Things to do in Milan
-
Leoncavallo
Begun in the red-or-dead ‘70s, and proving to be one of the most resilient of the centri sociali (anarcho-socialist cultural organisations), Leoncavallo hosts electronic evenings and live gigs that attract large, alternative crowds. Check the website for details (just in case the bulldozers got there first).
reviewed
-
A
Pasticceria Cucchi
One of Milan’s most beautiful old-school pasticcerias (cake shops), Cucchi is set in a peaceful neighbourhood square. Snaffle a brioche at the bar or slowly disassemble a bundino di riso (a cylindrical tart filled with rice pudding) under the trees outside or the chandelier in the back room.
reviewed
-
B
Hoepli International Bookstore
Italy’s largest bookshop has six floors and some 500,000 titles and rare antiquarian books, as well as an English- and German-language section. Don’t neglect to browse the Italian shelves, even if you don’t speak the language as local publishers are known for their beautiful cover design and innovative pictorial titles.
reviewed
-
C
TAD
This ‘concept store’ could have done with a few less of those concept thingies; its mishmash of styles is so desperate to please it’s hard to get to the Proenza Schuler, Balenciaga and Hussein Chalayan without wanting to slap someone. If you can grin and bare it, there’s also a hairdresser, homewares department and cafe.
reviewed
-
D
Piumelli
Leather gloves come in a huge range of styles, every colour of the rainbow and a choice of luxury linings (silk, cashmere, lapin). For those with either delicate digits or mighty man-hands, they have a full range of sizes and friendly staff to advise on fit. Look out for the sales baskets when not just after basic black.
reviewed
-
E
Borsolino
The iconic Alessandrian milliner has worked with the greats (Achille Castiglioni once designed a pudding bowl bowler) and it still has room for whimsy as the feathery numbers attest. This little shop at the Galleria’s Piazza Marino entrance is good for practical pitstops as well as nostalgic browsing and fantasy try ons.
reviewed
-
F
Fabriano
Stationery-tragics won’t be the only ones going quietly ga-ga over Fabriano’s goods. Everything from plain notebooks to linen pencil cases to kooky leather keyrings are exquisitely crafted. An everpresent sense of wit makes all the good taste even more attractive. Staff are delightful and wrap gifts with trademark flair.
reviewed
-
G
Pasticceria Giovanni Galli
Apparently, heaven can be purchased (at a price). Alchechengi are Lombard cherry tomatoes dunked in maraschino liquor and bitter chocolate. Since 1880, Milanese have salivated over the marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) in Galli’s wooden display cases, but try the hello-new-world hot-pepper chocolates too.
reviewed
-
H
Pupi Solari
Many Milanese from a certain kind of family will recall regular Pupi Solari visits for shoe fittings and picking out exquisitely decorated party dresses or tweed jackets just like daddy’s. The wonderfully lavish window displays still delight; there’s now a women’s department and in the same square, a men’s-wear branch Host.
reviewed
-
I
Taverna degli Amici
Expandable waist bands are going to be all the rage next season, if the eating habits of the fashion designers thronging the Amici are any indication. Prada, Etro, and Costume National converge here for lunch, and only naïve students from the nearby Design Institute choose the wan salad bar over the great grilled meats.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
J
Photology
Tear yourself away from the gorgeous photography catalogues in the storefront bookstore and check out the gallery out back in the garden shed, where those X Portfolio fetish shots that got Robert Mappelthorpe censored in the US recently shared wall space with bored nudes in mod wigs by Andy Warhol and Carlo Mollino.
reviewed
-
K
Dragoncella
Flattering, flirty looks with a cutting edge make Dragoncella look like Betsey Johnson's Italian love child. Unexpected details make each piece unique, like a circle of plain white on the side of a psychedelic print dress, or red ribbon on a brown denim skirt hem. Unexpected prices too: almost everything is under €100.
reviewed
-
L
Art Café
Along with Bar Jamaica across the way, Art Café’s tables take over this pedestrianised part of Via Brera making for a lively street scene. There’s a certain relief in Art Café’s recalcitrant lack of style, though it can’t quite do authentic grunge either. But there’s free wi-fi, cheap aperitivo and a blessed lack of attitude.
