This is possibly the most interesting tourist attraction of the city: it's a bell tower 112 metres…read morehigh, making it one of the highest in the world, and the highest red brick-built. It has been decorated with the biggest astronomical clock in the world, showing, along with date and time, lunar phases and zodiac signs. Getting to the top can be challenging, as there is no lift (not surprising considering that this building is nearly one thousand years old), but the views all the way up are superb, and get better as you appraoch the top. One should chose windier days, to enjoy the best views, and this can be problematic: the Po plain is enclosed by mountains, and wind is rare. The air is often very foggy, particularly in winter, or misty enough for people not to take the most of the views. When the alps are visible in the far distance from the roads around the town, one shouldn't miss the occasion to walk up the Torrazzo: they can be sure they won't be disappointed. The whole city can be seen, along with huge portions of the countryside and parts of the river. The price is usually around 5€ but it might vary, though not so much, as the building is managed by the Diocese who might decide that they need more money any time.

You are walking around the center of town, like most dutiful tourists do... you have marvelled the…read moreColonne Di San lorenzo (one of the vrey few Roman remains still "intact"... you are probably either looking for a great place to eat, or are lost... and... You stumble upon a white wall decorated with old dolls pinned on the wall... DO NOT FEAR. .. you are not partaking in the latest horror sequel of SAW... It is simply a permament exhibition, to which you may choose to give your personal contribution. All dolls up on the wall represent a woman who has been killed (by a relative or an ex lover/husband). YES. .. i realize many may think this is a bit GORY, sending a chill down your spine... but, life is not not all fairytale like... AND if you have stopped and thought about how in Italy a woman is killed every 3 days, then.. this exhibit has served its purpose. .. I will remember, one of these days, to pin my own doll up on the wall, symbolizing how lucky i was to survive my own demon and live to tell my story.

Interesting and creepy same time. No need to make a trip to see the wall but you can reach it…read moreeasily from Duomo if you really interested.

The Duomo was truly breathtaking and incredibly intricate. We spent a long time admiring the…read moredetails. We purchased the terrace access via stairs for 15 euro each for 9:30 am. I recommend showing up earlier in the morning to avoid the crowds. There are different entrances depending on the ticket you purchase. The staircase is narrow and the turns are quick and can feel a little claustrophobic. Every part of the Duomo is worth taking a moment to take it in.

Magical and a must visit if you are in the city of Milan…read more Be sure to secure a reservation online and print out the tickets or you can just open your phone to scan your QR code. You can buy tickets the day of, but the lines were so long. I wouldn't recommend it! You don't want to spend your day waiting in line. Reserving a time slot online was soooo easy!! People who secure online can bypass the line by simply walking towards the BACK. There will be a lot of workers to help guide you. Before going into the cathedral, there is a restroom to use but for a fee. 2 euros per person and I paid with a credit card. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The cathedral is not stroller friendly and it is not handicap friendly so keep that in mind. You will have to walk up and down stairs. Very manageable! Give yourself time to enjoy the cathedral in all the angles!

So much fun diving into all these great places to see and absorb as much as possible. One thing…read morethat seems to be common with tours is the lack of headphone quality. I would suggest having your own pair or stay close to the guide.

This is a campus of museums- you could spend an entire day here alone!…read more We visited prior to another tour so only explored the campus itself not any of the museums- impressive! Many many various courtyards that all have a different purpose & feel. I am sad we did not have more time here to explore but we had not researched the area enough to... shame on our loss

Everybody heads to "The Last Supper" while in Milan but I liked this museum much more. For fans of…read moreda Vinci here are some reasons to head here: 'Portrait of a Musician": unfinished da Vinci painting, his only known male portrait and to me has a similar emblematic and mysterious facial expression as the Mona Lisa. There was a printed Last Supper mural in this room that everyone was taking photos of and ignoring this real da Vinci! Codex Atlanticus: Collection of writings and drawings by da Vinci. There are scans online but they have been recolored blue so you could see them better but nothing can beat the well-lit originals where you can see finer details, erase marks, and small mistakes. The pages rotate every 6 months so you can see new pages. Whole I was visiting there were oages on mayh, machinery, and gears. Museum was founded in 1618 and has 24 rooms. You can easily spend an hour and a half here minimum. If you buy the dual ticket there is a crypt right at the museum exit you can also go to though that is much faster than the museum. Here are some other things I enjoyed: Caravaggio Basket of Fruit: painted on an empty background, I'm not sure if this was the intent but it makes the painting more timeless and draws the eye to the detail on the plate of fruit. The apple is rotting and the leaves have bits of decay, the grapes are opaque but have an amazing translucent quality to them. Napolean Bonaparte gloves: made from buckskin and worn by Napolean at his definitive defeat at Waterloo. I love how casually these are displayed in the box they were gifted to the museum in. Dolce and Gabbana da Vinci clock recreation: mechanical and functioning, created from a da Vinci sketch. The building itself is red brick and stunning from the outside. You can see different masonry techniques from different eras and the imperfections in alignment and depth give it a nice human touch.

