in advance, the Duomo rooftop runs on timed entry, and the restaurants people fly in for fill weeks out. During Fashion Week and Design Week, even a bar stool needs a booking. Plan the non-negotiables first, then build the rest of the trip around them.
MIND THE MONDAYS — Most museums in Milan close on Mondays, including The Last Supper, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Castello Sforzesco museums. Use Monday for shopping, the Duomo (open daily), Parco Sempione and a long lunch.
Get to Milan
PLANE — Milan has three airports. Malpensa (MXP) handles long-haul and most international flights. Linate (LIN) is the city airport, 15 minutes from the Duomo. Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY) is the low-cost hub, about an hour away.
From European cities, Milan is one of the best-connected airports on the continent. Direct flights run many times daily from London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Zurich and Vienna, most under two hours.
Are there direct flights from the USA to Milan?
Yes. Delta, American, United and Emirates fly nonstop from New York (JFK and Newark) to Milan Malpensa year-round, with flight times of around eight hours, and American added year-round Miami–Milan service in 2026.
Delta also connects Atlanta seasonally, and several carriers add summer frequencies. Emirates operates a fifth-freedom JFK–Milan flight, which means you can fly their business or first class across the Atlantic without going anywhere near Dubai. From the West Coast, expect one stop, usually through New York, Paris or Frankfurt.
TRAIN — Milano Centrale is the rail hub of northern Italy, and the high-speed Frecciarossa and Italo trains make it an easy link to the rest of the country. I recommend using the Trainline app to book all your train travel in Italy; it compares both operators and stores your tickets in one place.
PRIVATE TRANSFER — If you are arriving at Malpensa with luggage, or continuing on to Lake Como, a private transfer is worth every euro. It removes the platform hunt at the airport and delivers you to your hotel door. Most hotels in this guide will arrange one.
When to visit Milan
The best time to visit Milan is April to early June or September to October, when the weather is warm, the terraces are open and the city is at its most stylish, outside of Fashion Week crowds.
Spring (March–May) — Milan’s best season. Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week take over the city in April, turning showrooms and palazzi into installations. Book hotels early for that week or avoid it entirely. May is ideal.
Summer (June–August) — Hot and humid, and Milanese leave the city in August, when many restaurants close for two weeks. June is lovely, with men’s Fashion Week and long evenings on the Navigli. If you come in July or August, plan for air-conditioned museums in the afternoon and rooftops at night.
Autumn (September–October) — The other perfect window. Women’s Fashion Week arrives in late September, filling the Quadrilatero with shows and street style. October is quieter, with soft light and the first risotto-and-red-wine weather.
Winter (November–February) — Grey and foggy, but with real charm. The opera season opens at La Scala on 7 December (the feast of Sant’Ambrogio), the Christmas markets fill Piazza Duomo, and panettone is everywhere. Men’s Fashion Week runs in January and women’s in late February. Hotel rates drop noticeably outside those weeks.
How many days in Milan
Three days is enough to see Milan’s main sights properly; four to seven days lets you use it as a base for day trips to Lake Como, Turin, Bergamo and the Swiss Alps.
I spent seven days in Milan on my first visit and never ran out of things to do. My trip included a day trip to St. Moritz on the Bernina Express, a day on Lake Como and a day in Turin. Each of those deserves more than a day, but Milan’s position makes it the most convenient launch point in northern Italy.
If you have only a weekend, prioritise the Duomo rooftop, The Last Supper, Brera and one memorable dinner. If you have four days, add Fondazione Prada, Villa Necchi Campiglio and an afternoon on the Navigli.
How to get around Milan
WALKING — Every city is best experienced on foot, and Milan’s centre is compact. The Duomo, La Scala, Brera and the Quadrilatero are all within a 15-minute walk of one another. The city is also flat, which your feet will appreciate.
UBER — Available and reliable. In Milan, Uber operates as Uber Black (professional drivers in sedans), so it costs more than in other cities but works well late at night. Local taxis can also be booked via the FreeNow or itTaxi apps.
RENT A CAR — You do not need a car. The historic centre is a restricted traffic zone (Area C), parking is scarce and public transport is excellent. If you are continuing to Lake Como, I recommend hiring a private transfer rather than the train, which can be very crowded in peak season.
Where to stay in Milan
Milan’s luxury hotels cluster in three areas: the Quadrilatero and Brera (fashion, La Scala, the best restaurants), Porta Nuova and Porta Volta (design, skyline, Corso Como), and Tortona and the Navigli (galleries, canals, a more local pace). Rates rise sharply during Fashion Week and Design Week; book early or plan around them.
