Milan Entertainment

  1. Anteospazio Cinema

    On rainy Milan Mondays, take your pick of three screens showing a range of films, from classics to independents, and then loiter 'til your show begins in the bookshop, restaurant and exhibition space. Not a fan of dubbing? You're in luck: Mondays are original-language film days.

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  2. Atomic Bar

    Like hanging out inside a lava lamp, with vintage vinyl sofas and faux-fur chairs in molten shapes, and walls splashed with psychedelic patterns and mesmerising glitter. Settle into rare grooves from the '60s and '70s on Sunday, then let it all bubble up and over the top on gay-friendly 'Drama Queen' Fridays.

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  3. Auditorium di Milano

    Abandoned after WWII, the Cinema Massimo was completely reinvented in 1999 through the generosity of an anonymous Milanese donor as state-of-the-art home to Milan's legendary Giuseppe Verde Symphonic Orchestra, as well as visiting international jazz acts and chamber music groups on Sundays.

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  4. Bar Jamaica

    If the Jamaica's bulletin board could, it would surely groan under the weight of notices pinned to it by artists and film makers advertising their latest projects - the inspiration for which probably came from a late night right on these premises. Art students from nearby Accademia di Brera nurse drinks for days on coveted sidewalk seats, but the covered patio is a good bet.

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  5. Bar Magenta

    Grab a curbside seat here, and let Milan come to you. Locals drift in for espresso, sandwiches and beer; students show up around to stake out spots near the buffet; models saunter in around , pretending not to be hungry and eating from everyone else's plates. Bartop antics in abbreviated clothing draw perverts and trainwreck-watchers on 'Coyote Ugly' Thursdays.

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  7. Bhangra Bar

    Hip Milanese like their bars like they like their cuisine: geographically vague and otherwise distinctive. Bhangra Bar delivers on both counts with a couscous-and-curry aperitivo buffet, served with a side of African percussion on Fridays, international beats on 'Melting Pot' Thursdays, and triphop plus a free shiatsu massage with your around €6.50 drink on 'Tao' Sundays.

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  8. Boccascena Café

    An 18th century palazzo, with a charming courtyard and clocktower. Actors and artists mill around tables, anticipating or reviewing the evening's entertainment at Teatro Litta. In the Teatro's grand foyer, drinks are presented with a flourish and dramatically lit by mod chrome chandeliers. Unscripted dialogue and much levity ensues; the end is up to you.

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  9. Café Marino alla Scala

    Every detail here seems scientifically calculated to distract from the demands of the day: the lavish spread with fresh seafood and organic ingredients, harried but charming bartenders, and a wall-sized video art piece playing in a loop behind a Milanese ensemble cast of business moguls and classical musicians, fashionistas and famished students. Bottle that formula: it works.

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  10. Cantiere dei Sensi

    Let fine Italian design and wine go to your head at this showplace bar, where you can actually buy the newfangled wineglass you're drinking from, or that clever plate under your around €25 set-price meal (including appetizer, wine, primo and coffee).

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  11. Cantine Isola

    Only octogenarians make use of the sole table in back - everyone else hovers near the bar, balancing plates of bruschetta and holding glasses at the ready for when the in-house sommelier gives the nod to open a fine vintage Barbera. The selection of wines from 400 exceptional vintners is an education in a glass, so you'll leave wiser and drunker.

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  13. Caruso

    The living is good and the people-watching even better at this sidewalk café in Milan's most fashionable piazza, with the best-dressed parade hauling designer booty and little dogs along Via Manzoni, gingerly descending Montenapo Metro steps in staggering heels, and pretending not to be flustered by the pulchritude of Emporio Armani Caffé waiters.

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  14. Cineteca Spazio Oberdan

    The ultimate art-house theatre, showing several screenings daily from its archive of 15,000 films, plus special screenings of films in their original languages and seminars with directors.

