Tourists information about Milan and its attractions:

http://www.aboutmilan.com/visiting-milan.html

if you want more information about Milan:

http://www.timeout.com/milan

To move freely in Milan with the public transport network:

link ATM: http://www.atm-mi.it/en/Pages/default.aspx

From Milan to the airports: http://www.seamilano.eu/landing/index_it.html

Malpensa express: to go from Milan to Malpensa by train in nearly 45 minutes:  http://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/index.php

If you have to go to Linate Airport from the centre of Milan : ATM bus passes from Milan San Babila square every ten minutes: http://www.milanolinate.eu/en/accessibility-and-parking/means-of-transport

The city

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, is located in the north of Italy and has a population of 1.3 million people. It is the biggest industrial city of Italy and it is a landmark for designers, artists, photographers and models. That’s why Milan is really very well served by transportation: Malpensa is the most important international airport in Italy, Milan is also reachable by two other airports: Linate and Orio Al Serio, the first for national and some european connections and the second for low cost connection (RyanAir).

When you visit Milan it is also fascinating to visit the centre and the ancient city with high and interesting buildings and palazzos. 

As in other countries, the clocks are an hour ahead of solar time in winter and two hours ahead in summer, the clocks changes twice during a year. The Euro is the current money used in Italy.

Climate

Italy's climate is predominantly Mediterranean: Alpine in the far north; hot and dry in the south. In Milan from March through April, temperatures range from 6 to 18 degrees, sometimes summer begins in May and it is possible to have very hot days with very humid climate and with brief thunderstorms; temperatures range from 14 to 29 degrees.

Transportation

Milan currently has three major lines of underground;  the red, yellow and green line, there is also a fourth line called "passante ferroviariario" which contributes to connect the north of the hinterland to the south. To find more information on transposts in Milan, to click on this website!  http://www.atm-mi.it/en/Pages/default.aspx

Malpensa Airport is really well connected to the centre of Milan by train, as you can see on this web site:  http://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/index.php.

You can take the train to Malpensa Airport from Cadorna Railway station but also from Milan Central Station.

If you have to go to Linate Airport from the centre of Milan : ATM bus passes from Milan San Babila square every ten minutes.  But there are also bus lines going from Linate Airport to the major Railway Stations of Milan.

History

Etruscans, Gauls and Roman conquered Milan. Thanks to the bishop Ambrogio, a lot of churches were built. In 1300 the Visconti family brought a period of wealth and glory to the city and in 1386 the Duomo Cathedral was built and became the symbol of Milan. The Sforza family assumed the Castle and the power of the Visconti family and finally Milan achieved peace after many years of war against Venice and Florence. Under the Sforza duchy the city began the development of sciences, art and literature. Ludovico il Moro (Ludovico Sforza) called Leonardo da Vinci and “il Bramante” to his court.

Art & Culture

Famous intellectuals, journalists, politicians, composers or authors of the Italian cultural life have a connection to Milan. Such as the novelist Alessandro Manzoni (1785 – 1873) who was born in Milan but also many others came here to find their 'lucky break' (like Giuseppe Verdi) or to work. Alessandro Manzoni’s house at the Piazza Belgioioso is open for visitors. The most wide-spread and fitting opinion of Milan is, that this city is open-minded, hospitable and welcomes its visitors sincerely even if it sometimes seems to be a bit curt.

That is why Milan offers a big variety of buildings, monuments, churches and museums. The most important church is the Duomo which is the third largest church in the world. There’is also Santa Maria delle Grazie built between 1466 and 1490 and modified by Bramante. In the Refectory there is one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci: the “Last Supper”. Milan has many historic palazzos like the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) which is situated in the south side of Piazza Duomo. The Sforza Castle is one of the symbols of Milan together with the Madonnina and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. All those sights together are just few reasons for a visit.

