Italy's fashion-and-design capital of the Gothic Duomo, the Last Supper, aperitivo and the Navigli canals.
Milan works best as a 2-day city break. Milan is Italy's business, fashion and design capital, a working city that trades style and energy for the postcard-Italy look of Rome or Florence. Its heart is the vast marble Gothic Duomo, whose rooftop is a forest of spires you can actually walk among, with the glass-vaulted Galleria arcade beside it. A short walk away are Leonardo's Last Supper and the arty, cobbled Brera quarter, while the evenings belong to aperitivo on the Navigli canals and the sharp new skyscrapers of Porta Nuova. It is also the fastest base in northern Italy, with trains reaching Lake Como or medieval Bergamo in about an hour. This guide splits two or three days so you cover the Duomo and centre, the Last Supper and the castle, and the Navigli and a possible lake day trip, and note now that the Last Supper must be booked well ahead.
Ideal stay
2 days
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Mid budget
130 EUR/day
Airport
Milan has three airports
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Five-star by the Galleria · Centro (Duomo)
A polished five-star just steps from the Duomo at the very edge of the Galleria, all travertine marble and a glass-domed lobby lounge. Rooms are large and quiet, and you pay for one of the best addresses in the city.
from ~500 EUR/night
Check prices
Couples€€Design hotel by the Duomo · Centro (Duomo)
A colourful design hotel styled by Patricia Urquiola, tucked literally beside the Galleria and the Duomo. The location could hardly be more central, so book early and expect compact rooms for the price.
from ~200 EUR/night
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First visit€€Canal-side boutique · Navigli
A boutique hotel in a restored old house right on the Naviglio Grande canal, with a quiet courtyard away from the bar noise. A short tram ride brings you to the Duomo, and the aperitivo strip is on your doorstep.
from ~160 EUR/night
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Budget€Lively central hostel · Centro (Duomo)
The famous sociable hostel sits between the Duomo and the Colonne di San Lorenzo, with dorms and private rooms, a rooftop terrace and a free buffet. It is central, cheap and well set up for meeting other travellers.
from ~40 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Milan began as a Celtic settlement and became the Roman city of Mediolanum, so central to the late empire that it served for a time as a capital of the Western Roman Empire, and it was here in 313 that the Edict of Milan granted Christians freedom of worship. In the Middle Ages it grew into a powerful duchy under the Visconti and then the Sforza, who raised the great brick castle and drew Leonardo da Vinci into their service. Later centuries passed it between Spanish and Austrian rule before it became a driving force in Italy's 19th-century unification and, in the 20th, in the country's industrial boom. Heavily bombed in the Second World War and rebuilt around a modern skyline, it stands today as Italy's financial, fashion and design capital.
Milan is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days cover the essentials of Milan comfortably, as the centre is compact and well connected. The one thing you must sort before anything else is the Last Supper: tickets sell out weeks ahead, so book online the moment your dates are fixed, and build day two around your slot.
See the itinerary →
3
days
Three days lets you take Milan at a relaxed pace and add either a lake day trip or the art and modern city the shorter trip skips. Book the Last Supper as your very first task, as tickets sell out weeks ahead, and be aware that prices swing hard with the calendar: the Salone del Mobile design fair in April and the Fashion Weeks in February and September push hotel rates to their yearly highs, while in August much of the city shuts for the Ferragosto holiday.
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Milan has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Centro (Duomo)
First visit
This is the historic core around the Duomo, the glass Galleria and the La Scala opera house, where you can walk to almost everything the city centre holds.
Brera
Romantic
Brera is the elegant, arty quarter just north of the centre, a pocket of cobbled lanes, small galleries, the great Pinacoteca and terrace cafes made for aperitivo.
Navigli
Nightlife
The Navigli is the canal district in the south of the city, where the old waterways are lined with bars, aperitivo terraces and restaurants that fill up every evening.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Milan on a budget: same trip, around 70 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
2 days is the sweet spot for Milan. The one thing you must sort before anything else is the Last Supper: tickets sell out weeks ahead, so book online the moment your dates are fixed, and build day two around your slot
The best months are May, June, September. Think twice about August: The month to avoid: hot and airless at around 29C, and half the city shuts for the Ferragosto holiday around 15 August, when many shops, restaurants and bakeries close and owners leave town. The big sights stay open, but the streets feel emptied out and the local life you came for is largely away.
Milan sits above the European average. Plan roughly 70 EUR per day on a tight budget, 130 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 250 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Centro (Duomo) is the safest first-visit base. This is the historic core around the Duomo, the glass Galleria and the La Scala opera house, where you can walk to almost everything the city centre holds. It is the most central and the most convenient base, and also the priciest, lined with grand facades and flagship stores. Stay here on a first, short trip when you want the headline sights on your doorstep and do not mind paying for it.
Yes. Milan has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Milan has three airports, so check which one your flight uses before you plan the trip in. From Malpensa (MXP), about 50km northwest, the Malpensa Express train runs to Milano Centrale or Cadorna in roughly 50 minutes for around 13 EUR, and it is far quicker than a taxi through the traffic. Linate (LIN), about 7km east, is the closest, and the new M4 metro line reaches the centre in about 15 minutes on a normal city ticket. Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY), where most budget flights land, sits well out of town but has frequent shuttle buses to Centrale in about 50 minutes. From Milano Centrale the Duomo is only 15 minutes away on the yellow M3 metro.
Milan has three airports, so check which one your flight uses before you plan the trip in. From Malpensa (MXP), about 50km northwest, the Malpensa Express train runs to Milano Centrale or Cadorna in roughly 50 minutes for around 13 EUR, and it is far quicker than a taxi through the traffic. Linate (LIN), about 7km east, is the closest, and the new M4 metro line reaches the centre in about 15 minutes on a normal city ticket. Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY), where most budget flights land, sits well out of town but has frequent shuttle buses to Centrale in about 50 minutes. From Milano Centrale the Duomo is only 15 minutes away on the yellow M3 metro. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Milan is best known for The Duomo, The Last Supper, Fashion and design, Aperitivo, Navigli canals, La Scala opera. Milan began as a Celtic settlement and became the Roman city of Mediolanum, so central to the late empire that it served for a time as a capital of the Western Roman Empire, and it was here in 313 that the Edict of Milan granted Christians freedom of worship.