- BEST FOR A FIRST STAY: Portrait Milano
- BEST FOR DESIGN LOVERS: Casa Brera
- BEST FOR A TWO-STAR DINNER WITHOUT LEAVING THE HOTEL: Mandarin Oriental
- BEST FOR A GARDEN IN THE CITY: Bvlgari Hotel
- BEST FOR MEMBERS-CLUB ATMOSPHERE: Casa Cipriani
- BEST FOR TORTONA DESIGN DISTRICT: Magna Pars L'Hotel a Parfum
- BEST FOR A ROOFTOP POOL: Hotel Viu Milan
- BEST FOR LOCATION: Park Hyatt Milano
- BEST BOUTIQUE STAY NEAR THE QUADRILATERO: Senato Hotel
- BEST FOR ARRIVING AND DEPARTING BY TRAIN: Excelsior Hotel Gallia
16th-century former seminary turned 73-room design hotel. The Ferragamo family’s Lungarno Collection took one of Milan’s oldest seminaries and opened it up as a colonnaded piazza with the hotel wrapped around it. Michele Bönan designed the interiors with leather panelling and vintage-trunk details, and there is a subterranean pool and Longevity Suite spa. Downstairs are 10_11, the all-day restaurant, and Beefbar, the first in Italy.
Casa Brera, A Luxury Collection Hotel
Restored 1950s Rationalist building with interiors by Patricia Urquiola. Opened in 2025 on Piazzetta Bossi, steps from La Scala, this is the most talked-about new hotel in the city. The eighth-floor Etereo skybar has a rooftop pool and a view from the Duomo to Porta Nuova; Michelin-starred chef Andrea Berton oversees the food.
Four 18th-century palazzi around a courtyard garden. Quietly set on Via Andegari between La Scala and Via Montenapoleone, this is Milan at its most discreet. The spa is one of the best in the city, the courtyard is an oasis for breakfast, and Seta by Antonio Guida holds two Michelin stars, making it one of the most coveted reservations in Milan. Staying here is the easiest way to get a table.
1950s building on a private street with an acre of gardens. The first hotel to carry the Bvlgari name, designed by Antonio Citterio, sits at the end of a private cul-de-sac between Brera and Montenapoleone. The garden is what sets it apart: 4,000 square metres of green in the centre of Milan, with the Bvlgari Bar and gazebo among the best aperitivo settings in the city. The restaurant is being reimagined as da Niko, chef Niko Romito’s newest concept, and the gold-mosaic spa pool is a destination in itself.
15-room hotel inside a private club in a 1920s palazzo. Palazzo Bernasconi overlooks the Giardini Indro Montanelli. Downstairs it is a members-only club, Milan’s first; upstairs are fifteen rooms and suites designed by Michele Bönan with Venini chandeliers and walnut panelling. Hotel guests get full access to the Club Restaurant, the Pickering Room bar and the spa.
All-suite hotel in a former perfume factory. The Martone family converted their fragrance factory into the world’s first “hotel à parfum”, and each of the 68 suites is named after a scent and faces the internal garden. It is on a quiet private street ten minutes from the Navigli and steps from Fondazione Prada’s rival for design credibility, the MUDEC. Da Noi In is the restaurant, and the LabSolue perfume laboratory can blend you a bespoke fragrance.
Contemporary design hotel with a vertical garden façade. In Porta Volta, between Corso Como and Chinatown’s Via Paolo Sarpi, the Viu has the only outdoor rooftop pool in Milan, with 360-degree views of the skyline. The 124 rooms are done in Molteni&C furniture and oak, and chef Giancarlo Morelli runs both Morelli, the fine-dining room, and Bulk, the mixology bar. Ask for a room facing Porta Nuova.
1870s palazzo with travertine and Murano-glass interiors. You cannot stay closer to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II than this: the hotel shares a wall with it. The domed La Cupola lounge is where Milan takes tea and aperitivo, Pellico 3 is the gastronomic restaurant under chef Guido Paternollo, and the Duomo Suite has a terrace looking straight at the cathedral spires.
43-room boutique hotel in an early-1900s neoclassical mansion. On Via Senato, a five-minute walk from Brera, this is one of the best-designed smaller hotels in the city, with a gold-black-and-white palette, Carrara marble bathrooms and a courtyard with a reflecting pool where breakfast is served in warmer months. Request a courtyard-facing room; some junior suites have terraces with a Duomo view. It is a four-star that behaves like a five.
Excelsior Hotel Gallia, A Luxury Collection Hotel
1932 Belle Époque landmark with a Marco Piva glass-and-steel wing. The grande dame of Piazza Duca d’Aosta, directly opposite Milano Centrale, was rebuilt from the inside out in 2015 with Cassina, B&B Italia and Flos furnishings and more than 500 commissioned artworks. The two-floor Shiseido Spa on the top floors has an indoor pool with skyline views, the 1,000-square-metre Katara Royal Suite is the largest in Italy, and a complimentary shuttle runs into the centre. Upstairs, Terrazza Gallia is both a restaurant and one of the best rooftop bars in the city. If your Milan trip is built around day trips by train, nothing is more convenient.