Economy

Milan is the centre of many financial businesses, and its so called 'hinterland' is an avant-garde industrial area. Fiera Milano, the city's Exhibition Center and Trade Fair complex is one of the most important in the world. It is the biggest industrial city of Italy with many different industrial sectors as manufacturing of textiles and garments, car manufactory, chemistry, mechanical tools and heavy machinery. Another important industry is tourism and of course fashion. In fact Milan houses many of the most famous designers: Giorgio Armani occupies an entire block and is stocked with Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Casa, Sony products, books, perfumes, cosmetics and flowers. Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Versace, Valentino, and many others famous designers and many other shops where you can go without spending all your money. But Milan is not just fashion! Other popular and successful businesses include: Bugatti, whose name represents genious in innovation within the automotive world; Pirelli, the rubber company founded in 1872 which paved the road for the creation of many iron steel and manufacturing plants; and finally- Telecom Italia, which is the biggest telephone company in Italy. Concerning the press, "Il Corriere della sera" is the most important daily newspaper in Milan and "la Gazzetta dello sport" is the ufficial paper regarding sports, while "il Sole 24 ore" replaced the "Financial Times" as the most important financial periodical in Italy. Milan is also the city of television thanks to Mediaset company which runs the commercial tv stations.

SHOPPING IN MILAN

As Milan is THE CITY of fashion there are lots of places to go shopping, especially for shopping deluxe, e.g. Via Montenapoleone (Gucci, Versace, Fratelli Rossetti, Prada, Cartier etc.), Via della Spiga (D&G, Sergio Rossi, Tod's, Bulgari etc.) Via Sant'Andrea (Chanel, Armani, Moschino, Kenzo etc.), Via Manzoni, Via Borgospesso and Via Santo Spirito. The elegant Via Manzoni is home to Spazio Armani at no. 31. This is the Giorgio Armani multi-concept store where you can admire the Emporio Armani showrooms, Armani casa, and Armani fiori. You can also have an aperitif at the Emporio Armani Cafè or spend an evening at the restaurant Nobu, with a dinner by the best Japanese chef emerged in the last 10 years: Nobuyuki Matsuhisa who opened this chain of restaurants together with Robert de Niro.

Around Milan you can go shopping at the outlet malls to have the same luxury feeling with all those designer brands but for less money. To make shopping without spending all your money, there are four important streets in Milan: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Corso Buenos Aires, Via Torino and Corso di Porta Ticinese.

What to do in Milan: http://www.timeout.com/milan/features/49/20-great-things-to-do-in-milan this is a very interesting website about Milan!!!

GARDENS and PARKS in Milan

If it is true that Milan is one of the most important industrial city of Europe, you should not imagine Milan like a grey, foggy and busy city.  In particular in the district situated in the central zone of the city, between Porta Venezia, Corso Venezia, Via Palestro and via Manin there are a lot of public gardens which were established during the 19th century , they are typical botanically rich english gardens.

These public gardens were first established between 1857 and 1862 and were designed by Giuseppe Balzaretto as a green town district.

But the whole city is rich of green areas and  here you can find a list of the parks of Milan with a brief description and the localization.

Parco Sempione  It was designed by Emilio Alemagna and rests between the Castello Sforzesco and Piazza Sempione with the Arch of Peace. It contains the Napoleonic Arena, the Aquarium, the Tower, the Art Theater, which is called Triennale and the city library.

Parco Forlanini The entrance is at Via Corelli No. 124, which starts in Via Argonne and Viale Forlanini and goes to the Idroscalo. It's a large park of 235 hectares and it is the biggest green space in Milan. You'll find quite a few ponds a rolling green hills.

Giardino della Villa Comunale This garden, situated in Via Palestro 16, is a little English garden with a romantic interpretation of nature and classical elements.

Giardino Guastalla Named after the street it rests on, this park initially was an aristocratic garden and boasts a calming fish pond in its center.

Parco Lambro This large park is situated in Via Feltre, and contains a large number of natural elements.

You can’t stay in Milan without visiting the Naviglio area  Together with Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese rests between the streets of Viale Gabriele D’Annunzio and Viale Gorizia. This part of the city contains the Darsena Basin, which is where all the channels and rivers of Milan meet and where the Olona River, currently subterraneous, and the Naviglio Grande merge. The Darsena was constructed by the Spanish Earl of Fuentes in 1603 to enhance the transport of goods.

Typical CUISINE

Italian cuisine is very famous all over the world, in Milan and in Lombardy you can taste some special cheese like taleggio, stracchino, gorgonzola. Generally, the most important food to taste in Milan (and in the whole Lombardy region) include milk, cream, butter, cheese. It may sound strange, but it's true. A great majority of the classic dishes consist of milk and cream, butter, mascarpone, cheese and ricotta, even the names of the towns, such as Crema and Cremona remind you cheese. However don't think that everything's the same and tastes the same: there is a huge variety in the rich cuisine of Milan. Rice tends to be more popular than pasta and, in fact, rice absorb more cheese butter and broth. Sometimes they even add vegetables or meat into the mix.

