I'm going to be in Milano in May and want to view The Last Supper. I read somewere that there is a 6 week back-up for reservations. Is this true and if so were can I get reservations now? Maybe Alice Twain can help me. (Our Milano connection?)
Charlie
[title edited only - sorry for the thread drift, Charlie! ]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,
Posts: 10 | Location: Roanoke, VA USA | Registered: 08 February 2003
I hope you are not coming all the way to Milano just for that painting. If the fresco is the only reason you are coming here, than maybe you should go somewhere else. Milano has lots more to offer.
My wife and I went to Milan a couple of years back and we went to see the Last Supper of course. We only made the reservations a couple of days before and we had to be flexible to see it. I think we had to be there at about 8 am to get in. Well, I have posted a bit more info about our trip to Milan in my trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_milan.htm
Originally posted by Alice Twain: I hope you are not coming all the way to Milano just for that painting. If the fresco is the only reason you are coming here, than maybe you should go somewhere else. Milano has lots more to offer.
I've gone lots of places just to see or do one particular thing. I don't have to study an entire city in-depth to enjoy and appreciate it.
Posts: 13899 | Location: On 'staycation' in The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
The point with MIlano is that if you only come for the Last Supper, you will leave the city thinking it's a dump. It's a plan that fits lots of cities in the world, but two (that I know of): Milano and Athens.
Alice, I will have one full day on March 25th in Milan. We are dropping off our car in the morningat the airport and wanted to spend the day exploring the city. We don't leave until the next morning. We know that we have to take a bus to the city. Can you give us some suggestions on what we could see in one day? Are there any city guides we can use? Somewhere to have lunch/dinner? Will there be a outdoor market we can visit? I wish we could have more time, but this is all there is right now. Thank you for any help you can give.
Debi Cavataio
Posts: 102 | Location: Escondido, CA | Registered: 18 July 2002
Malpensa airport is quite far from Milano. I do not know your schedule, it would help me a lot if you described it (what time you plan to arrive at Malpensa and what time does your flight arrive) to consider if it's even feasible to come all the way here. Otherways, I would consider spending the day in Varese, which is considerably closer to Malpensa.
I have a bad habit of just directing a question to one person. I think the internet makes everyone seem so familiar. It feels a "real" conversation. I would appreciate suggestions from anyone who might have any! Thank you!
Debi Cavataio
Posts: 102 | Location: Escondido, CA | Registered: 18 July 2002
I would suggest that you go to the Milano Duomo and make sure that you take the elevator to the roof. Although I liked the "Last Supper" the duomo was far more memorable for me.
We are dropping off our car in the morningat the airport and wanted to spend the day exploring the city.
Do you mean Malpensa airport and are you committed to that? You could also leave it at Linate and be closer in. There may be other peripheral Milan locations which would give you access to the city without much city driving.
At the risk of incurring Alice Twain's wrath (?!?), I'll tell you what I did on the one day I spent in Milan.
I arrived from Como at a station close to the Castello Sforzesco and went through the museum there. Then I took a bus, I think (I may have walked), to the Duomo and visited it, glanced into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and had lunch at Al Mercante on a small piazza near the Duomo (chiefly Italian business people, good, quite reasonable).
Then I walked to the Pinacoteca di Brera, passing by chance the Teatro alla Scala, and visited the Pinacoteca. I did a little window-shopping at the boutiques on Via Montenapoleone.
I wanted to visit the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio, but it was quite far away and my feet were killing me, so I took the train back to Como.
I didn't see "The Last Supper," because I hadn't been sure which day I would be in Milan and so hadn't made a reservation.
As you can probably see, my chief interest is in art and architecture, which may not be yours. I assume that there is an interesting market in Milan, but I didn't come across it.
Milan is an easy one hour train or coach ride from Malpensa airport. Search the message board for Malpensa Shuttle or Malpensa Express for details.
If you take the coach to the central train station, you can then take the Metro to the Duomo Metro station; it's just a few stops away. There's a tourist office right on Piazza del Duomo, where you could ask about tours.
The Rinascente department store has a cafe on one of its upper floors that overlooks the Duomo rooftop. The cafe atmosphere wasn't anything special, but the good food and view made up for it. I also have fun browsing the housewares sections of Italian department stores ...
I agree with Lisa that walking around the rooftop of the Duomo is a wonderful experience. I hope it's open and you get a chance to visit it. Don't forget to walk through the cathedral itself - it has some beautiful stained glass windows. Walking around the sides and back of the Duomo you can see how immense they are.
Across from the Duomo piazza is the arcaded shopping center, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The shops themselves didn't do anything for me, but the gallery is very pretty.
On the other side of the gallery is the La Scala Opera House. The interior is stunningly gorgeous, and the museum there has some fascinating opera memorabilia.
