Destinations: Milan, Italy
Milan, a metropolis in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, is a global capital of fashion and design. Home to the national stock exchange, it’s a financial hub also known for its high-end restaurants and shops. The Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, housing Leonardo da Vinci’s mural ‘The Last Supper,’ testify to centuries of art and culture.
Milan isn’t at the top of most tourist’s must-visit lists when they go to Italy, and few people include it in a first-time trip there, but though it lacks the big tourist hits that there are in, say, Rome or Florence, there are still plenty of great sights and activities in the city to keep you busy and happy.
Another major factor that would make me add Milan to any list of places to visit in Northern Italy is its central location. If you’re the kind of person who’d rather have one place to stay in a region and use it as a base from which to take day trips to other destinations, then Milan fits the bill perfectly. You can get a train to just about anywhere in the region from Milan, which is perfect if you are using a rail pass. Places like Lake Como, Turin, Verona, Venice, Cinque Terre and Florence can all be reached within 2 hours or less by train from Milan Centrale station. If you feel any of those destinations might require more than a single day for you to see what you want to see, and I would put Florence, Cinque Terre and perhaps Venice in that category, you can always put those destinations at the beginning or end of your time in Northern Italy and use them as your entry or exit points to the region before or after visiting Milan.
As Milan’s Centrale station is the hub of rail transport to and from Milan, the area around the station is the logical place to book your accommodation. The centre of Milan is only 10 minutes away by the Metro underground railway, and the forecourt of the station is the terminus for buses servicing Malpensa Airport, Milan’s premier international airport. There are plenty of accommodation options within walking distance of the station from 5-star hotels to backpacker accommodation and everything in between. There are also around forty AirBNB properties in the area.
Centrale station is a short walk from Corso Buenos Aires; it’s the most popular destination in Milan for high-street shopping, and reputedly the longest shopping street in the world. Corso Buenos Aires is a pivotal artery which connects the city centre with the business and industrial districts in the north of Milan. It’s easy to locate as it runs close to the central square and the city’s famous cathedral. Line 1 of the metro has three stops along Corso Buenos Aires, Porta Venezia, Piazza Lima and Piazzale Loreto. Step into the side streets for an eclectic variety of restaurants, Turkish baths, gelato bars and shisha cafes.
Destinations From Milan
Cinque Terre
Travel by rail from Milan: 3 hrs
Cinque Terre is the name given to five stunningly picturesque villages which have clung for centuries to the rugged cliffs of northern Italy’s Mediterannean coast. The villages are intensely popular, so these tiny towns are often full to overflowing with visitors. Still, there is no place quite like them, and with a little advance planning a visit can be just fine. The hike between the five villages is one of the big draws, as are the beaches along that part of the Ligurian Coast, but do not miss the other reasons to visit. The Cinque Terre is famous for its dessert wine, called sciacchetra, and its anchovies. If you like, you can have anchovies in just about anything – including spaghetti sauce – and they are often whole. These are not the tiny salty fish you are used to, so give them a try.
Florence
Travel by rail from Milan: 1 hr 40 mins
Florence is often called the ‘birthplace of the Renaissance,’ and when you think of the art and scholarship which was produced here you can understand why. The city is still brimming with art, and some people say they have spent more than a week straight in Florence and still felt like they had not seen it all. The famous Michelangelo ‘David’ is in Florence – twice. The original now lives in the Accademia and a copy is in the place where the original once stood. The Uffizi Gallery contains a room full of giant Botticelli masterpieces. The Bargello has Donatello’s ‘David.’ And the list goes on. Outside museums, there are the remnants of the time when the Medici family ruled Florence – from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace and the bridge over the Ponte Vecchio in between.
