Things to know before visiting Milan
Are you planning a trip to Italy and want to stop in Milan? Well, today we will give you some very important tips to know to make your visit to Milan even more special
How to get to Milan
If you’re new to the channel, we made an entire video about how to get to Milan. If you haven’t seen it yet, here is a little summary on how to get to Milan, but you can see all the details up here.
Milan has 2 airports: Milano Linate, which is close to the city centre and connects with domestic flights and European flights. The second airport is Milano Malpensa, which is located about one hour outside the city centre that connecting with international flights and some low-cost flights.
Milan is also incredibly well connected with Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples and Turin with the Italian high-speed train system. In fact, the high-speed train is our favourite way to go to Milan. We do not recommend driving in Milan because of the traffic and the lack of parking.
Plan at least 2 days
Milan is a wonderful city that has a lot to offer and visit, so we strongly recommend you plan at least two full days in the city, three days and two nights would be even better. Also, if you are planning on taking a side trip from Milan to Lake Como, this will take you at least one full day.
Best time to visit
In our opinion, the best seasons to visit Milan are late spring and early fall. During the summer, especially in August, the temperatures in Milan can be really hot and uncomfortable for this reason, we do not recommend visiting in August. In the winter, Milan can be quite cold, and it would not be ideal for a visit; however, there is an exception: December in Milan is a wonderful time to visit. Yes, the temperature can be quite cold in December (usually around 5-7 °C or 44-41 °F during the day and 1-2 °C or 33-35 °F at night), but the city is incredibly decorated for Christmas and Christmas shopping in Milan is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.Â
Use the Metro
Milan has a fantastic Metro system. In fact, you can reach almost every major attraction in Milan using the Metro. The Metro is also very affordable; in fact, a daily pass costs €7.60 at the time of recording, and a three-day pass costs €13, also at the time of recording. You can buy the ticket at the metro station using the automatic machines. Also, many newsstands sell the tickets. Alternatively you can tp your phone or your credit card at the gate. There is also an app that you can download that gives you all the information about the Milan Metro system.
Milan also has an excellent and historic tram system. Some of the Trams are more than one hundred years old, and they are still in use. Taking the tram in Milan is an experience on its own that you should definitely try. By the way, the metro pass works for the trams as well, so don’t hesitate to try them.
Book your hotel strategically
When booking a hotel in Milan, you want to stay relatively close to the city centre. In fact, you don’t want to spend too much time commuting to reach the different attractions if you only have two or three days for your visit. Of course, the best area to stay is right in the city centre, but it is also the most expensive area to stay. If you are looking for some more budget-friendly places to stay, the area near the Stazione Centrale (the main train station) offers a variety of hotels and B&Bs that suit every budget. You can also consider hotels in other areas of the city as long as they are very close to the Red M1 or the Yellow M2 subway lines. These two lines are the easiest and most convenient if you want to reach Piazza Duomo. Also, the new Blue M4 lines stop not too far from the Duomo. Any hotel near a Metro station along those lines is a good choice.
Avoid busy weeks
You probably know that Milan is one of the fashion and design capitals of the world. For this reason, there are two main events that happen in Milan that draw thousands of visitors to the city every year. One is Fashion Week, which is usually in mid-September, and the other one is the Salone del Mobile or the furniture week that is usually around mid-April. These two events can be a lot of fun to attend, but they are also the busiest times in the cities, and during these events, hotels are booked solid for months. Also, prices for hotels skyrocket during these events. On top of that, during those events, it is really difficult to find tables at good restaurants, stores are packed, taxis are difficult to find, and so on, you get the picture!
Bottom line, unless you are really interested in fashion or furniture, we suggest you avoid visiting Milan during those two events.
Book your attractions in advance
This tip is valid not only in Milan, but pretty much everywhere in Italy. You should always book your tickets, and ideally skip the line tickets, in advance before travelling to any place. Doing so will save you time because you don’t have to wait in line, and most importantly, you won’t risk waiting in line for the ticket office only to find out that the attraction that you really want to see is sold out!
This is particularly important in Milan if you want to go see Leonardo’s Last Supper. In fact, only a few lucky people a day are allowed to enter the Cenacolo to see Leonardo’s Masterpiece. For this reason, tickets are sold out weeks in advance. So if you want to see this incredible fresco, we strongly recommend you buy your tickets as soon as possible. We will leave a link in the description below to buy the tickets.
Time to move to our last tip to know before visiting Milan:
Try some of the local specialities
Like any other place in Italy, Milan has some fantastic local specialities that you should try when visiting. The most famous dish of Milan is the Risotto alla Milanese, which is a very fragrant risotto dish that is aromatised with a lot of saffron. One very common way to serve it in Milan is with Veal Ossobuco, a tender and delicious braised veal shank. Don’t forget to try the famous Cotoletta Milanese, a veal schnitzel usually served on the bone! Lastly, if you are in Milan, you should try a Campari, this deep red drink was invented in Milan in 186,0 and the recipe is still a secret today!
Well, folks, this concludes our Article today. We hope you have learned something that will make your visit to Milan even more special. As usual, if you have any questions, please leave a comment below. We love to hear back from you and answer your questions to the best of our ability.
Andrea was born and raised in Northern Italy. At the age of 30, he moved to Vancouver Canada. Over the years he traveled extensively in North America, Europe, Central America, and Asia. He is passionate about traveling, cruising, and travel photography. He likes to write about his traveling and shows his travel photos.
