36 Hours
36 Hours in Milan
Confident and cool, Milan keeps its finest treasures under wraps, tucked away in hidden gardens, down alleyways and in far-flung neighborhoods. Those who dig deep into this sprawling, fast-paced city will be rewarded. New destinations for architecture and design were christened during the 60th Salone del Mobile, the international furniture fair that drives Milan’s annual design week, which returned in June with its first full-scale event since 2019. Today there is an optimistic energy on the streets, where new cultural projects are reviving defunct industrial spaces, a diverse culinary scene is blossoming, and unexpected discoveries await travelers to this resilient, resurgent and stylish city.
Recommendations
- Bar Basso is a classic bar with a pink interior, beloved by both fashionistas and a neighborhood crowd.
- Milan’s Duomo offers an up-close look at spires and gargoyles, as well as an expansive view of the city and the Alps beyond.
- Mercato Centrale Milano is a sprawling local food market in the city’s grand central railway station.
- Dimorecentrale, which houses the new headquarters of the design firm Dimorestudio, is a cultural hub with gallery spaces.
- Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano is housed in the former residence of an art-collecting couple who amassed an impressive collection of 20th-century Italian art.
- Fondazione Prada Milan is a groundbreaking contemporary art venue in a former distillery.
- Osservatorio is a gallery that exhibits visual works, photographs and videos exploring societal themes.
- The Cloister, in a palazzo dating to the 15th century, is a shop filled with treasures, from vintage gowns to plants and perfumes.
- At e/n enoteca naturale, sip natural wine at tables set in a garden beside the Basilica di Sant’Eustorgio.
- Osteria Alla Concorrenza has old-fashioned décor and dishes like focaccia stuffed with mortadella and cheese.
- Tone Milano sells baked goods, from flaky filo-dough burek to focaccia with peaches and rosemary.
- Pastamadre elevates pasta from a starter course to the star on an ever-changing menu.
- Loste Café is a sunny Scandinavian-inspired coffee shop (try the buttery cardamom buns).
- The Radisson Collection Palazzo Touring Club opened last fall in the Art Nouveau-style Palazzo Bertarelli. There is a colonnaded lobby, library, restaurant and 89 rooms and suites (doubles from about €325, or about $321).
- B&B Hotel Milano City Center Duomo opened in 2020 with 30 snug-but-stylish rooms in a city-center location, steps from the Teatro alla Scala opera house (doubles from about €120).
- Search for a short-term rental in the Centro Storico, where metro and tram lines make it easy to explore. Options are plentiful south of the Duomo, where one-bedroom apartments, some within handsome palazzi, start at around €150 per night.
Itinerary
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