What to see in Milan beyond the Duomo, plus my restaurant and café tips

For Milan, I think one day is enough, two at most. Apart from the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, I’d recommend the Navigli district, Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) with Parco Sempione, the Monumentale Cemetery and a Starbucks with a difference. If you have an extra day, a trip to Bergamo is worth considering.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

How many days

One, two at most; with an extra day I’d consider a trip to Bergamo

Airport to the centre

By bus from Bergamo airport to Milano Centrale station in an hour; there are plenty of buses outside the airport

Getting around

The 24-hour metro ticket was the best value for me; I wouldn’t recommend the pricier Uber Black, and there’s no UberX here

Navigli

The canal, cafés and the Italian atmosphere I didn’t find in the centre; Porta Genova metro station on the green line

Photo with the Duomo

Best at sunrise or early in the afternoon; at sunset the Duomo is practically impossible to photograph

Food

Pizzeria Spontini just round the corner from the Duomo, thick pizza eaten standing up; I liked the mushroom one better

I wrote this article in 2019. Prices, opening hours and transport connections may have changed since then, so it’s worth checking them before you travel.

In mid-January I went to the capital of fashion looking for an answer to what to see in Milan. As in Rome, I decided to go my own way a little more than usual.

What to see in Milan beyond the Duomo

The trouble with world-famous cities like this one is that what to see, where to eat, where to go and where to stay is often all mapped out for you. Just as in Rome, I found a few lovely places in Milan that hardly any article on what to see in Milan mentioned. This completes my holy trinity of fashion: Milan, New York and Paris. Three cities that decide what you’ll put on for work in the morning.

I’ve also written a whole article on Milan fashion and 10 totally off-the-wall outfits that went way too far.

You’ll find tours of Milan and day trips from the city here:

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Airport, weather, accommodation and prices in Milan

• Accommodation in Milan is expensive. I’d recommend Airbnb: in the inner centre it costs around €35 to €50 per person per night. If you don’t mind taking the metro into the centre, you can stay further out, as long as you’re close to a metro station. Apart from accommodation, though, prices are quite normal.
• Getting around Milan: the best value for me was a metro ticket valid for 24 hours from first use. Back then it cost €4.50. In 2026 the ATM day ticket costs €7.60 and is valid for 24 hours on the metro, trams and buses. Given how many times I used it, it’s practically free. My Slovak mobile data worked in Milan, so I left all the navigating to Google Maps. It handles metro stations, connections and changes nicely. An absolute breeze. I wouldn’t recommend Uber Black: it’s pricier than a taxi, and there’s no standard UberX here. These days, though, you can also book an ordinary Milan taxi through the Uber app.
• Temperature-wise, Milan’s weather is fairly similar to Bratislava’s, sometimes warmer. I was there in January and it was 15°C. So when is the best time to go to Milan? Any time, though summer can be too hot. I’d recommend March to June, and after that September and October.

Things to do in Milan: where to go and which sights not to miss

Milan Cathedral (Duomo) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II are the two classic stops I read about in every single article on what to see in Milan. And I mean every last one. Of course, the Duomo is a beautiful building in the very centre of Milan. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade is right next door. The square in front of the Duomo is huge. Don’t feed the pigeons here, though: it has been banned throughout Milan since 2020.

I’d recommend sitting on a low wall for ten minutes and watching all the (often comical) outfits people dress up in for the fashion capital. That deserves an article of its own. In the square in front of the Duomo, though, you’ll also come across people selling selfie sticks and bracelets, plus photographers. They aren’t pushy, but to me they felt out of place and spoiled the atmosphere a bit. You can buy tickets for the Duomo online.

When is the best time for a selfie with the Duomo? I spent a whole day working out this tricky equation. The Duomo is a gigantic white building, so the light makes all the difference when you photograph it. I’d come at sunrise or early in the afternoon. At sunset the Duomo is practically impossible to photograph: the sun turns it yellow and half the cathedral is in shadow. To be honest, though, I didn’t like central Milan all that much. Yes, it’s pretty, but Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and McDonald’s piled on top of each other isn’t the picture of Italy I carry in my head. I found that Italy very quickly, though, in the Navigli district. Read on.

Pizzeria tip: I don’t know if it’s just this region of Italy, but all my life I’d been convinced that pizza dough should be extra thin. In Italy, at least. Apparently not in Milan. Wherever I saw someone eating pizza, the extra-thick base (4 cm) reminded me of the pseudo-pizza from the school canteen at ZŠ Bieloruská back home.

Pizzeria Spontini is just round the corner from the Duomo. It’s a bit of a paper-plate joint, but the pizza is brilliant and you eat it the Italian way: standing up. I went twice in one day, first for a margherita with prosciutto and then for a mushroom one, which I liked better. For €5 they gave me a slice so huge that it was more than enough.