A brief (20 minutes, max) walk from the Duomo area is the Castello Sforzesco. The castle grounds are interesting, and lead to the Parco Sempione with the huge peace arch in the distance. Inside the castle museum is Michelangelo's wrenching "Rondanini" Pieta sculpture.
These are just some ideas on how to spend your day - a search of the board or googling will no doubt bring up more.
We are committed to that. We leave in three weeks and are spending the week in the Piedmont region. We bring back our 7 day rental car to MXP on Saturday morning, so we have a whole day to fill. Since we will have spent the whole week pretty much in small villages and the countryside I thought that Milan would be something different to end our trip with. Thank you for the suggestion though.
Debi Cavataio
Posts: 102 | Location: Escondido, CA | Registered: 18 July 2002
In the past, it was something of a chore to get tickets to the Last Supper in Milan but I don't know what the situation is now. You can also get them through a travel service--Select Italy and Italywithus are examples. Or you can sign up for the Milan Tourist Office's half-day bus tour of Milan...which includes reservations to the Last Supper as part of the schedule.
.: Sightseeing bus tours of Milan throughout the year are organized by Autostradale. Departures (and tickets) Tue–Sun at 9:30am from the central tourist office APT (April–October also Fri, Sat and Sun afternoon). The tour lasts three hours, and the ticket price includes entrance to the Last Supper and (afternoon tours only) the Brera national gallery.
Thank you Eloise and Colleen, these were exactly the kind of suggestions I was looking for....I do want to see the Last Supper too! I will make a reservation for that. I don't think that in March it should be too hard to get one. Thanks for the help!
Debi Cavataio
Posts: 102 | Location: Escondido, CA | Registered: 18 July 2002
Oops, Sorry Alice I just saw your reply. We are dropping off the car at Malpensa around 9-10am in the morning on Saturday the 25th. We do not leave for home until Sunday the 26th. We realize that the airport is not exactly close to the city, but it really doesn't bother us. We live in California and driving for an hour to get somewhere is actually pretty common considering the traffic we have here. Besides we won't be the ones doing the driving and my husband would probably condsider it a break after a week being the sole driver!
Debi Cavataio
Posts: 102 | Location: Escondido, CA | Registered: 18 July 2002
Milan - Michelangelo's very last Pieta (in the fortress museum - ?) Peck's grocery store - got to see the 25 euro chicken, fashion area - 40,000 euro purse, Peck-Krakow restaurant (bring a ton of cash - reservations a month a head), great inexpensive silk ties and scarves, good street walking.
We liked Milan, but were content to leave after 3 days.
Dan, Athens, Georgia
Posts: 202 | Location: Athens, GA | Registered: 14 April 2002
Dropping the car at 10 am you can expect to be in Milano by noon, not much earlier if you don't have to drop luggage somewhere. Don't take the bus, in this case, take the train to Cadorna: it costs more but it's somewhat faster and arrives at Cadorna station, much closer to the center. YOu may consider walking to the Cenacolo for the last supper (visits are every 15 minutes and are better reserved, as you may have read elsewhere on the thread). You will also be close to the Castello Sforzesco, so pick one or the other (IMHO the castle is much richer, but it may require a full day for the visit, it holds a dozen different museums in a range that include medieval art, archaeology, ancient weapons, musical instruments, and many more: the comprehensive ticket for all the museums costs, I think, 3 or 5 euro, cant' remeber exactly: a true bargain!). For lunch you an have your pick in the area around the station: right on the right of the main exit, in the same building, there is a Pattini e Marinoni bakery that sells excellent breads, pizza by the slice and other foods to go. if you crave some chocolate, check out Chocolat on the streets on your right as you turn your back to the station (the secondary exit reserved to the Malpensa Express travelers opens on that side but not exactly on the same street). From the Castle's front you can walk in a straight line across foro Buonaparte and piazzale Cairoli (American Bookstore is there if you need info or want to buy a book) to via Dante (check out Garbagnati, which works as bakery, bar, and gelato place: to find it just follow the perfume from Lush, which is the next window; close by, check out Blunauta for lovely but not too dramatically overpriced female clothes). Via Dante connects to piazza Cordusio, from there you can keep walking in a straight line along via Mercanti (on your right piazza Mercanti, behind the Loggia degli Osii) or turn left and reach the Galleria (accessing it through the shorter transect). Duomo and Scala are at the two opposite ends of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. An alternative route, if you decide to visit Cenacolo, is to walk along corso Magenta, which is lovely and, at the same time, far less touristed and crowded than via Dante, while still holding some gorgeous shoping opportunities (nearby check out California Bakery for an overpriced taste of home). It connects to via Meravigli that in turns ends on Piazza Cordusio. Don't go any further, rather explore in this area iof you feel like walking.
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