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  15. Da Claudio

    Fishmonger by day, Claudio is Nobu's archrival by night. Once the floors are hosed down, corks pop and crowds arrive for spumante and a sampler plate of the sliced carpaccio (raw) catch of the day (around €10 ). This Milan-style sushi is drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, pepper and lemon atop raddichio, and served with crusty bread instead of rice.

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  16. Diana Garden

    Reel around the fountain in the lush gardens of this Art Nouveau palazzo, cocktail in hand: you'll have plenty of stylish company. Even with the crowds here, the staff never forgets a drink order and there's usually a plush seat to be found indoors.

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  17. El Brellin

    The ancient mill on the side of the building serves no modern purpose other than to raise the old-world charm of this canalside spot to irresistible levels, and the drinks are reliable even if the buffet is limited to light salads.

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  19. Frida

    No pretensions, no entourages, just good music, good value and good times. The jumble of tables outside and couches indoors make it easy to bond over beer, and the display of local emerging photographers is a handy conversation-starter with the arty alternative crowd. Come for live jazz Sundays and around €5 happy hour - .

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  20. G-Lounge

    By day it's a hard-working lunch destination with a view of the Torre Velasca; by night it's a sultry lounge with a distinct flair for caipirinhias (minty Brazilian cocktails), mod Moroccan décor, and groovy chill-out music. Some call versatile G-Lounge a straight-friendly gay bar, others a gay-friendly straight bar - but you can just call it a fun night out in Milan.

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  21. Gasoline Club

    Everything seems larger than life in this small-scale disco, from the big dance moves to huge false eyelashes on Gay Tea Dance Sundays. Otherwise, manly attire ranges from designer tees and jeans to black Speedos, while women dress to express. The bar is redecorated annually, in sometimes questionable taste - but the cocktails are beyond reproach.

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  22. Gattopardo

    Fashionable Milan worships at the altar of design by day, and at night recharges at this deconsecrated church with candles everywhere and a bar where the altar once was. That mighty chandelier dangling from the cupola is mostly there for looks - but then the same can be said of the staff, and who's complaining?

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  23. Hollywood

    Bust out the glitter and limber up, because your gender is in for some bending among the glitterati, especially on 'Pervert' Wednesdays. Yes, this is the very club frequented by soccer players and supermodels, and if you stick around you might witness Milan's next scandal in the making - or be a party to it. What happens in Hollywood, stays in Milan.

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  25. Julien Lounge Bar

    Get your nails done at the Julien Room across the street, and have a top-shelf cocktail in this upbeat chill-out lounge while they dry: it's every beauty buff's idea of the perfect lunch break. Girls' nights out begin with a Julien Room blow-out, happy hour here, then Just Cavalli or Old Fashion.

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  26. Kineo

    Cross a fashion week runway with a 1930s Cimitero Monumentale mausoleum, and you've got the perfect setting for high-drama drinks and devil-may-care disco. Lights dance around the room clad in floor-to-ceiling shiny black marble, though ultrasoft black leather banquettes make mobilising to the downstairs disco on weekends most challenging.

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  27. l'Elephante

    The expert bartender here is happiest when mixing things up and the same can be said of the alternative-trendy crowd, which tends toward lesbian-and-gay-friendly, bi-curious or generically open-minded. The setting is equally eclectic: no two chairs are alike and the snack buffet is plenty varied.

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  28. Le Biciclette

    This one-time bike warehouse must have stored up great karma in its prior existence to be reincarnated as one of the best aperitivi bars in Milan. A combination of luck and earliness will snag you a coveted baroque couch with glassed-in bicycle memorabilia underfoot, and first pick of the dishes crowding the bar.

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  29. Le Trottoir

    Party at your house - at least that's how it looks inside this former toll house, with art on the stairway, funky frescos and the inevitable cluster of artists attempting to discuss video art over the joyous din of a swinging ska band. That's right: that dinky raised platform is a stage, showcasing local alternative bands that get the whole place gyrating.

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