Insight Guides Pocket Milan (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Perfect day itineraries and top travel tips in a pocket-sized package.

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering fun and interesting things to do and see in Milan, from top tourist attractions like La Scala, the Duomo, the Brera, and world-famous art like The last Supper, to hidden gems including the Navigli.

Compact, concise and packed with essential information about Where to Go and What to Do, this is an ideal on-the-move pocket travel guide when you're exploring Milan.

- Cultural: delve into the city's rich heritage and get to know its modern-day life and people
- Inspirational: discover where to go and what to do, highlighted with stunning photography
- Practical: get around with ease with a free pull-out map featuring key attractions
- Informative: plan your visit with an A to Z of advice on everything from transport to tipping
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: the historic centre, the fashion district, restaurants and excursions

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Sep 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051609

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Milan, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Milan, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Milan are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Milan. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Milan’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Day in Milan

Introduction

Work hard, play hard

La bella figura

Cultural confidence

Location and quality of life

A Brief History

Ancient Mediolanum

Huns, Goths and Lombards

The commune of Milan

Lords of Milan: the Visconti and Sforza

Ludovico il Moro

Foreign intervention

From unification to today

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Getting around

The Duomo and Historic Centre

Duomo

Inside the cathedral

Piazza del Duomo

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Teatro alla Scala

Piazza Mercanti

Ambrosiana Gallery and Library

Santa Maria Presso San Satiro

Castello Sforzesco and the Northwest

Castello Sforzesco

Castle museums

Parco Sempione

Cimitero Monumentale

The Brera

Pinacoteca di Brera

Churches and cafés of the Brera

Fashion District – Northeast of the Duomo

Quadrilatero d’Oro

Museo Bagatti Valsecchi

Museo Poldi Pezzoli

Giardini Pubblici

West of the Centre

The Last Supper

Santa Maria delle Grazie

Science Museum

Museo Archeologico and San Maurizio

Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio

The South: the Canal Quarter and the Ticinese

The Navigli

The Navigli today

The Ticinese district

Excursions from Milan

Chiaravalle Abbey

Pavia

Certosa di Pavia

Monza

What To Do

Shopping

Where to shop

Factory outlets

Interior design

Department stores

Books and multimedia

Gastronomy

Markets and antiques

Entertainment

Opera

Concerts

Nightlife

Sport

Children’s Milan

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Where To Eat

What To Eat

Antipasti

Primi

Secondi

Dolci

Wines and liqueurs

Reading the Menu

To Help You Order…

…and Read the Menu

Restaurants

Historic Centre

Castello Sforzesco and Northwest

The Brera

Northeast, East and Stazione Centrale

South: Navigli, Ticinese, Zona Tortona

Milanese Cafés and Ice Cream

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation (see also Hotels)

Airports

B

Bicycle Hire

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Car Hire (See also Driving)

Climate

Crime and Safety

D

Disabled Travellers

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

Language

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Media

Money

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Office

Public Holidays

R

Religion

S

Smoking

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas and Entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Recommended Hotels

Historic Centre

Castello Sforzesco

Northwest and Brera

Northeast, East and Stazione Centrale

West of Centre

South, Navigli and Ticinese

Milan’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

Castello Sforzesco

The impressive fortress is home to several museums. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

Fotolia

La Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Chic boutiques and cafés with elegant Belle Epoque facades. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

iStock

Basilica di Sant’Ambrogi

Milan’s loveliest church. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

Jerry Dennis/Apa Publications

Pinacoteca di Brera

Home to one of the finest collections of Italian art, including The Kiss. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

Quadrilatero d’Oro

All the big names in fashion have shops here. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

The Duomo

Walk among the spires and statues on the rooftop of the third-largest cathedral in Europe. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

The Brera

Bohemian yet quietly chic, this area of ‘old Milan’ conceals charming bars and cobblestoned corners. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

iStock

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is the jewel in the crown of Milan’s many attractions. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

The Navigli

Restaurants and cafés line the banks in the quaint Canal Quarter, a nightlife centre. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

Fotolia

La Scala

Milan’s world-famous opera house has been carefully restored to its full opulence. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Day in Milan

9.00am

Designer coffee

Café Trussardi, set in the Trussardi designer store overlooking La Scala, offers a coffee-and-brioche fix.

10.00am

Chic shopping

Stroll along Via Manzoni to the Quadrilatero, the ‘Golden Quadrangle’ designer district. Call in (or window shop) at the Armani superstore (Via Manzoni 31) before exploring the boutiques on Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone. If flagging, stop for coffee and cakes at the old-fashioned Caffè Cova (Via Montenapoleone 8).

12 noon

Culture fix

Seek out the designer district’s intriguing ‘historic homes’ museums, beginning with the Museo Poldi Pezzoli. This art-encrusted palace is a testament to the passion of a 19th-century aristocrat. The neighbouring Museo Bagatti Valsecchi is a tribute to the Renaissance.

2.00pm

Lunch

Indulge in a leisurely lunch of creamy risotto milanese in Bice (Via Borgospesso 12; book) or choose lunch on the run from the contemporary Van Bol & Feste (Largo Cairoli).

4.00pm

Park life

Largo Cairoli leads to the Castello Sforzesco, surrounded by Milan’s most culture-studded park. See Michelangelo’s unfinished masterpiece, the Rondanini Pietà, in the castle before strolling through Parco Sempione to the Triennale (Design Museum) for a sense of contemporary Milan.

6.30pm

Duomo sunset

Leave the park via the Cadorna exit and take the metro to the Duomo, Milan’s great cathedral. Take the lift up to the top to admire the view, bathed in the light of the setting sun. Facing the Duomo is the Museo del Novecento, a wonderful combination of 20th-century art and architectural games.

8.00pm

Cocktail hour

Admire the cathedral spires over cocktails on the rooftop bars of La Rinascente store. Move on to the elegant Camparino, in the porticoes of the Galleria, a cocktail haunt since 1867.

9.00pm

Stylish dining

Acanto (Piazza della Repubblica; book) is one of Milan’s most glamorous dining spots but, with its superb northern Italian cuisine, is far from being style over substance.

10.30pm

On the town

Tear yourself away from the sleek Principe Bar attached to Acanto, then head west to Corso Como, a vibrant nightlife area. Corso Como 10 is a perennially stylish spot for after-dinner drinks.

Introduction

The old saying goes that for every church in Rome there’s a bank in Milan. As the economic powerhouse of Italy, the northern city prides itself on efficiency and energy, and regards the Romans as idle and unproductive, distracted by the southern sun and gagged by the Vatican. Understandably perhaps, Milan sees itself as the true capital of Italy. Not only is it the industrial and financial capital, but it