24 hours in Milan – Part 1

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while but as a lot of you know I have been road-tripping around Western Canada and haven’t had much time or enough WiFi to upload! Anyway, I’m back and gosh do I have a lot to write about! But first, I wanted to write about a very short girls’ trip to Milan I went on at the end of June. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for about 4 hours so we didn’t get as long as we wanted to there, but I still think we managed to see a hell of a lot in such little time. Here’s how we fitted it all in:

Day 1 – Monday 24^th June 2019

. Meandered through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

This stunning building reminded me of a railway station the way it was designed with the domed roof and tiled floors, but this is instead a gorgeous shopping arcade in the middle of Milan. Hosting many fancy shops such as Luisa Spagnoli  and 2 Prada’s (one clearly wasn’t enough for these fashionable locals), we definitely didn’t do any shopping but we did take some spectacular shots. We didn’t eat or drink anything in here either because it is such a tourist trap and the prices are mega expensive even for Milan.

. Posed in front of Milan Duomo

Duomo means cathedral in Italian, and this one was a truly magnificent one. We were lucky enough to visit this building at just the right time – golden hour. The cathedral glowed with the suns rays and allowed for some of the best photos I think I’ve ever taken. There was still quite a lot of people milling about the courtyard so you’re always going to get people in your photos but you do get rid of the barriers and queues that are around during the day so this really is the best time to capture it in its full glory.

. Had our first gelato of the trip at Bar Gelateria Coppola

Coppola was a little café type establishment that had a huge counter full of loads of different flavours of ice cream. Nutella to strawberry to Kinder Bueno, there was something for everyone. I chose the cherry ripple which was honestly delicious, it wasn’t too rich which I was worried about but it tasted exactly like a cherry! My friends had pistachio, chocolate and Oreo which they all said they really enjoyed so it gets a thumbs up from all of us.

. Colonne di San Lorenzo

We decided to spend the earlier part of our evening people watching at Colonne di San Lorenzo which is a lovey square in the Southern part of Milan. It was a really relaxing evening just resting our legs after a couple of hours wandering around and watching the world go by. This was definitely more of a locals thing to do which meant that there were far less tourists and it just felt a bit more authentic.

. Grabbed a drink at Ostello Bello bar 

We wanted to go out for a drink but didn’t want to spend stupid prices so we decided to head for a hostel which promised a nice bar for anyone to enjoy. It was down quite a dingy alleyway which we weren’t sure about initially but once we got in there it was lovely. It had a really rustic vibe to it, with travel books lining most of the walls and cute travel mementos everywhere you looked, it’s the kind of place where you feel like a proper traveller. The drinks were also good value, two of us opted for Aperol Spritz and 2 for Mojito and the latter were made perfectly! It was a cool place to spend a couple of hours as the evening drew in.

Day 2 – Tuesday 25^th June 2019

. Second breakfast at Pave 

I had actually read about this place online and people had raved about both their gelatos and their breakfasts. We decided to go there for the latter before we headed off for the day. I say second breakfast because we already had some food in the apartment that classed as breakfast so we had that first before we left so we didn’t have to throw anything out (again, frugal). But I must say, our second breakfast was definitely tastier. I opted for a slice of their panettone which was so good, and the others had croissants with various different fillings both sweet and savoury. The prices were pretty reasonable too which meant we even splashed out on some juice! The place also did some scrummy looking cakes so if you’re passing in the afternoon I would definitely say pop in and have a look.

. Picking up fashion tips from Palazzo Morando

This is a free fashion museum in Milan whose exhibitions are constantly changing. I must admit I’m not that in to fashion (hence the not-so-trendy name) so this didn’t interest me hugely but one of the girls is doing a fashion-related uni course so it made sense that we went – it is the fashion capital of the world after all. All I really have to say about this is if you’re into fashion go for it, but if not I wouldn’t bother unless it’s to go to the toilet for free!

. Back to the Duomo

You may be wondering why we went back again… And the answer is because we wanted to see the view of the city from the roof! For 13 euros we had access to the roof of the Duomo via the ~295  stairs, inside and to the various exhibitions within. It was about 5 euros more expensive to go up in the lift which we weren’t willing to pay, but just so you know the option is there. The view from the very top of the roof was pretty spectacular, but I actually found it worthwhile to stop every now and again to take pictures from different perspectives. It felt slightly surreal to actually be standing on the sloped roof of such an important building, but I feel like this is a must do – if you only want to spend money on one attraction in Milan make it this.

. Embarked on a free walking tour 

A few times a day every day, one out of a group of guys organises a free walking tour of the city. You have to book in advance so they know to expect you, but I would say this is well worth doing whether you spend a day or week in Milan – they are so knowledgeable and outgoing, it made for a really interesting tour. We visited the university that he studied at to learn about superstitions; the Duomo where he pointed out to us that you can see how long it took to make because of the different designs; the Galleria; and the business and financial district which had some really interesting buildings. I’ve never really learnt much about Italian history, but it was really interesting to hear it told by a local who arguably understands it better than anyone. Please make sure to give them a tip at the end as they do this from the good of their own hearts, they don’t get paid.

. Dinner at a traditional Italian restaurant

It was nearing the end of our trip so before we set off to go to the airport, we wanted some Italian food for dinner. This place is really near the station (but I can’t remember nor find the name of it now – I’m so sorry!) so we knew we weren’t going to be late, and it was really good food at an equally good price. I had pasta carbonara which was so creamy and delicious, the girls had pizzas and said they were yummy too so it sounds like everything was great there! The only bad thing was they didn’t give out free tap water, so we had one soft drink and filled up out bottles at the fountains outside afterwards – there’s always ways around these things!

Overall, I think it’s safe to say we all had a really good time and for about £40 each for the flights and accommodation we didn’t do too bad – especially when we got 250 euros back for the delay!

There’s a lot more to say about Milan including helpful tips to know before you go. These will be following shortly in the second part of this post.

Happy travelling!

Zoe and David x

Written by Zoe