Venice
Travel by rail from Milan: 2 hrs 23 mins
Depending on who you talk to, Venice is either a captivating and maze-like wonderland where getting lost is the best thing you can do, or it is a smelly and crowded tourist trap with bad (not to mention expensive) food. As with most things, there is a bit of truth to both sides of the coin. The floating city of Venice certainly attracts hordes of tourists, especially in the summer, and space is limited – so obviously there will be crowds and prices geared towards relieving tourists of their money. All Venice asks is this – come with an open mind. There are sights to see in Venice, of course – the Byzantine masterpiece St. Mark’s Basilica, Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man,’ a great collection of modern art in the Peggy Guggenheim Museum – but the real sight in Venice is the city itself.
Pisa
Travel by rail from Milan: 3 hrs 8 mins
Believe it or not, there’s more to this city than a crooked tower. No, really. It does seem to be most popular to visit Pisa as a break in a longer train ride from one city to another, and it’s good to know that you can easily have a leisurely visit to the city’s famous leaning tower of Pisa in a couple hours or less. And, should you decide to stay longer, you’ll find that once the day-trippers leave that even a city of this size can seem downright peaceful, especially when compared with the non-stop noise and activity in Rome.
Verona
Travel by rail from Milan: 1 hr 23 mins
The setting for Shakespeare’s famous ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ Verona offers many more sights and activities than those related to the ill-fated couple. The impressive 2,000 year old Roman arena is a must-see sight year-round, and especially so during the summer when the city’s opera performances take place inside. Verona is a beautiful and walkable city with a scattering of interesting churches to visit, and along the way there are marble-paved streets linking several lovely piazzas that almost beg you to stop and have a coffee.
Bologna
Travel by rail from Milan: 1 hr (approx)
Bologna is a major draw for foodies, and since it’s a major rail and highway hub the chances are good you’d pass close by even if you’re headed somewhere else – so why not stop for awhile and eat some of the best food you’ll eat anywhere on the planet? In addition to its famous food traditions, Bologna is also home to the world’s oldest university, and car-makers Ferrari and Lamborghini have their factories nearby. In other words, there are plenty of reasons to find Bologna appealing well beyond your taste buds.
Turin
Travel by rail from Milan: 45 mins
Although it is often overlooked by visitors to Italy, Turin has much to offer – not least of which is the fact that there are fewer tourists. Turin (called Torino in Italian) is the capital of the Piedmont region in the northwest of Italy, and widely known as an excellent place to go if you’re a foodie or want to make skiing day trips. It’s also home to one of the Catholic church’s most famous relics, and the city that paved the way for Nutella. Turin has a beautiful city centre, is ringed by snow-capped mountains, and hosts an annual chocolate festival. The city ishome to one of the most venerated relics in the Catholic Church – the legendary Shroud of Turin and perhaps the best museum of Egyptian artifacts anywhere outside of Egypt.
Lake Como
Travel by rail from Milan: 1 hr approx
Both Lake Como and Lake Maggiore are close enough to Milan that the towns along the southern shore of each lake can be great day trips. The lakes are incredibly popular so you’re not exactly going to find peace and quiet in these towns, but it’s hard to beat them for sheer picturesque beauty in nice weather. In addition to the American tourists who have discovered the appeal of the lakes of Italy, the bulk of the tourist influx to this region in the summer comes from Germany and the United Kingdom, so no lake town is left deserted at that time. The summer months are easily the busiest on any of the lakes in Italy, so if you’re looking for a balance of nice weather and not as many tourists, try for either June or September.
St Moritz, Switzerland
Travel by rail from Milan: 5 hrs 51 mins
St. Moritz, located in Engadin Graubuenden Switzerland, is one of the world’s most famous holiday resorts. Chic, elegant and exclusive with a cosmopolitan ambiance, the ‘town at the top of the world’ is one of Europe’s classic winter holiday destinations. It was here, 1,856 metres above sea level, in the heart of the spectacular Upper Engadin lakes district, that the notion of winter holidays was born. This Alpine village has also hosted the Winter Olympics on two occasions. It is linked to Milan via rail, the journey involves travelling on the Bernina Express, without doubt one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world, and can be done there and back in a day via an organised tour using a combination of train and coach.
Plan and Book:
