Entertainment and Attractions in Milan, Italy

By | February 2, 2023

Milan, to be honest, does not really fit into the image of a typical Italian city. Nevertheless, the sights of the city are quite numerous, and among them there are simply masterpieces that make the capital of Lombardy no less significant point on the tourist map than Verona and Venice. Check topschoolsintheusa to learn more about Italy.

8 things to do in Milan

  1. Admire the Duomo first in daylight and then in the evening illumination.
  2. Climb to the observation deck – if not to the roof of the Duomo, then at least to the Branca tower in Sempione Park, whose height exceeds 100 m.
  3. See The Last Supper.
  4. Enjoy the masterpieces of Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian at the Ambrosian Pinacoteca.
  5. Listen to the opera at La Scala (if you come to the box office in the afternoon and in advance, there is a chance to get an inexpensive ticket for whatever you’re lucky).
  6. Buy yourself at least some little thing, like a leather purse.
  7. Visit one of the countless exhibitions that take place in the city throughout the year.
  8. Wait out the rain with a cup of hot chocolate.

Churches of Milan

The main and most famous is the magnificent white marble Milanese Duomo, built in the style of flaming Gothic. Stunningly decorated with hundreds of spiers and thousands of statues, this cathedral is not at all as big as it looks from the photo. Nevertheless, you can’t miss it, and it’s impossible: Cathedral Square is the very heart of the historic city. You can climb to the roof of the cathedral (8 EUR for climbing 250 steps or 15 EUR for using the elevator).

Get ready to fend off trivial beggars and more creative individuals who will try to sell you pigeon food.

The second most important church in Milan is Santa Maria delle Grazie, a UNESCO site. The basilica itself is already a Renaissance architectural masterpiece, but its refectory glorified the church: here is one of the most famous frescoes on the planet, da Vinci’s Last Supper.

Other interesting churches in Milan are the 11th century Lombardo-Romanesque Basilica of San Ambrogio built, the fully frescoed Renaissance church of San Maurizio of the Maggiore monastery (protected by UNESCO), San Lorenzo Maggiore with a rotunda of the 4th century and the famous Romanesque colonnade in the courtyard, the church of Sant -Eustorgio with the Portinari Chapel (there is a museum inside), Sant’Antonio (now the Museum of Mannerist Art).

Museums in Milan

Milan has some excellent art museums. These are the Brera Gallery (one of the most important collections of Renaissance art in the country, more than 500 works of the 14th-20th centuries), the Amvrosian Gallery (one of the oldest in the city, contains an excellent private collection of paintings and sculptures) with the adjacent Amvrosian Historical Library (the famous Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus), the Poldi Pezzoli Museum and the Novecento Museum of Contemporary Art.

Other prominent museums in the city are the Museum of Science and Art, the Museum of Art and Technology (the world’s largest collection of models of moving vehicles, including those made according to the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci), the Museum of Natural History (the oldest public city museum, located in a public garden).

The specific museums of Milan are the Armani Silos Museum, dedicated to the works of Giorgio Armani over the past 40 years (about 600 couturier creations on display) and the new MUDEC Museum of Culture, dedicated to the cultures of different countries of the world (the oldest exhibits date back to the second half of the 19th century, including those brought missionaries and discoverers from the Middle and Far East, Americas and Africa).

Historic buildings in Milan

Must-see is Castello Sforzesco, the castle residence of the rulers of Milan, and later the governor of Austria. Several museums operate on the territory of the fortress today. Other famous city buildings – the famous La Scala(there is a theater museum inside), the beautiful old Art Nouveau cemetery of Simitero Monumentale, Palazzo Reale (former royal palace, today a modern exhibition space), Palazzo Clerica (beautiful mirror gallery and frescoes by Tiepolo), elegant Baroque Palazzo Litta, Palazzo Marino (amazing Mannerist architecture and a beautiful courtyard), the neoclassical Palazzo Serbelloni, the Palazzo Visconti da Grazzano (or da Modrone, one of the most beautiful in the Rococo style), one of the oldest Palazzo Borromeo, the Casa Campanini in Art Nouveau style, etc.

Of the not so old, but also very interesting, it is worth mentioning the Vittorio Emmanuele II Gallery, “the mother of all shopping malls”, built in the 19th century, with a glass roof and dome and a beautiful mosaic floor. Also noteworthy are the Pirelli skyscraper in Piazza Duca d’Aosta (the work of Gio Ponti), the castle-like skyscraper Torre Velasca (one of the first in the country) and the famous San Siro stadium (the base of AC Milan).

Attractions in Milan, Italy