Milan and nearby places

[Gus]

A few pics from Bologna:

Rodrigo was a great meal. I highly recommend it.

 

[Parterre]

I too love Milan, I'd say it's one of my favourite cities in the world but I am not particularly well-traveled. Been there once, so I could hate it the next time...

Well, as for things to see, an actual climb up to the roof of the Duomo is certainly worth while despite the hike (hey, I got to meet two Austrian ladies on the way down...).

A subsequent ride up across the way to the food hall in la Rinacente is a good idea, I can't speak to it's hipness amongst the hip but there was a pretty good looking sushi bar with conveyor belt. The menu, I think, was pretty good too.

As for other restaurants, I suggest at least spending one night at a local trattoria, unless you have some vested interest in still being able to call the food at your local Italian restaurant Italian food. Eat a lot of polenta too as you'll look like less of an American.

There are a lot of places around the Navligi that have these happy hours where you can serve yourself to a pretty great spread of food for only a 7 € or so drink.

The Castello Sforzeco has something like a half-dozen museums in it, it's good to look at one or two at least. Walk around the Parco Sempione and try to get to the arch on the other end- I couldn't.

If you are considering a trip out of town, Consider Verona. It's very charming. Drive out to the Villa Amista hotel, unless you have children with you (as I did) in which case the full frontal nude photographs might be hard to explain. Any squeamishness however is mitigated by the hotel restaurant, which is one of the best I have been to.

 

[Parterre]

I went to the Battuta restaurant, which is a Milanese classic, but the food was good.

If you are an opera fan or even mildly cultured and are going in the Spring then you should go see an Opera at La Scala. I didn't as I went in the summer and I still feel bad.

Lastly, and I'm not sure gow much utility this has for you, but I have never seen as many attractive women in one place as I have on the Via Torino. The Via Vittorio Emanuele and the roof of La Rinascente are close behind.

 

[foodguy]

uh, you went to the duomo and picked up chicks and went to italy to eat conveyor belt sushi. you have offended a number of the old gods.

 

[acidboy]

thank you for your help, gentlemen... keep em coming.

although I don't think I'll be eating sushi when I'm there, but thanks for the tip just the same

 

[Gus]



I don't think I'll be eating sushi when I'm there...

At Renicante skip the food court and head to the outside dinning. We had an excellent meal.

 

[FunLovinStyle]

I guess I'm unusual, judging by this thread, in that I found myself bored with Milan after a day. I recommend hoping on a train to Venice. It's a simple 2 and a half or 3 hour trip, if I recall.

If you don't mind traveling a little, and we're talking about a week, spend three days in Venice (enough time to get a good feel for it) and then perhaps two days at a place of your choice on Lake Como, and any remaining balance in Milan.

In any case, I think you'd be hard pressed to spend an exciting week in Milan.

 

[Parterre]



uh, you went to the duomo and picked up chicks and went to italy to eat conveyor belt sushi. you have offended a number of the old gods.

I neither actually ate the sushi nor did anything, so I think I'm good.

 

[Gus]

The great thing about the location of Milan is that you are an easy train ride to Bologna, Verona and Venice as mentioned above. Lake Como has been mentioned. Another option and only an hour by train from Milan is Lake Garda. There is quite a nice, small luxury resort called the Villa Cortina that I would highly recommend for a couple of nights away from the big city. It is right on the lake and has the type of service that will spoil you.

 

[foodguy]



The great thing about the location of Milan is that you are an easy train ride to Bologna, Verona and Venice as mentioned above. Lake Como has been mentioned. Another option and only an hour by train from Milan is Lake Garda. There is quite a nice, small luxury resort called the Villa Cortina that I would highly recommend for a couple of nights away from the big city. It is right on the lake and has the type of service that will spoil you.

if i remember correctly, lake garda is actually closer to malpensa than milan ... haven't done it but a friend who travels to italy a lot always stays there the night before the flight rather than in the city.

 

[acidboy]

great. looks like I won't be getting a free ticket.

but I'm still gonna do this.

 

[JayJay]

Heading to Milan in a few days. Can't wait.

 

[mauser]



if i remember correctly, lake garda is actually closer to malpensa than milan ... haven't done it but a friend who travels to italy a lot always stays there the night before the flight rather than in the city.

That would be Lake Maggiore that's quite close to Malpensa. That lake's very nice, too, although the fun starts about midway up the lake. Lake Como is somewhat more intimate and to my mind, is the prettier of those two lakes.

 

[why]

Milan is a nice city to visit as a tourist for a day or so. It's a big international center (and the least Italian/most cosmopolitan of all Italian cities), so expect more of a trip to New York than a trip to Florence. That said, there's a lot to do, but not a lot to see there -- so if you want to do some shopping, see an opera, whatever else then Milan is likely the place to do it, but if you don't have much planned beforehand you'll be extremely bored with the city in a day or so.

A lot of the suggestions in this thread are kinda touristy. La Rinascente is an Italian shopping mall conglomerate.

Don't drive in Milan. It's faster to walk or take the metro to everywhere you want to go and cheaper to take trains to the surrounding areas (petrol is more than $4/liter and highway tolls are about the price of a train ticket anyway). Plus if you don't know where you're going you'll spend half the day going around in circles and looking for a place to park, not to mention that it takes most of the pleasure out of Italian cities and replaces it with headaches and frustration.

I don't like the lakes much but some people think they're really tranquil and relaxing. I think they're really boring.

Bologna is a nice city I guess, but again if you don't have anything planned there won't be much to do after you see a few churches. It's a quick train ride from Milan if you care to go there, though. There are plenty of tourists during tourist season (although not completely overtaken by them like Florence or Rome).

Torino is very near as well -- 45 minutes on the high speed trains. The layout (French boulevards) and look (Baroque) of the city is significantly different from the rest of Italy and has the royal palace, gardens, and whatever else remains from the Italian monarchy and birth of the republic. It probably has the best coffee and cafes in the world, plus if you go that route it's rather easy to visit Barolo and a lot of other wine regions (if that's your thing) as well as the rather lackluster Italian riviera (it's not bad, but the Adriatic coast and southern Mediterranean are significantly better). There are nearly no tourists if that matters to you. It's worth it for a day trip, I think.

Venice isn't any closer to Milan than Rome or Florence are time-wise due to the high speed train routes.

For trains there's always Trenitalia (trenitalia.com) or the new Italo (italotreno.it).

Feel free to PM me if you need details or help with something.

 

[globetrotter]



great. looks like I won't be getting a free ticket.

but I'm still gonna do this.

that sucks, but you should still do it. enjoy.