However, pasta is quite important here as well as dishes such as "tortelli di zucca", which is ravioli stuffed with pumpkin, and "pizzoccheri," which consists of buckwheat noodles cooked with potatoes, cabbage and cheese.

If you like soup you can try: "zuppa pavese" (broth with bread and eggs) and "zuppa di porri e bietole" (made with leeks and swiss chard). Another typical meal is "polenta", topped with mushrooms or meat- a rich dish typically served during the winter. And if you prefer meat you can taste a lot of dishes with different type of meat cooked in very different manners.

But we are talking about Milan, a cosmopolitan city, so in Milan you can find various restaurants and typical cuisine from different regions of Italy but also from every country of the world.

The typical dishes of Milan are most frequently winter meals, and it’s easy to understand why: you are in the north of Italy! In particular if you are talking about the Milan tripe called “BUSECA” or the so called “la cassoeula” which is a stew of meat nad vegetables.

IL RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE – The famous milanese first course "primo",  " risotto alla milanese" is a saffron risotto, and the traditional accompaniment to "ossobuco".

Typical second courses are “LA COTOLETTA”  and “L'OSSOBUCO” – The milanese speciality with "gremolata" another dish is “LA PICCATA MILANESE” – Fried slices of chicken with sauce.

Main cities close to Milan

There are many interesting cities around Milan, let’s start a short tour:

Bergamo

Just at a short distance from Milan is the medieval city center of Bergamo. Founded on a hill by a very old settlement in the protohistoric age, the oldest part of the town lays up on the hill, while the modern center has developed on the plain below.

Brescia

is Lombardy's second largest city after Milan. Major sights after the main square, Piazza Vittoriale are: the Tempio Capitolino, which is a museum and theatre, the Pinacoteca Civica Tosio Martinengo, containing works by Raphael and Lotto and the market at the Piazza della Loggia.

Modena

The town offers gorgeous monuments and museums. The Ghirlandina tower is the symbol of the city. In Piazza Grande you will find the Palazzo Comunale while the Palazzo Ducale hosts the Military Academy.

Monza

It is a small town situated very close to Milan. It is world-wide famous for the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 which takes place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and the Ferrari Team. It has also a beautiful centre and it is famous for the textile and glass manufactory.

Parma

Parma is not just the city of ham and cold cuts, it has many attractions to offer to its visitors such as the cathedral and the bell tower. Palazzo della Pilotta is another gorgeous building, today seat of the National Museum of Antiquity.

Pavia

It was the capital of the Italian Kingdom a long time ago. Churches, towers and other monuments stand as a testimony of the city's greatness. The Certosa, built in Renaissance style, is worth visiting. But there are also other interesting sights to mention: beautiful churches such as the San Pietro in Ciel D’Oro, the San Michele Maggiore or the San Teodoro's. The University of Pavia is rich in architecture and decoration of statues. At the Visconteo Castle you will always find exhibitions, and also the civic museum is hosted there. Il Ponte Coperto, the covered bridge, is another monument that you should take the time to visit.

Torino

This city, seat of the Olympic Games in 2006, offers lots of attractions. The Mole Antonelliana is the symbol of the town. It was built like a synagogue and it hosts the National Cinema Museum, today. Piazza Castello is the heart of the city with many great buildings dating back to the Roman age. In the middle of this square you will find Palazzo Madama, close to the Royal Theatre and the Royal Library, which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s operas. From Piazza Castello many important streets are easily reachable such as Rome Street, Po Street, Garibaldi Street and Pietro Micca Street. Another remarkable attraction is the Medieval Castle, castle and village. The castle is an exact replica of the Castle of Fenis (Aosta Valley) and the village is similar to a Piedmont medieval little township.

Verona

This is a city with about 2 millenniums of history. Verona has a variety of possibilities for amusement. But the most important feature of Verona is the connection with Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: the story took place in this famous Italian city, so that today you can visit the house with the balcony of Juliet, a statue of her in the court and her grave. You will see how the Roman era was extremely important for this city: the Arena, the Roman Theatre, the Arch of Gavi, Porta Borsari or the area of Porta Leoni and the Scavi Scaligeri are perfect examples of the Roman architecture. The ancient town wall are ideal for a stroll with a spectacular view all around the city.
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