What to see in Milan

The Duomo and the city center

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Milan? The Duomo, no doubt. A little jewel that seems to rest gently on its square, and if you think it looks good from the outside, you have to see it from inside and from above.

You can see the Duomo from the outside without paying anything, and the square is open to everyone. The ticket is for going into the cathedral and climbing up to the rooftop terraces, which is the part that’s really worth it: you walk among the spires, on the roof.

Prices: 16 euros for the terraces only on foot and 18 by elevator going up (you still walk down: the elevator is reserved for people with reduced mobility, so the steps on the way down are for everyone), and between 22 and 26 euros for the passes that also include the cathedral and the museum. The perfect time to go up on the Duomo roof is at sunset: it takes your breath away!

From the Duomo, the heart of the city, the main shopping streets branch out (via Torino, via Dante and corso Vittorio Emanuele II, but not only). Right next to the Duomo, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the Museo del Novecento, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the fascinating Teatro alla Scala are all worth a visit: if you have a spare evening, go and hear an opera or see a ballet, a unique experience in one of the most beautiful theaters in the world! A place everyone overlooks, but that tells a beautiful, very Italian story, is piazza dei Mercanti: a gorgeous loggia (a little neglected these days) that was the city’s medieval financial square!

A few steps from piazza Cordusio, if you’re interested, you can see the Milan Stock Exchange from the outside in piazza Affari, with its famous and irreverent middle-finger statue, which has a fascinating story I’d invite you to look into!

Castello Sforzesco, Parco Sempione and Arco della Pace

If we leave the Duomo’s facade behind us and head along via Dante, we reach one of Milan’s most distinctive squares, piazza Cordusio, where a stop at the Starbucks is really worth it: it’s beautifully done, inside a truly stunning historic Italian post office building!

After that, carrying straight on between the buildings, you’ll already glimpse piazza Castello and the tower of the Castello Sforzesco, the gateway to the city’s largest green lung, Parco Sempione. Grabbing a takeaway lunch here in the warmer months is lovely, or just strolling with a gelato!

Once you reach piazza Castello, stop for a moment and turn all the way around to take in the incredible embrace of curved buildings surrounding you: a real work of art, and it always fascinates me!

Now go into the Castello, past the fountain: the courtyards are free and open every day from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. You walk in, cross through and come out the other side into Parco Sempione, with no ticket and no line.

The museums inside cost 5 euros full price and 3 reduced, with a single ticket valid for all the Castello museums, including the Egyptian gallery. They’re open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., last entry at 4:30 p.m., closed on Mondays. Free on the first Sunday of the month. For the latest updates on museums and open rooms, check milanocastello.it before you go.

If all you want is a simple walk in the park, carry on and enjoy the greenery and the Milanese jogging, walking their dogs or having picnics. Look a little further toward the far end and you’ll already glimpse the Arco della Pace, another historic piece of the city with a timeless elegance. Walk all the way to the square and settle on the opposite side for an aperitivo or lunch at one of the bars around it, watching the old trams, the arch and the green of the park while you sip a Negroni.

A gem few tourists know about: inside Parco Sempione there’s a great viewpoint for seeing the city from a different angle, the Torre Branca. The ticket to go up costs 9 euros and I think it’s worth it, if you want an affordable view from above! Up-to-date hours and prices are on the Torre Branca website.

Sant’Ambrogio and Magenta

Skirting the park and the castle, past Milano Cadorna station, you reach my second favorite area of Milan (the first is Isola, of course, in case that wasn’t clear yet): Sant’Ambrogio and Magenta. Maybe because it’s the first neighborhood I lived in as a student, but I promise it’s worth it!

