I’ll channel my inner DavdZ and say I hate Milan. You wouldn’t get me to spend time there voluntarily. Milan is the Cleveland of Italy.
To be clear, I haven’t been there in over a decade, but back then it was dirty, smoggy, filthy with soot on all the monuments and old buildings.
Having said that, I had some of the best home-style Italian food I’ve had in my life there. Not fine dining, as others have said, just really good fresh pastas of all kinds. That’s what I’d be looking for if I had to spend time in Milan.
They’ve spent the last 10 years cleaning the facade of the Duomo and aren’t quite finished. What they have done so far is spectacular.
Geat shopping. Strong urban renewal projects funded and anchored by the fashion houses. Good basic eating. Some inventive cooking (Vun, Cracco, etc), but mostly regional favorites.
Peeling past the Fort, Duomo, and Refectory (Last Supper) require some effort and knowledge (or a knowledgeable tour guide interested in going off the beaten path), but is worth the effort.
Milan is Milan, as a friend who lives there says. Like New York, the most populous metropolitan area of the country and its financial center. Touristic and beautiful it is not.
Alan - In the past two years, I’ve started to travel to Milan on business about once a quarter. Prior to that, I shared your view of Milan. My impression now is that Milan is an urban center not all that different than many of its European peers - Zurich, Munich, etc. There are parts that are really cool - good restaurants, increasingly less “touristy”, great shopping, some history, nice park areas - and parts that are not so good - the petty crime for instance. When I go downtown I always enjoy the experience. That said, when given the choice, I am typically in my car running down the Piemonte, up to Valle d’Aosta to go hiking, etc instead of staying in the city. But I’m a country guy, not a city guy
FWIW, we f*cking loved Milan, loved loved loved. As a New Yorker, it was the first European city that I really loved. So much energy, fabulous shopping, great bars, great restaurants.
Our trip ended up being less food-focused than I expected, but we had a terrific (and well-priced) lunch at Ratana. We got upgraded, so in lieu of a meal on another day, we bought a ton of meats and cheeses and prepared foods from Peck and another place and just ate in our suite. Was terrific. Our hotel had a new (and reasonably well-received, based on the Milan food blogs) restaurant in it, and we ordered room service on the first night we arrived since we got in late (we took a side trip to Lugano on the spur of the moment), and even the room service was good and fairly priced.
Can’t wait to go back to Milan. Barely scratched the surface.
Have been pretty hit or miss with the city. I think the “Cleveland of Italy” description is accurate, if you’re looking solely at the buildings. Everything is dirty/grimy and covered in graffiti, with “covered in graffiti” quite possibly being the understatement of the year. The graffiti is so bad that somebody has gone through and recorded the more artsy-looking pieces as Pokémon Go stops.
Brings me to an interesting point - I had a colleague tell me that one of the best ways to walk through some of the bigger cities… was to use Pokémon Go as a guide. I laughed, but said I’d try it in Milan, and it’s been pretty cool. The GPS on your phone ties you to a very detailed map and the stops are linked to interesting spots around the city, many of which I would have never noticed without the app. Cool part is that the stop itself has a pic of what you’re looking for, so it’s even easier to spot. Sure, you have to weed out some of the garbage stops, but stuff like a 2’ set of hands sticking out of the wall? Pretty cool.
Have to check back in here, 9 months later. We’ve had a markedly different experience this time around and I’d take back the “Cleveland of Italy” description. Sure, there’s still a ridiculous amount of graffiti and a lot of the buildings are grimy… but we’ve had a much nicer time this trip. Thoughts, for what they’re worth:
Park Hyatt in the Galleria - great hotel. I dumped points to stay here, to be fair, but it’s right in the Gallerie and a 3 minute walk to Duomo (and the Campari / Aperol cocktail bars). The hotel has a nice, high-end restaurant (Vun) which made for a relaxing walk down from the room without having to deal with taxis, etc. to get somewhere.
Last Supper - good visit, but good luck getting tickets. Appears to be a ticket reseller racket here, which means you need to buy a 3 hour city tour to go and see the Last Supper.
Peck - a VERY small version of Harrods/Galeries Lafayette, but has a sit-down mini-restaurant in the middle that serves charcuterie and small plates, with a 375ml wine list. Surprisingly, was a highlight.
El Brellin - solid 7 of 10 restaurant, on one of the canals in the SW part of the city. Wine list was ok, with my wife opting for an Amarone della Valpolicella. She’s cute like that.
The Galleria - have to spin on the bull’s balls. Paula Hardy
One note regarding Duomo - security pulled a couple of women out of line that were wearing shorts. Our tour guide had a couple of wraps to hand out, but be aware that if you want to go inside, there is a minimal dress code that calls for women to “cover their knees.”
That’s a common rule in major cathedrals, and should be observed out of respect. It’s not Disneyland.
At St. Paul’s at the Vatican, men are not allowed in in shorts – I know from personal experience. I was strolling the city and hadn’t planned to go there but detoured and was headed in when I saw the signs.
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