Best things to do in Milan
The Duomo and its rooftop
The cathedral took nearly six centuries to build and it shows: 3,400 statues, 135 spires and the golden Madonnina at the top, watching over the city since 1774. Inside is vast and dim; the rooftop is the reason you came. You walk among the pinnacles at cathedral height, with the Alps on the horizon on a clear day. Book a timed slot on the official site, go first thing in the morning or an hour before sunset, and note that the museum is closed on Wednesdays. Dress modestly for the cathedral.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
The world’s oldest shopping arcade, finished in 1877, connects Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Scala under a glass-and-iron dome. Prada’s original 1913 store is here, so are Marchesi 1824 (upstairs, for a cappuccino with a view of the mosaics) and Cracco. Find the bull mosaic on the floor and spin on your heel three times; the Milanese swear by it.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper
Painted between 1495 and 1498 on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and one of the most important works of the Renaissance. Visits are 15 minutes, groups are capped at around 40, and the museum is closed Mondays. Tickets are released in quarterly batches roughly three months ahead on the official Cenacolo Vinciano site. They sell out within hours. If you miss the official release, a guided tour is the reliable back-up.
Castello Sforzesco
The 15th-century fortress of the Sforza dukes, with Leonardo’s frescoed Sala delle Asse and, in its own museum, Michelangelo’s unfinished Rondanini Pietà, the sculpture he was working on days before he died. The courtyards are free to walk through and lead straight into Parco Sempione.
Parco Sempione
Milan’s central park stretches from the castle to the Arco della Pace. Come for the Branca Tower (a 1933 steel tower with a lift to a viewing platform), the Triennale design museum on its western edge, and a slow walk under the plane trees. The Bar Bianco in the middle is the local spot for a spritz.
Arco della Pace
Milan’s answer to the Arc de Triomphe, begun under Napoleon and finished in 1838, stands at the far end of Parco Sempione. The piazza around it is ringed with cafés and is one of the best places in the city for an evening drink with the castle in the distance.
Teatro alla Scala
The most famous opera house in the world opened in 1778 and looks almost plain from the piazza, which makes the red-and-gold interior all the more striking. The museum lets you step into a box overlooking the auditorium when rehearsals allow. Better still, see a performance.
Pinacoteca di Brera
One of Italy’s great picture galleries, in the palazzo that also houses the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Hayez’s The Kiss, Mantegna’s Lamentation of Christ, Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin and Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus are all here, and the rooms are rarely crowded. The cobbled streets of Brera around it are the prettiest in Milan.
Navigli District
The canals Leonardo helped engineer, now lined with bars, vintage shops and design studios. Naviglio Grande is the main one; the last Sunday of each month brings an antiques market along its banks. Come for aperitivo at golden hour, when the water catches the light, and eat away from the canal itself for better food.
Quadrilatero della Moda
Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Manzoni and Corso Venezia frame the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Even if you buy nothing, walk it: the palazzo courtyards, the flagship architecture (Peter Marino’s Louis Vuitton, Palazzo Fendi) and the window displays are an open-air design museum. Pasticceria Cova on Montenapoleone has been serving coffee here since 1817.
Museo del Novecento
Twentieth-century Italian art inside the Arengario, the 1930s building on the corner of Piazza Duomo. Pellizza da Volpedo’s monumental The Fourth Estate opens the collection; Boccioni, de Chirico, Morandi and Fontana follow. The top-floor room with Fontana’s neon ceiling has a window framing the Duomo like a painting.
Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie
Most visitors see only the refectory, but the church itself deserves ten minutes: a Gothic nave finished by Bramante with a Renaissance tribune and a cloister of frogs (look for the fountain). Free to enter, and open even when The Last Supper is sold out.
Fondazione Prada
Rem Koolhaas turned a 1910 gin distillery in the south of the city into one of the most important contemporary art spaces in Europe. Highlights are the Haunted House, a four-storey tower covered entirely in 24-carat gold leaf, the Torre with its Carsten Höller slide and rooftop restaurant, and Bar Luce, the café designed by Wes Anderson down to the pinball machines.
MUDEC
The Museo delle Culture, by David Chipperfield, sits in a converted factory in the Tortona district and hosts the city’s big blockbuster exhibitions. Its permanent collection covers ethnographic art from four continents. Upstairs is Enrico Bartolini’s restaurant, Milan’s only three-Michelin-star table.
Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci
Italy’s largest science museum, in a 16th-century monastery on Via San Vittore, near The Last Supper. The Leonardo galleries hold models built from his drawings, from cranes to flying machines, and the outdoor pavilions include a submarine and full-size trains. Excellent if you are travelling with children, and quietly fascinating if you are not.