Walking down from Cadorna along via Giosuè Carducci, you’ll immediately notice you’ve entered what people call “Milano bene”, the well-heeled Milan: old, beautifully kept buildings, until you reach an open space overlooked by the basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan’s patron saint (yes, the one you study in art history books!). So simple, so clean, yet so fascinating and welcoming: go inside, it’s free. Then walk along the left side of the church and on your right you’ll find a huge baptistery and the entrance to the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. If you’re visiting on a weekday, I recommend going in for a walk through the cloisters: they were once a monastery, they’re still truly majestic, and they’re worth seeing even if you don’t study there! A few steps from the university, in piazza Tomasi di Lampedusa, you’ll find Roman ruins that are part of the Roman Milan trail (we Italians are used to finding them everywhere

). And you won’t even notice that within a few minutes, along via Meravigli, you’re back at the Duomo on one side and at the Cinque Vie on the other, toward via Morigi.

If you go back along corso Magenta and head toward Santa Maria delle Grazie, you’ll see what for me is the most beautiful church in Milan, with a friendly square, a cloister hidden at the back, and above all one of Italy’s prides around the world: Leonardo’s Last Supper.

The Last Supper is the only really difficult thing. Tickets are released in quarterly batches, about three months ahead, and sell out within hours. Every Wednesday at noon, the slots for the following week are released: that’s your second chance if you missed the first.

Admission costs 15 euros, 2 euros for ages 18 to 25, free under 18, but booking is mandatory for everyone, including those who don’t pay. Tickets are sold on the official Last Supper website.

Nearby you’ll also find the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, which is really beautiful and interactive for kids and grown-ups alike!

Brera, the Pinacoteca and Montenapoleone

On the right-hand side of the castle opens up the whole Brera area, perhaps the most famous part of Milan for luxury and Italian style around the world. To explore it, I always suggest starting from piazza del Carmine, with its typically Milanese church, then walking up via Madonnina, a real gem. Turn right where it meets via Fiori Chiari to continue among little bars and high-end perfumeries, until you reach the Pinacoteca di Brera, one of the most important museums in Italy, and the Brera Botanical Garden.

Not far away are Milan’s two most chic and expensive streets: via Monte Napoleone and via della Spiga.

Admission to the Pinacoteca costs 16 euros full price and 11 reduced for ages 18 to 25, free under 18. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m., and on Thursdays until 10:15 p.m.: Thursday evening is the least crowded time. Closed on Mondays. Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month, but you need to book on Brera Booking. Information and tickets on the official Pinacoteca website.

Crossing via Brera and turning right onto via Fatebenefratelli, you’ll reach the corner of Milan’s most beautiful park and the start of a new area.

Porta Venezia

The gem of this neighborhood, which I find nice mostly for going out in the evening, is the Indro Montanelli gardens and the Natural History Museum. This park is the most natural one, a classic English-style garden with rocks, slopes and dips: I love it! It’s really worth a stop, with little ponds and spots for a picnic.

Isola and Porta Nuova

From Repubblica you reach the Porta Nuova and Gae Aulenti area in a few minutes, Milan’s new financial district: there are stunning skyscrapers and a park that’s worth it.

We’ve talked plenty about Isola and its surroundings in what to see in Isola.

Chinatown

Leaving Isola along via Carlo Farini, you come to the Cimitero Monumentale, which is truly imposing: if you have time (it’s not one of the first things I’d do on a first visit to Milan), there are guided tours about its most illustrious residents.

Walk past it to reach via Paolo Sarpi, around which the whole Chinatown area unfolds: a really interesting and characterful neighborhood if you want Chinese dumplings at any hour, and if you go during Chinese New Year it’s all dressed up for the party! The walk on toward CityLife is worth it too.

CityLife and the Tre Torri

CityLife is the other side of new Milan, and you get there on the M5 lilac line, direct to Tre Torri.

Where the towers stand today, there used to be the old Milan Trade Fair. In its place came a 170,000-square-meter park, an underground shopping mall and three skyscrapers that the Milanese have nicknamed as follows. Il Dritto, “the Straight one”, is the Isozaki Tower, home to Allianz: 202 meters tall, it’s the tallest building in Italy. Lo Storto, “the Twisted one”, is the Hadid Tower, home to Generali: 170 meters and 44 floors, completed in 2017, and the twist isn’t an optical effect but the building’s real geometry, rotating on itself as it rises. Il Curvo, “the Curved one”, is the Libeskind Tower, where PwC is based, and it’s the shortest of the three.

