Guide to Milan & Como — Alexandra Hauser

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Milan for the weekend. It was the perfect city to go to for a mild taste of Italy; light hearted tourism, lots of walking around, really kind people, and Italian food. I’d been a little hesitant to go due to some mediocre reviews I got from some friends who had previously visited. But I enjoyed every minute of my trip. Would I go back? Milan is definitely worth visiting but wouldn’t be at the top of my list. I would 100% go back to Lake Como.

Where to stay: Brera

I loved the area of Brera. It’s far enough from the city center where it feels residential, but central enough where you can walk everywhere. There’s plenty of places in the area to eat and drink. It’s also very well situated in terms of public transportation. It’s right next to a train stop and most major Metro lines. I thought we’d use the Metro to get around but we ended up walking everywhere. We only took one taxi during the entire weekend.

Where to go: Como

A day trip to Como is a must if you’re staying in Milan. We took a 10:30 am train and were back in Milan by 8 pm. The train ride is only 50 minutes. Wish I would’ve had more time to visit the other little towns around the lake, but one day was the perfect amount of time to see just Como. Also, we were very lucky to have incredible weather all weekend. It must’ve been in the high 50s all day. Perfect for having lunch outside, walking along the lake, and laying in the park.

What to do: Duomo area & parks

Just walk over to the area of the Milan Duomo and you will have every tourism sight within ten minutes walking distance. It’s worth spending some time in the different plazas and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. There’s also loads of gelato spots around here. We went to Grom because I love the one in New York.

Right inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, there’s the Leonardo Museum. We spent a little under two hours in there. It displays remakes of DaVinci’s sketches. The museum is definitely worth going into if you are a fan of DaVinci´s work or looking for a casual plan. Sadly, you can’t take pictures inside.

It’s also worth spending some time in the two major parks in Milan: Parco Sempione and Giardini Publicci Indro Montanelli. Sempione Park offers various attractions within the park like the grand Castello Sforezco, an aquarium, and a carnival at night. The Indro Montanelli public gardens are a nice stop on the way back from some shopping. It is just north of the Quadrilatero della Moda, the Fashion Quadrilateral.

Where to eat: anywhere

Our trip to Milan dining experience consisted of stopping wherever Italian food was offered at a good price. Or at places that just looked nice. We also used my favorite app, The Fork, for last minute reservations with discounts. This app has seriously saved my life. I get to eat good and stay within my budget. I’ll share some pics of the spots we went to in the pictures bellow. I’m not sure if I would highly recommend any of these spots to anyone. There’s so many options for food, coffee, drinking, and gelato that are probably just as good as any of these. If you want to know the specific names of any of these restaurants, comment!