Villa Necchi Campiglio
My favourite house in Milan. Piero Portaluppi built it in the early 1930s for two sisters from a wealthy industrial family, with a swimming pool (the first private one in the city), a tennis court and interiors that mix Art Deco with the first stirrings of modernism. Now run by the FAI heritage trust, it is where Luca Guadagnino filmed I Am Love. Book the guided visit and stay for a coffee in the garden café.
San Siro Stadium
If you have any interest in football, go now. The Giuseppe Meazza stadium, home to both AC Milan and Inter, hosted the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics and has been sold to the two clubs, who plan to replace it with a new arena next door by around 2031. Match days are electric; on other days the museum and tour let you walk out through the tunnel.
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
The “Sistine Chapel of Milan”, and almost nobody knows it. Every surface of this 16th-century church on Corso Magenta is frescoed, much of it by Bernardino Luini, a student of Leonardo. Entry is free, it is a five-minute walk from The Last Supper, and you will likely share it with a handful of people.
Porta Nuova
Milan’s new skyline: the UniCredit Tower spiralling over Piazza Gae Aulenti, Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale, and the Biblioteca degli Alberi park. This is where the city looks forward rather than back.
Bosco Verticale
Stefano Boeri’s two residential towers in Porta Nuova hold some 900 trees and 20,000 plants on their balconies, changing colour through the seasons. You cannot go inside, but the view from the Biblioteca degli Alberi park below is one of the most photographed in modern Milan.
Colonne di San Lorenzo
Sixteen Roman columns from the 2nd century standing in front of the Basilica di San Lorenzo, salvaged from a Roman temple and moved here in the 4th century. By day it is a photo spot; by evening it becomes Milan’s open-air living room, with students and locals gathered on the steps with a drink.
Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio
Founded in 386 by Saint Ambrose, Milan’s patron saint, and rebuilt in the 11th and 12th centuries into the finest Lombard Romanesque church in the city. The atrium, the two mismatched bell towers and the golden altar are all worth the detour. Ambrose himself lies in the crypt.
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and Leonardo’s Codex Atlanticus
Cardinal Federico Borromeo’s 1618 library and gallery holds Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit, Raphael’s full-size cartoon for The School of Athens and Botticelli’s Madonna of the Pavilion. In the Sala Federiciana, original pages from Leonardo’s Codex Atlanticus are displayed on rotation: engineering sketches, flying machines, notes in his mirror writing.
Best experiences in Milan
Sunset on the Duomo rooftop
Book the last lift slot of the day and stay until the terraces close. The marble turns pink, the Madonnina catches the last of the light, and the crowds thin as the piazza below fills up for aperitivo. It is the single best moment I have had in Milan.
An evening at La Scala
Opera, ballet or a concert: it does not matter. Sitting in that red velvet horseshoe when the chandelier dims is a rite of passage. The season runs from 7 December to July, with concerts in the autumn. Tickets go on sale well in advance and the best seats sell out fast, but returns appear online a day or two before. Dress up; the Milanese do.
A private fashion styling tour
Milan is the only city where it makes sense to shop with a stylist. A half-day private tour takes you into the ateliers and showrooms behind the Quadrilatero that walk-in shoppers never see, with someone who knows which Italian houses cut for your frame. Ask your hotel concierge; Portrait Milano and Casa Brera both arrange them.
Where to eat and drink in Milan
Milan is Italy’s most serious restaurant city, with 19 Michelin-starred tables in the 2026 guide, more than Rome, and a casual scene that has caught up fast.
Fine dining in Milan
Nobu Milano
Nobu Matsuhisa’s Japanese-Peruvian cooking inside the Armani complex on Via Pisoni, a minute from Via Manzoni. Black cod with miso, yellowtail with jalapeño, and a lounge that fills with the fashion crowd after 10pm. It was one of the first Nobus in Europe and it still feels like an event.
Beefbar Milano
The first Italian outpost of Riccardo Giraudi’s Monaco steakhouse, set in the colonnaded piazza of Portrait Milano. Kobe, Black Angus and the signature street-food riffs (Kobe tacos, beef-fat fries) served on Milan-themed tableware. One of the hardest tables to get in the fashion district; book weeks ahead.
Langosteria Montenapoleone
Enrico Buonocore’s seafood empire arrived in Palazzo Fendi, on the corner of Via Montenapoleone, with three formats under one roof: the main Langosteria dining room, Pepe for a lighter menu and Ally’s Bar for a cocktail and a plate at any hour. Order the king crab alla catalana and the langoustine spaghetti; this is Milan’s most glamorous fish.
DaV by Da Vittorio Louis Vuitton
Contemporary Italian in an elegant bistro setting, with their famous paccheri alla Vittorio on the menu. The Da Vittorio Café in the courtyard does lunch and afternoon tea.