You can’t go up any of them. A nice break here is GUD, with its holiday vibe, followed by a walk in the lush park, full of locals.

The Navigli and the Darsena

Last but not least, in fact they’re one of the most iconic places of all! The Navigli are what’s left of a network of navigable canals built from the twelfth century onward to bring goods and stone into Milan, including the marble for the Duomo. Much of it was covered over in the 1930s: today only the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese remain open, meeting at the Darsena, the city’s old port.

Take the green M2 line to Porta Genova: the full route is in getting around Milan.

The Navigli are that place close to my heart that shows a thousand faces depending on when you go: in the morning they’re quiet and you can walk the two kilometers along the water and the old ringhiera tenement houses, in the afternoon until sunset they fill up for aperitivos and time with friends, and in the evening until late at night they’re the heart of Milan’s young nightlife. They become magical around Christmas, when the canals are dressed in a blanket of little lights with the sunset behind: not to be missed!

A few gems from someone who has seen them on foot, by car and by bike, and explored them far and wide. Go to the Vicolo dei Lavandai, an eighteenth-century covered wooden wash house that has survived intact on the bank of the Naviglio Grande, where washerwomen did the laundry until the 1950s: a fragment of Milanese history frozen in time! A little further along the alley, on the left, you’ll find a small door leading into a tiny courtyard with a photo exhibition of Milan in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, absolutely fascinating!

Another place I recommend is the open courtyard at number 4 on the Naviglio Grande (search for Rita Mangano on Google Maps): you’ll notice two things, the real Milanese ringhiera houses and the incredible silence of these little courtyards a few steps from the crowded streets. I always go back, partly to admire a painting or two!

Across the way you can take boat trips with NavigaMi, to see how relaxing Milan and its surroundings can be.

On the last Sunday of every month there’s the Mercatone dell’Antiquariato, the big antiques market: almost two kilometers of stalls from viale Gorizia to the via Valenza bridge, with more than 380 sellers offering furniture, watches, silverware, books, prints and mid-century pieces.

Which museums to see if you’re short on time

Milan has dozens of beautiful museums, so unfortunately you can’t see them all. These are the ones we recommend.

The Museo del Novecento comes first, and it costs 5 euros. It’s at piazza Duomo 8, right on the route you’d take anyway, it holds around three hundred works by Boccioni, Modigliani, Severini, Klee and Mondrian, and from its windows you look down on the Duomo without paying for the terraces. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursdays until 10:30 p.m., closed on Mondays, and entry is free on the first Sunday of the month. An hour and a half is enough to leave happy: it’s the museum with the best balance of price, location and time in the whole city.

The Pinacoteca di Brera comes second, and it’s the one worth giving the three hours it asks for. The 16 euros are justified, and Thursday evening, until 10:15 p.m., is when you can walk around without crowds in front of the paintings.

The Science and Technology Museum comes third, and it speaks to a completely different audience: 10 euros full price and 7.50 reduced for ages 3 to 26 and over 65, at via San Vittore 21, Sant’Ambrogio stop on the M2. It covers 50,000 square meters, the largest technical museum in Italy, with galleries dedicated to Leonardo and about 170 historical models of his machines. It’s open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends until 6:30 p.m., closed on Mondays. With kids it’s the best half day Milan has to offer; without kids, and with only one day, it comes after the other two.

Fondazione Prada is the pick for anyone into contemporary art, and it has one quirk worth knowing: it’s closed on Tuesdays but open on Mondays, which is exactly the day almost every other museum in Milan closes. Tickets cost 15 euros full price and 12 reduced for under-26s and over-65s, and include the Osservatorio in the Galleria within thirty days. It’s at largo Isarco 2, Lodi T.I.B.B. stop on the M3.

The others — Gallerie d’Italia, Triennale, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, GAM — are beautiful museums, but lower priority.