The Naviglio Grande and Milan’s romantic Navigli district

The Naviglio Grande is my great Italian love. I’ve travelled around Italy quite a bit. My beloved Gubbio and Ancona, and to some extent Rome, Florence and Venice, have that unmistakable Italian atmosphere. Narrow lanes straight out of a film, noisy ragazzi on mopeds, the smell of extra-strong, extra-small coffee and of gelato (Italian ice cream).

Sadly, I just couldn’t sense any of this in the centre of Milan, the capital of fashion. I tried to get lost, to take wrong turns, to stray somewhere I had no business being, but it was still just suit shops, offices and Prada. Until…

…until I thought ‘what the heck’ and jumped on the first metro under the Duomo, heading anywhere but here. Milan’s Navigli district is everything I’d been looking for. A canal running down the middle of the street, little art shops, mopeds parked outside cafés. An exasperated Luigi muttering ‘mamma mia’ under his breath, and the espresso with milk that they deliberately bring you without milk, you stupid tourist. Milk in your coffee in Italy? Mamma mia.

Navigli gave me everything I’d flown to Italy for. Later, the fashion blogger Vegetarian Boy messaged me on Instagram to say he’d been to Milan twice and felt exactly the same. The Duomo is pretty, you have to get your photo there, maybe check out the view over the city, and then off you go. To Navigli for lunch, to be precise.

Café tip: Gelateria Amorino Navigli was the perfect way to round off a whole day in Milan, during which I walked 25,000 steps. A sunny outdoor terrace, an espresso (without milk) and ice cream.

PS: I had a bit of trouble finding Navigli. Google kept sending me to some industrial part of Milan, completely the wrong place. Anyway, the nearest metro station is Porta Genova, on the green line.

Viale Papiniano Market and local markets in Milan

Speaking of local Milan, the side that isn’t just about fashion, I got lucky. The Viale Papiniano Market is a short walk from the canal in Navigli. I’d set aside a whole Tuesday for Milan, which is exactly when this market, or mercato in Italian, takes place. It sells everything under the sun, from artificial flowers and live fish to fruit, vegetables and clothes. A classic, chaotic Italian mercato. Fiery women rummaging through huge bins full of dresses just to find their size. Fake handbags, fake watches, lucky stones, stones for more stones, paintings, shoes… I could go on forever.

Luckily, it isn’t the only market in Milan, and I found a full list online, sorted by day of the week. The Viale Papiniano Market is the biggest and best known in Milan. It takes place every Tuesday and Saturday, when the whole street and its pavements are flooded with women, stalls and haggling. A bit like the Rača wine harvest festival in Bratislava. It’s a lovely glimpse of Italian culture. I’ve known mercati like this for as long as I can remember, and you can buy absolutely anything there. I can’t vouch for the quality, mind you.

Sforza Castle, Parco Sempione and the Arco della Pace in Milan

I’ve put all three of these stops in one paragraph. They’re right next to each other, handily all in one place. Essentially it’s a large park with a castle and a triumphal arch. I wandered around here one sunny January morning, and since the weather was perfect, it was really pleasant. I’d recommend walking through the castle’s lovely courtyard, perhaps popping inside for a tour, and then cutting across the park to the triumphal arch. While you’re there, say hello to my favourite turtle, Žofia, in the pond.

The Monumentale Cemetery and Milan’s botanical garden

Somewhere among the tips on what to see in Milan, I also came across the Monumentale Cemetery (Cimitero Monumentale). I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a soft spot for cemeteries (pretty ones, that is) like the Kozia brána cemetery in Bratislava. All those moss-covered little angels are absolutely epic. It’s a shame modern cemeteries are all boxy marble, gold engraved lettering and awful artificial flowers. The Monumentale is the most beautiful cemetery in Milan, with precisely those historic graves, mausoleums and long avenues of dense thujas. If you have time to spare and really can’t think what else to do, it’s definitely worth a visit. It’s only a few metro stops from the centre of Milan.

Milan’s botanical garden is tiny. I didn’t make it there, but it was on my list. Let me know in the comments whether it’s worth it.

A Starbucks with a difference in Milan

I never thought I’d send my readers to an American Starbucks in one of my articles, least of all one from Italy. But this one is different. The Starbucks in Milan is also a coffee roastery. I can’t even remember who recommended it to me, but at first I thought exactly what you’re thinking now: ‘OMG, are you seriously sending me to a Starbucks in Italy?’ I went and didn’t regret it, even though I didn’t have a coffee. This Starbucks is in a historic building, with a big coffee-grinding machine in the middle. I’d also recommend a look at the very stylish toilets.

So, what to see in Milan? In my view, one day, two at most, is plenty for the fashion capital. If I’d stayed a day longer, I’d have explored the sights and restaurants in more detail and also considered a trip to Bergamo. I’ve heard it’s a beautiful little Italian town in the mountains.