Cracco in Galleria
Carlo Cracco’s flagship occupies five floors of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, from the ground-floor café to the one-Michelin-star restaurant upstairs with windows onto the dome. His marinated egg yolk and his take on risotto alla milanese are the signatures. The café is the smartest place in the Galleria for an espresso.
Vesta Milano
A seafood restaurant and cocktail lounge in Brera. Raw bar first (oysters, tartare, carpaccio), then Dover sole à la meunière and plancha-grilled snapper, with a hidden private room and a downstairs bar for after dinner. Very Brera, very late.
Sushisamba Milano
The Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian brand’s Italian debut, inside the Torre Velasca, the 1950s tower the Milanese love to hate. Come for the sushi, the moqueca and the skyline through the windows. More of a night out than a dinner.
Al Baretto Sant’Ambrogio
A yacht-deck cocktail bar in the centre, a raw bar to rival any in the city, handmade pasta and serious Italian meat, in a larger and livelier room than its sister on Via San Marco.
Twiga Milano
Italian and Mediterranean dishes, a DJ later, and a crowd dressed for it. This is dinner as nightlife; dress accordingly.
Gio Gio’s
Chef Raphael Duntoye, who made La Petite Maison in London what it is, cooks the food of the Riviera: raw fish, sun-bright vegetables, shared plates and a room that glows.
Enrico Bartolini al Mudec
Milan’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant, on the third floor of the MUDEC museum in Tortona. Bartolini is the most-starred chef in Italy, and his “Best Of” tasting menu is the definitive way to understand why: the risotto with red turnip and Gorgonzola sauce, the oil-and-lime buttons with cacciucco. Book a month ahead.
Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia
A Milanese institution since 1962. One Michelin star and a menu that traces Italy’s regions through small producers: Aimo’s spaghetti with spring onion, chilli and Ligurian basil is still on the menu six decades on.
Contraste
This one-star restaurant near the Navigli is the most playful fine dining in Milan. The “mirror” menu has no dishes listed; you tell them what you like and they cook around you. Expect trompe-l’oeil desserts and a townhouse setting with a garden.
Sadler
Claudio Sadler has held a Michelin star for decades and his restaurant is where the Milanese go for classic haute cuisine done with confidence. One star, an exceptional wine list, and a dining room that feels like a private club.
Terrazza Gallia
On the seventh floor of the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, the grand 1930s hotel opposite Milano Centrale. Ask for the terrace at sunset for a Porta Nova skyline.
Abba
Eight-table restaurant in a former paintbrush factory. Nordic-calm room, open kitchen, Puglian roots: the tomato-water risotto with mantis shrimp is the dish to order.
Ratanà
Restaurant in a restored 1920s villa with the Bosco Verticale towering behind it. This is the best modern Milanese cooking in the city: saffron risotto finished with bone marrow, ossobuco, mondeghili meatballs, all from a chef who champions Lombard producers. Sit in the garden in summer.
Da Giacomo
The Milanese bistro that has fed the fashion and publishing world since the 1950s. Tiled floors, white tablecloths, fish from the day’s catch, and a cotoletta as good as the seafood. Now with a bistro and a pasticceria next door; the original room is the one you want.
Berton
One-star restaurant in Porta Nuova in a glass-walled room that suits the neighborhood. Precise, broth-based cooking (his signature is a tasting menu built around consommés) and a lunch menu that is one of the best-value starred meals in Milan.
Da Giannino – L’Angolo d’Abruzzo
A Bib Gourmand and a Porta Venezia institution: red-checked tablecloths, tables an elbow apart, and the cooking of Abruzzo. Order the maccheroni alla chitarra with lamb ragù, the sagne e fagioli and a plate of arrosticini. Cash-friendly, cheerful and worth the wait.
Dongiò
Calabrian home cooking in Porta Romana. Handmade pasta, ‘nduja in everything it belongs in, a wine list of southern reds and a room that has not changed in decades. One of the best-value dinners in Milan.
Casual spots and trattorias
Ralph’s Bar
Inside Ralph Lauren’s palazzo, a wood-panelled bar and restaurant. Come for a martini and a burger between boutiques, or the weekend brunch. The courtyard is one of the Quadrilatero’s best-kept secrets.
Miscusi
Milan-born fresh-pasta group with several locations across the city. Bright rooms, a short menu of pasta made in-house each morning, and a €20 dinner that tastes far better than it costs. Good for a quick lunch between museums.
Ciciarà
Lombard trattoria behind the Duomo, from the team behind the Colibrì bookshop-bar. Lake fish, heritage-breed meat from small farms, a risotto that changes constantly, and a room of vintage furniture that feels lived-in rather than styled.
Pizza AM
The most-loved pizza in Milan. There is always a queue, and they hand out prosecco and pizza slices while you wait. Neapolitan-style pies with a slightly crisper base, a menu of about ten, and no reservations. Go early.
