21 must do’s in Milan

Besides shopping, you should make sure to visit Milan’s true beauty: frescos and churches! Here are my 21 must do’s when in Milan.

Transportation to Milan

When arriving at Malpensa airport just take the Malpensa Express to Milan. The train ride costs you €13 and you’ll arrive in Milan in around 40 minutes. In Milan city, you can travel by metro. You can buy tickets for 24hrs or 48 hrs.

1) Stazione Centrale

When taking the Malpensa Express to Milan, you’ll end up here! Stazione Centrale is one of the biggest train stations in Europe. It took over 7 years to build the train station that is 207 meters long and 36 meters high.

Fun Fact: The Stazione Centrale is the second biggest building in Milan after the Duomo. Il Pirellone is the highest building in the city.

2) Cimitero Monumentale

In northern Milan, you’ll find the Cimitero Monumentale: a cemetery with beautifully designed crypts and tombs. The Campari family is buried here. Their tomb has a sculpture of the Last Supper. I also found a grave with the sculpture “Sphere within a sphere” by Arnaldo Pomodoro. I also saw this sculpture in Dublin but a larger version. Don’t you just love it when your travels are linked together?

Entrance: Free

3) Bosco Verticale

Bosco Verticale is a project to reduce the smog in Milan city and to generate more oxygen. The two apartment buildings have over 900 trees planted on the roof and terraces.

4) Porta Garibaldi

This is the old entrance gate of Milan. The statues represent the different rivers that flow around Milan: Po, Ticino, Adda, and Olona. Take the metro here to Arco Della Pace.

5) Arco della Pace

Arco della Pace is the entrance of Milan’s largest green space, Parco Sempione. The arch of peace was originally built in 1807 to honor Napoleon.

6) Parco Sempione

When entering the Parco Sempione, you’ll have views on the Castello Sforzesco and the Arco Della Pace. Just stroll around and take your picnic with you!

7) Castello Sforzesco

The Castello Sforzesco was a stronghold in the 14th century. Since the 1950’s it houses a large photo archive of Italy and several museums. You can also find the last (unfinished) sculpture of Michelangelo in one of those museums.

Entrance: €5, inner square is free

Food tip: We ate at the Calicantus Sforzesco inside the Castello Sforzesco. I ate spaghetti carbonara (normally priced) and it was delicious!

Food fact: Many restaurants and bars serve apéritivo. You pay an (expensive) drink but you get tapas with it. You can take as many as you want and it can even serve as dinner. We did this one evening and paid for 2 apéritivo per person.

8) Piazza degli Affari

After you’ve visited the castle, head to the Piazza degli Affari to see the Palazzo Mezzanotte (Stock Exchange Building). The statue L.O.V.E. stands in front of the Palazzo Mezzanotte: raising the middle finger.

9) Chiesa di San Maurizio Milan

Walk further to the Chiesa di San Maurizio Milan. This church used to be divided into two parts: a part for the public and for the nuns. No-one could enter the part of the nuns until 1794. You could only communicate with the nuns through ventilation holes. When you enter the church you’ll immediately notice a lot of frescos by Bernardino Luini like his take on the Last Supper.

Fun Fact: There is a fresco of Noah’s Arc where you can see unicorns. They are real folks! Also, notice the 3 dogs in the fresco: those were the dogs of the painter who wanted to personalize his take on the tale of Noah’s Ark.

10) Museo Archeologico Milan

The Museo Archeologico of Milan is located on the former Monastero Maggiore. You can see the remains of the city walls from the 4th century, the Ansperto tower from the 9th century and you can also see many artifacts from that time too.

11) Palazzo Litta

This Palazzo was built for Baron Bartolomeo Arese but was later bought by the family Litta who turned it into an orphanage. The Palazzo is not open to the public.

12) Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie

Walk further and you’ll find in this UNESCO protected church, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. We were unfortunately too late to reserve some tickets so we couldn’t see this beauty. We did see a version by a student of his in the Chiesa di San Maurizio.

13) Leonardo da Vinci’s Vineyard

In order to thank Leonardo’s work in Milan (Last Supper and engineering waterways), the Duke of Milan gifted Leonardo a small vineyard opposite Chiesa Santa Maria Delle Grazie. This vineyard is open to the public.

14) Duomo di Milano

Okay, we’re finally at THE must do in Milan! The Duomo is the third-largest church in Europe after the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and Seville Cathedral. It took over 6 centuries to build it.

Ticket Tip: You can buy your tickets here, you’ll just have to choose the right ticket that suits you the best. As a student, my friends and I enjoyed the student discount, so we took the DUOMO PASS STAIRS. This ticket gave us access to the Cathedral, the Crypt of St. Charles, the Archaeological area, Duomo Museum, the church of San Gottardo and the rooftop of the Duomo (by stairs).

The stairs to the Duomo is doable, but if you’re not fit enough try the elevator. On top, you can enjoy a beautiful panorama of Milan where you can see the Galleria, Palazzo Reale, Torre Velasca, and many more!

15) Palazzo Reale

You can see the Palazzo Reale and Torre Velasca from the rooftop of the Duomo. But you have to share the palazzo with a lot of pigeons. 😉

Food Tip: Panzerotti Luini. Luini makes amazing panzerotti since 1888. Luini is street food at its best: cheap and tasty. There is a queue and you can only pay with cash!

16) Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Gallery was built in 1867 which makes it younger than the Gallery in Belgium (my country). You can find Versace, Prada, Swarovski, but also McDonald’s in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Make sure to look at the floor too! Lots of mosaic frescos to behold.

Fun Fact: Rubbing the genitals of the bull will bring you luck. That guy on the photo was lucky, I heard he won the jackpot that year 😉

17) Chiesa di Santa Benardino alle Ossa

This is Milan’s Chapel of Bones. I already saw a chapel of Bones in Faro, Portugal but this one was more impressive. Don’t forget to look up!

18) Chiesa di San Satiro

This church is really special! When you enter the church, it appears to be a large church but when you get closer to the choir, you can see it’s all an illusion. The choir had to be cut due to the new road behind the church. The current choir has a depth of 90 cm and is painted in a way to appear deeper.

19) Basilica San Lorenzo Maggiore

This building used to be a bathhouse but was transformed into a church. It has had several fires but it still stands to this day.

Fun Fact: You can get married in this church.

20) Porta Ticinese & Colonne di San Lorenzo

The Porta Ticinese is one of the two medieval gates of the city that still exists today. The gate was built in the 12th century and 2 arches were built next to it during the 19th century. The Colonne di San Lorenzo are ancient Roman ruins, just in front of the Basilica San Lorenzo.

21) Lake Como

If you have time over, you can also take the train to Lake Como. We didn’t find George Clooney but we did take the elevator to see a panoramic view over Lake Como!

I hope I gave you enough information to start your trip to Milan! Enjoy!

Life of a Passion