4.5 and rounded up. For a smaller museum, it packs a punch! I purchased this ticket in combination…read morewith the Duomo cathedral, rooftop and Duomo Museum for €35,50, which was a good value since individual tickets for this place are €15. Since it's located a short walk (10ish minutes if you aren't really familiar with the area) away from the Duomo Museum, I came here toward the end of the day after also visiting the Palazzo Reale. There's something about antique and unique libraries that draws you in. Taking in the sights, sounds, smells of tomes older than most buildings in Manhattan, and the architectural details of the spaces they are housed in--knowledge and history come alive. In the case of this museum, the 12 volumes of the Codex Atlanticus are housed here, which are the most extensive compilation of writings and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, compiled posthumously by sculptor Pompeo Leoni in the late 16th-early 17th centuries. By combining some of da Vinci's loose notes and pages from notebooks onto large-dimension paper, used to print atlases at the time, the compilation became known as the Codex Atlanticus. Subjects covered by da Vinci fall into the categories of: 1) geometry and algebra, 2) physical and natural sciences, 3) tools and machines, 4) architecture and applied arts, 5) human sciences. Aside from above, there are a few other noteworthy displays of art by mostly Italian masters, da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli and Caravaggio included, with a couple Dutch painters like Brueghel and Bosch sprinkled in. Arriving at close to 4pm on a Saturday, it was a bit rushed to try and get thru everything in roughly 45 minutes (they start to usher people out starting around 15min before the museum closed), though the floor plans and direction of exhibits were pretty straightforward--the exhibits start on the second floor and you make your way down back to the first floor again. The exit of the museum is separate from the entrance so it took a few minutes to walk back around.

I was so happy to find contemporary art alive and thriving on my visit to Milano. HangerBicocca is…read morea great exhibition space in one building and a second building which houses a permanent installation, "The Seven Heavenly Palaces" by Anselm Kiefer - incredible stacked towers of concrete. HangerBicocca is a bit out of the city (~20 minute train from the Duomo + 10 minutes walking), and the area feels deserted, but the art inside was incredible. Currently, there is an exhibition by Céline Condorelli "bau bau" which I quite enjoyed. Recommended if you want an adventure on the metro that brings you to an oasis of art!

Not to miss contemporary art venue in Milan. You can't get wrong. The trip is worthier. Free…read moreentrance. No ticket required. Huge industrial building restored as a container of big installations and art pieces.

Corso Buenos Aires is known for being one of the most significant and busy shopping zones of Milan…read more It's accessible by the Red M1 metro line to: Porta Venezia, Lima, and Lonetta (sorry, spelling may be off) as the zone spans 1.2km. It is also walkable from Duomo although I didn't attempt this since it was raining. This is a good shopping retreat for those who need a break from the haute couture of Via Monte Napoleone and neighboring luxury shops and are looking for H&M, OVS, and other stores of that type. However, as a tourist from NYC, I would not make this a destination if I were to revisit Milan. This is not out of snobbery (as I like brands of all price points), but just an FYI for those who can get the same/similar clothes for cheaper back home.

The Corso Buenos Aires is a nice about 1,5 km long shopping street (about 300 stores) with a lot…read moreof different bars, restaurants and coffe shops to take break from shopping. If you stay in Milan for a holiday I could recommend it cause it's close to the central station, to Brera and well connected via the metro M1 to the inner city, or the tram 9 to Naviglio. Close to the Porta Venecia ther's a unique Park, the wonderful Giardini Publici Indro Montanelli, which was a former zoo and you can still see some elements of the zoo architecture in it and also the museum of natural history which not only contains the remains of the former zoo aimals but also some interesting and dramatically staged dioramas and some rare dinosaur skeletons. The museum of modern art is right behind the park and also within walking distance of the Porta Venecia where the Corso Buenos Aires orignates.