Panzerotti Luini
Behind the Duomo, Luini’s fried panzerotti (tomato and mozzarella is the classic) are a Milanese rite. Eat one standing on the pavement with the crowd of office workers. Closed Sundays.
Bacaro Montenapoleone
Hidden in a courtyard just behind Via Montenapoleone, this is where to escape the shopping crowds for a plate of handmade ravioli or the lemon pasta, a glass of Amarone and a table under the trees. Prices reflect the postcode, but the setting is worth it.
Osteria del Binari
The most atmospheric place to eat Milanese classics: risotto, cotoletta, ossobuco and mondeghili in vintage rooms with fireplaces. In summer, the vine-covered garden is one of the loveliest in the city.
Via Pasteria
Fresh pasta, hand-made and bronze-extruded daily, served in a bright fast-casual format founded by four young alumni of Bulgari and Marriott. Three Milan locations (Corso Italia, Via Cesare da Sesto, Piazza Sempione), and unlimited water and bread. My pick for an easy solo lunch.
Osteria da Fortunata
The Roman trattoria known for the nonne rolling fresh pasta in the window has a Milan branch, and the formula travels well: carbonara, cacio e pepe and amatriciana made properly, at fair prices, in a casual room. Expect a short wait at peak times.
Trattoria Trippa
Diego Rossi’s Porta Romana trattoria is the hardest casual table in Milan. Offal done brilliantly (the fried tripe is the namesake), seasonal vegetables, natural wines and a menu that changes daily. Reservations open a month ahead and go within minutes.
Osteria Afrodite
La Gioia Collection’s convivial osteria format: candlelit, coastal, with the group’s signature dome bar and a menu of Italian classics done with polish. The atmosphere is closer to a dinner party than a trattoria.
Bauscia
In Brera, a smart modern Milanese restaurant serving the classics with a light touch: saffron risotto with marrow, bone-in cotoletta with citrus mayonnaise, mondeghili with stracchino. Open from breakfast through dinner, with a quiet indoor garden.
Gloria Osteria Milano
The Big Mamma group’s Milan address in Brera, all maximalist décor, giant truffle pasta and theatrical desserts. Not for purists, but enormous fun, and one of the easier Brera tables to book at short notice.
La Rue
A French bistro inspired by the brasseries of Paris: steak frites, oeufs mayo, a good wine list by the glass and a terrace on one of Milan’s best people-watching streets. A change of pace when you have had enough risotto.
Veramente
Regional Italian cooking from across the peninsula in a stylish central room: Milanese risotto sits next to spaghetti alla Nerano and Roman classics. A good choice for a group with different cravings.
Casa Fiori Chiari
Pizza and pasta on the prettiest street in Brera, from the same group as Vesta and Twiga. Sit outside, order a pizza and a Negroni, and watch Brera walk past. Lively, well-dressed and better than most tourist-street pizza.
Ristorante Stendhal Brera
A Brera bistro that has been doing cotoletta alla milanese, risotto and a good steak with Tuscan wines since the 1990s. Reliable, warm and open late.
Al Baretto San Marco
The original Al Baretto: an exclusively seafood menu, understated luxury and a bar shaped like a yacht deck in Brera. Crudo, langoustines, a whole grilled fish and a very good Franciacorta list.
La Gioia San Marco
La Gioia Collection’s fine-dining flagship, a homage to the Dolce Vita with gentlemen’s-club leather and an open kitchen. The gold-leaf saffron risotto is a tribute to Gualtiero Marchesi; the cacio e pepe is finished in a wheel of pecorino at the table. Very popular with American visitors, so book.
Trattoria Milanese
The most traditional dining room in the centre: wood panelling, waiters in white jackets, and a menu of risotto giallo, ossobuco, cassoeula in winter and a textbook cotoletta. Cash and reservations both recommended.
Trattoria del Nuovo Macello
Famous above all for its cotoletta: thick-cut, bone-in, cooked low in butter so it stays pink inside. The rest of the menu is modern Lombard and just as good. Worth the taxi east.
Breakfast and brunch spots
Hygge
A Scandinavian café with a communal table, weekly-changing filter coffees, cardamom buns and smørrebrød. The brunch is one of Milan’s best, and the room is designed for lingering.
LuBar
Sicilian-inspired breakfasts and lunches (arancini, cannoli, excellent cappuccino) in what may be the prettiest café setting in Milan.
NOWHERE Cafe
The pink-walled specialty roastery that made Milan take filter coffee seriously. Flat whites, single-origin espresso, cardamom buns and a daily fixed-price brunch. Popular with the design crowd.
O:OPS Cafe
A small, bright café in Chinatown, for specialty coffee, granola bowls and avocado toast before a wander down the street’s Asian bakeries and boutiques.
Ditta Artigianale
The celebrated Florentine roaster’s first café outside Tuscany. Serious espresso, good pastries and a location minutes from The Last Supper and San Maurizio.