reviewed
-
La Scala Theatre and Museum Tour in Milan
by Viator
Opera fans and theater lovers, this is the perfect Milan activity for you and an experience you’ll never forget! Join this La Scala Theatre and museum tour for…Not LP reviewed
from USD$38.99 -
Genoa and Portofino Day Trip from Milan
12 hours (Departs Milan, Italy)
by Viator
See the best of the Italian Riviera on your Genoa and Portofino full-day trip from Milan! After a guided walking tour of Genoa, explore the best bits of these…Not LP reviewed
from USD$155.95 -
M
Patrizia Pepe
Who can be bothered with all those flounces and bows on the metro? Patrizia Pepe gets what urban women really want - feminine tailoring - and makes it snappy. Her cuts are curvy and colours clever, with a certain refinement that shows who's in control here, and she's perfectly capable of pulling off cream leather knickerbockers.
reviewed
-
N
Enoteca Cotti
This store is the Biblioteca Ambrosiana of Italian wines and spirits, with thousands of bottles displayed in floor-to-ceiling bookcases. You'll pay for the privilege of checking out the rarer vintages, but many of them you won't find elsewhere, and you can try excellent wines by the glass with a light bite in a side tasting room.
reviewed
-
O
Torre Pirelli
Construction began in 1956 on Milan’s tallest grattacielo (skyscraper). The 32-storied Pirelli Tower sits on the site of the company’s 19th-century factory, symbolically bookending Italy’s industrial heyday. The smooth tapered sides of Gio Ponti’s modernist icon form the shape of a diamond, his oft-used graphic trademark.
reviewed
-
P
Amelia
Designer Katrin Arens’ background in recycled interiors is reflected in her combination of classic shapes, simple hand-stitched decoration and attention to the tactile quality of fabrics. Clothes cut from the softest hemp, jersey, voile, pure wool and cotton feel as divine against the skin as they look. For babies and older children.
reviewed
-
Q
Galleria Cardi & Co
One of Milan's best-kept secrets is on a quiet street, through the courtyard and past garage doors: a polished concrete box often filled by Italy's most polished conceptual artists. Pier Paolo Calzolari recently showed lead and copper books slowly leaking saltwater onto white tablecloths, like fountains of knowledge reduced to tears.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
R
Telerie Roberto
The striped Jaipur silk scarves are a stylish steal at under €20, but the ruched, pleated, quilted local Como silk stoles (€50 plus) tempt with irresistible sheen and extreme thread count - Roberto will proudly whip out a magnifying glass to show you. This is the stuff of couture dreams, and Milan's finest curtains too.
reviewed
-
The Place
The Place is halfway between Milan and Turin. Billed as a ‘luxury outlet’, the Ermenegildo Zegna group has gathered upmarket Italian brands like Gucci, La Perla and Bellora together in a ‘village’ in view of the Alps. There’s no direct public-transport link; a change of trains and a taxi from the station is required.
reviewed
-
S
Lacerba
A homage to futurism, Milan’s most infamous art movement, Lacerba has dishes from futurist Marinetti’s kooky culinary manifesto (death to pasta!), as well as a less artistically strident repertoire of Mediterranean seafood. To counter all the violence, speed and surging machinery on the walls, there’s also an excellent wine selection.
reviewed
-
Lake Maggiore Day Trip from Milan
9 hours (Departs Milan, Italy)
by Viator
Explore scenic Lake Maggiore in Italy's beautiful Lake District on a day trip from Milan. The fashionable lakeside town of Stresa is an approximate 1.5-hour…Not LP reviewed
from USD$103.97 -
T
Chatulle
The white on white thing here is so relentless, you might think you’ve ended up at one of Puffy’s summer dos, or in the Queen of Narnia’s palace. The food, although served on very large, see-through plates, is surprisingly straightforward, classic Italian (in all its many hues). Staff are welcoming; patrons dress to match the surrounds.
reviewed