I learned that the Scala is not the name of the opera house but is named for the original structure…read morethat was here originally, the Church of Santa Maria alla Scala. So there's that nugget for you. A beautiful spot to sit and watch the people, this is a lovely piazza complete with tourists, pigeons and a fabulous statue of the great Leonardo Da Vinci at the center. It is near the Piazza del Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. With the La Scala on one side and the Palazzo Marino (Milan's city hall) on the other, it's a truly magnificent spot. [Review 10688 overall, 456 of 2019.]

Piazza Della Scala, a pedestrian plaza in central Milan, is one of my favorite places for people…read morewatching. Bordered by Milan's City Hall, a museum, a bank, a shopping mall and an opera house, the plaza is of a very human, manageable scale. I especially appreciate the ample seating, something that is seemingly missing in most public spaces. The statue of The Maestro, Leonardo da Vinci -- a truly remarkable man -- is just icing on the cake. I know there is an ongoing competition to redesign Piazza Della Scala. I hope they don't screw it up :) Five Stars.

Seeing The Last Supper is one of those Milan experiences you kind of feel obligated to do, and…read morehonestly, it's worth it -- just don't expect fireworks. Even with prepaid tickets, you still have to go to the building next door to redeem them, then wait until your exact assigned time to enter. They run it super precisely, moving groups of about 20-30 people through a few climate-controlled rooms before you reach the main hall. You wait around five minutes in each section, then get about 15 minutes with the mural itself. Total experience is roughly half an hour. The process feels like airport security meets museum logistics, but it's designed to protect the painting. Having a tour group in my slot actually helped a lot: I unintentionally learned a ton by listening in, which made the experience more interesting. Without context, it's easy to just stand there like, "Yep, that's the painting." As for the mural itself, it's cool, historic, and obviously iconic -- but it is pretty faded in real life compared to photos. It's not visually mind-blowing, but knowing you're standing in front of something Leonardo painted over 500 years ago hits differently. Not thrilling, not overrated either. More of a quiet, respectful "wow, this actually exists" moment.

It was a very cool place in Milan! We went a few months ago but it was hard to purchase tickets…read moredirectly without a tour group (they get the tickets) The " Last Supper"

#171-2016: Whoever…read moresaid that Milan has hardly any touristic value, I could come up with at least a dozen reasons, one of which would be Piazza Mercanti and it's amazing history. Though many people walk right past it without giving it a second glance, I (oftentimes) find myself slow down my speed just to admire bot the architecture and the history of this location. Right off of Piazza Duomo on your way to Via Dante (through Piazza Cordusio), this may look like a secondary square, but its historical value is quite impressive. Though time has managed the square to be reduced in size, Piazza Mercanti was used as a trade market, each section assigned to a special trade (from blacksmith to shoe makers, from crops to pots). It is to be believe to be the most ancient location of the renowned Oh Bej Oh Bej fair (later on relocated to S. Ambrogio and only recently assigned to Sforzesco Castle). If you will take your time to admire this square, you surely be met with different buildings having been erected in different times: Palazzo della Ragione was built in 1233; Palazzo dei Notai was built in Gothic style in the 15th century; Palazzo delle Scuole Palatine was built in baroque style in the 17th century. Palazzo dei Giureconsulti (now located in Via dei Mercanti) was built in 1561. This ability to combine different structures with different building decors is quite fascinating and truly appeals to my personal taste. The part I find the most creepy and yet fascinating is the pit in the middle of the old square where those accused of bankruptcy would have to be exposed and publicly punished (just wish this penitence was still in use). This pit was built in the 16th century and is sorrounded by 18th century pillars. It is to be believed that the square structure allows people to hear each other's voices from one corner to the perpendicular other corner. At times it works, other times it doesn't, but it is cute to see people try. So, next time you walk past this tiny square (which also allows you to enter Piazza Duomo's McDonald's, give this square a chance to impress you and make your inner photographer.