The stylish city of Milan will enchant and excite you. This city is one of the world’s fashion capitals and there is seemingly endless shopping opportunities. Despite being heavily bombed in World War 2, the city has developed itself into a pretty and modern place. The Milan lifestyle is very famous and many enjoy dipping into the heady world of shopping, opera, sport and cuisine. Milan has many elegant and stylish hotels, and well as more budget accommodation. By renting a holiday apartment, bed and breakfast or room from a HomeToGo host you’ll experience Milan from a different perspective. Milan is the engine room of the country’s economy and home of its stock exchange, yet it isn’t driven by tourism. Fashion and finance aside, Milan’s other religion is, of course, calico (football). The city is home to both AC Milan and Inter, two of Italy’s top teams, and passionate crowds pack San Siro stadium on Sunday in season.
Fun Facts!
- Milan’s well-known opera house La Scala means ‘the staircase’ in Italian!
- Milan’s name comes from the Celtic ‘Medelhan’, which means ‘in the middle of the plain’.
- Between 7pm and 9pm, Milan celebrates Aperitivo time – bars and cafes offer finger food!
- Milan is home to 12,000 companies and 800 showrooms!
- Milan is home to Italy’s highest earners.
Finding the right Accommodation
HomeToGo offers a great range of accommodation such as spacious holiday apartments and bed and breakfasts to suit all types of travellers and budgets. Whether you’re travelling with a group, with that someone special or a family getaway, HomeToGo has you covered. Choose from Milan apartments in the city centre or get a little peace and quiet outside the hustle and bustle with a beautiful country side apartment. Staying in the centre of Milan, will have you close to all amenities and most tourist attractions, Check out our map to see what apartments we have on offer there. If you decide to find accommodation further out, make sure your close to a tram or bus station to bring you in and out of the city.
Things to do in Milan
There are a wide variety of things to see and do in Milan. You’ll find beautiful churches, interesting museums, pretty streets, lively bars and lots of shops! Without a doubt Milan’s most famous landmark is the Duomo, the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It is over 600 years old and is astonishing in terms of design, scale and beauty. It has 135 spires that stretch high up into the sky above the piazza del Duomo. There are 3,500 statues too that adorn the marble structure and it’s no wonder the cathedral took over 500 years to build! We recommend you take the lift to the top for some fantastic views over Milan and, on a clear day, the Alps.
Milan is home to Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ and you can find this extremely famous mural painting in the church of Santa Maria della Grazie (Holy Mary of Grace). This 500 year old church has a beautiful vaulted ceiling and airy central dome and is a pleasure to walk around. It is something of a miracle that the painting exists today after nearly being destroyed during World War 2 and being used as target practice during Renaissance times. Booking online to see The Last Supper is advised as understandably seeing the painting is on a lot of tourists to-do lists.
The city’s best art collection is housed at the Pinacoteca di Brera Museum and features works by Italian artists from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Look out for Mantegna’s ‘Dead Christ’, Caravaggio’s ‘Supper at Emmaus’ and works by Titian and Tintoretto. There are lots of plasters casts as well as contemporary works in the museum. If you visit the museum, check out the area behind the museum as the Orto Botanico di Brera is a very nice spot to relax.
Expo 2015
For the second time, the Italian city of Milan will have the honour of hosting the World's Fair, also known as Expo, the first time being the Milan International in 1906. This year’s Expo will take place from 1st May to 31st October, and will be held under the motto “Feeding the planet, energy for life”. Special emphasis is placed on topics such as technology, innovation, culture, tradition and creativity, and how they relate to food and diet. In addition to many international organisations, more than 140 countries are expected to participate in this year’s Expo.
Eating and drinking in Milan
Coffee culture in Milan is huge – it’s where Starbucks’ CEO first got his idea for the chain’s espresso bars! Baristas remember your name and the coffee is of course excellent quality. Around the Duomo you’ll find some great cafes in which you can soak up the sights and sounds of Milan life. Eating in Milan is a joy and is a different experience compared to other Italian cities. Pasta is not so common in Milan and several staple dishes don’t include it. Risotto alla Milanese is a delicious risotto using yellow saffron rice and ox marrow. Cotoletta alla Milanese is a rib of calf, breaded and fried in butter – a treat during the winter months!
Getting Around
Malpensa Airport, the airport serving the Milan area and is located 25 miles northwest of the city. The Malpensa Express train runs between the airport and the Milan Cadorna central station and the journey takes just over 30 minutes. Milan has a reliable metro system operating in the centre and outlying neighbourhoods with 4 lines that run from 6am until midnight. When choosing your accommodation bare in mind its proximity to the city's metro system, it is advisable to find a holiday apartment nearby to good transport links, to increase the efficiency of your travel. There are also trams and buses serving the city. Riding one of Milan’s streetcar style trams is a must! They closely resemble the trams seen in San Francisco and the city has the second largest tram network in the world. You should find that you don’t need to use the public transportation system too much however. Milan might be a very large city but most tourist attractions are a short distance from each other and can be found in the city’s centre.