Panfuwa
Milan’s first Japanese soufflé-pancake shop. Fluffy, jiggling, worth the (sometimes long) queue; go on a weekday morning.
Coffee and bakeries
Signor Lievito
Latvian bakery where a 122-year-old sourdough starter meets Baltic and Nordic traditions: poppy-seed bulka, babka, cinnamon rolls and stone-milled bread. Come early; it sells out.
Loste Café
Laminated pastries, coffee from Copenhagen’s April roastery, and a small original room.
Orsonero Coffee
The café that started Milan’s specialty-coffee movement. Tiny, precise, and still pulling some of the best espresso in the city.
Lavazza Flagship Store
Turin’s coffee house does its Milan flagship as a sleek bar with a full menu of espressos, cold brews and pastries. A dependable stop between the Duomo and Brera.
Pasticceria La Mary
A small French-style pastry shop: pain au chocolat, croissants filled to order, miniature versions of the cakes they make to commission, and afternoon tea. Four tiny tables; most people eat at the counter.
SISU
Cinnamon buns, vegan carrot cake, babka, good lunches and space to sit with a laptop. In winter, the panettone French toast.
Gelsomina
Milan’s maritozzo specialist: soft brioche split and filled with whipped cream, plus cannoli, éclairs and a French-leaning pastry counter. The pistachio maritozzo is the one.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Yes, really. The 1901 former post office was turned into Starbucks’ most spectacular roastery, with a working roaster, a Princi bakery counter and an Arriviamo cocktail bar. Worth ten minutes for the architecture alone.
Princi
Rocco Princi’s bakeries are Milan’s answer to a Parisian boulangerie: focaccia, pizza al trancio, cornetti and cakes baked in front of you. Several locations; the one on Largo La Foppa is the flagship.
Pavé
The Porta Venezia bakery that raised the bar for Milanese pastry when it opened in 2012. Cornetti, brioche, the signature pavé al cioccolato, savoury lunches and, in season, some of the best panettone in the city.
Cocktail Bars
Camparino in Galleria
Open since 1915 at the Duomo end of the Galleria, and the birthplace of the Milanese aperitivo as we know it. Stand at the downstairs bar for a Campari Seltz like a local, or book the upstairs Sala Spiritello for a more considered cocktail list.
White Rabbit Speakeasy
A hidden bar with a hidden entrance; you follow the clues online to find the password. Inside, a theatrical Alice-in-Wonderland world with serious cocktails. One of Milan’s four “true” speakeasies.
1930 Cocktail Bar
The most secret of them all, from the family behind Mag Café on the Navigli. It’s members only; you need an introduction or a reservation through the right channels. You can try going to La Mag Pusterla for a drink first, and then ask to go down to 1930 Milano. If there is room, maybe, they’ll seat you. Worth a try!
Rooftop Bars
Terrazza Duomo 21
Third floor, Piazza Duomo 21, and the closest front-row view of the cathedral you can get with a glass in hand. The terrace is small, so the view is the point; go at sunset when the marble glows.
The Roof Milano
360-degree panorama from the Duomo spires to the CityLife towers. A restaurant and a cocktail lounge; the aperitivo with finger food is the way to do it.
The VIU Terrace
Hotel Viu’s rooftop pool deck, open to non-guests for aperitivo, with olive trees, teak loungers and the Porta Nuova skyline. Quieter and more refined than the Duomo terraces.
Terrazza Gallia
The seventh-floor terrace of the Excelsior Hotel Gallia doubles as the best rooftop bar near Centrale, with the Pirelli Tower, UniCredit Tower and Bosco Verticale in one frame. Book for dinner; walk in for a drink.
Terrazza Aperol
Second floor of the Mercato del Duomo, right on the piazza, and the most photographed spritz in Italy. Walk-in only; arrive at opening or accept a wait. Touristy, yes, but the angle on the Duomo is unbeatable.
Terrazza Triennale
The rooftop restaurant of the Triennale design museum, looking over the trees of Parco Sempione toward the castle and, on clear days, the Alps. Refined Italian cooking and a terrace that feels a world away from the traffic.
The Dome Milano
On the seventh floor of the ODSweet Duomo hotel, on Piazza Duomo itself, a restaurant-lounge with the cathedral filling the windows. Go for a late cocktail after dinner elsewhere.
Must-try local treats in Milan
Risotto alla milanese
Saffron-gold, finished with butter and Parmigiano and, in the classic version, a spoon of bone marrow. Ratanà, Trattoria Milanese and Bauscia do it properly; Cracco does it with a twist.
Cotoletta alla milanese
Bone-in veal cutlet, breaded and cooked in clarified butter. The two schools are the thick, pink-inside version (Trattoria del Nuovo Macello) and the thin “elephant’s ear” (Trattoria Milanese). Try both and pick a side.
Panettone
Milan’s Christmas cake is now a year-round obsession among the city’s pastry chefs. In December, queue at Pavé or Marchesi 1824; the rest of the year, look for the small-batch versions at Princi and Gelsomina.
Instagram spots in Milan
The Duomo rooftop, the Galleria’s glass dome, the pink façade of Casa Galimberti in Porta Venezia, the courtyard of the Brera Academy, the Bosco Verticale from the park, the Navigli at blue hour. Milan is more photogenic than its reputation suggests.
For detailed information, including exact Google coordinates for the best photo locations, you can check out my Milan photo spots complete guide.
Day trips from Milan
Milan is the best-connected city in northern Italy, and all four of these trips can be done by train from Milano Centrale. I have written up the logistics in detail in my Day trips from Milan article.
St. Moritz on the Bernina Express
The Bernina Express is the most beautiful train ride in the Alps, a UNESCO-listed line that climbs from Tirano, on the Italian border, over the Bernina Pass at 2,253 metres and down into St. Moritz. Glaciers, the turquoise Lago Bianco and the spiralling Brusio viaduct roll past the panoramic windows. From Milan, a regional train reaches Tirano in about two and a half hours, and the Bernina takes another two and a bit to St. Moritz; it is a long day, but I did it and would do it again. Book the panoramic carriage seats in advance, especially in summer.
Como is one of the most beautiful places in Italy, a long finger of lake ringed by villas, cypress gardens and mountains. Take a private boat rather than the ferry (it is the difference between a good day and a great one) and aim for Bellagio, Varenna and the villas. It deserves two or three nights, but a day from Milan is a very good introduction.
Turin was the first capital of unified Italy and it looks it: baroque piazzas, arcaded boulevards, grand cafés serving bicerin (coffee, chocolate and cream, layered) since the 1700s. The Egyptian Museum is second only to Cairo’s, the Mole Antonelliana holds the national cinema museum, and the Royal Palace is a Savoy showcase. Go on a weekday when it is quiet.
Bergamo
Fifty minutes from Centrale to Bergamo, then the funicular up to the Città Alta, a walled medieval hill town of Venetian ramparts, cobbled streets and the extraordinary Cappella Colleoni. It is compact enough for an unhurried afternoon: the Piazza Vecchia, a polenta lunch, a stracciatella gelato (invented here), and a second funicular up to San Vigilio for the view over the plain to Milan.
Suggested itinerary for one day in Milan
While I highly recommend spending more than a day in Milan, here is a one day itinerary to make the most of the city.
What to pack for Milan
Milan is the most elegant city in Italy and it dresses accordingly, without trying too hard. Think tailored trousers, a silk blouse, good flats or block heels for the cobblestones, and one structured bag. The Milanese uniform is neutral tones, clean lines and quality fabric, so leave the athleisure at home and bring a smart jacket for evenings, when restaurants and La Scala expect a bit of effort. Cover shoulders and knees for the Duomo and the churches. In spring and autumn, a trench coat does everything; in winter, a camel or black wool coat is practically a passport.
GOOGLE MAP PINS FOR MILAN
Destinations to visit after Milan
Lake Como
Under an hour from Milan and a different world: Belle Époque villas, gardens tumbling to the water, and small towns (Bellagio, Varenna, Tremezzo) best reached by private boat. Stay at least two nights in a lakeside hotel to see the light change on the water. My full guide covers where to stay, how to hire a boat and which villas to book.
Lake Garda
Italy’s largest lake, about an hour and a half east of Milan, with a Mediterranean feel at its southern end (lemon groves, olive trees, the Sirmione peninsula) and dramatic mountains to the north. It is quieter and less crowded than Como, and the wine country of Valpolicella and Lugana is on the doorstep.
Cinque Terre
Three hours by train from Milan to the Ligurian coast and its five pastel villages stacked above the sea. Base yourself in Monterosso or across the bay in Portofino for a more luxurious stay, hike the coastal path between villages and eat anchovies and pesto by the harbour.
Other destinations to visit in Italy
Two and a half hours on the Frecciarossa from Milano Centrale, and the most improbable city in the world. Stay on the Grand Canal, see the Biennale if it is on, and take a private water taxi from the station instead of the vaporetto. Read my Venice luxury travel guide.
Three hours by high-speed train. The Eternal City rewards a slow pace, a hotel in the historic centre and dinners booked well in advance. Everything I recommend is in my Rome luxury travel guide.
Just under two hours from Milan and the natural next stop on any northern Italy itinerary: Renaissance art, Tuscan food and the best hotel gardens in the country. Find my hotel, restaurant and museum picks in Florence luxury travel guide.
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I'm Maja Kamali
CEO, frequent flyer, self-taught photographer, and luxury travel content creator.
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