It seems to me that there are very few postings about Milan on our discussion board. I was just wondering why. We find lots of topics about the "Big Three", Tuscany and other regions of Italy, but Milan seems to be ignored.
Isn't Milan another great city worth visiting or is it simply less popular amongst Slow Travelers?
We've been to Milan, we love Milan, we will go back to Milan. I share your puzzlement. I believe Milan is a great European city, but maybe the accent is more on European. With its size, it lacks the intimacy of a Florence or Venice; with its more temperate weather, it cannot rival the luminosity of the South; and it cannot compete with the history of Rome. But it has great art, architecture, public spaces, history and a unique rhythm, more Nordic.
Among the big Italian cities, Milan most reminds me of home.
I guess I agree with the sentiment of the above i just don't feel like I am in Italy when in Milan.It seems like a example of an international city like a NYC.I prefur small rural places.Exceptions Venice and florence. RR
Count me in as someone who likes Milan...but understands that it doesn't represent the general picture of Italy for most travelers. It is a big, cosmopolitan city with lots to see and do.....
If you like cities, you will enjoy Milan...but it may not be in the highest priority category for most visitors.
As the others said, Milan (and most of the rest of northern Italy too) is quite different from the classical image of Italy.
Places like Milan, Turin, Bergamo, Vicenza, Udine etc aren't so famous in the foreigner's eyes, probably because they look more "central european" than italian in many things (climate, mentality of the people, landscape, kind of buildings/houses etc).
Just for kidding, can you believe that those streets are in Italy ?
I was born in Milan, I lived there until I was 18 y.o. and I hated it! I thought it was big, cold (in every sense), wet and (and I still think the same) it's not the very best place to grow up for teens (at least in the 80s). Now I go there "on holidays", to visit friends and to do some shopping and I love it! Milan is not such a big city as you may think... it has less then 1,5 million inhabitants! But it does feel big and cahotic and impersonal sometimes. Walk around the Parco Sempione, get lost in the Brera or Navigli area or in the half Chinese area around via Paolo Sarpi and you'll take with you some of the best of it!
One of the reasons MIlano is not all that attractive for is that it's mostly a new, recent city. The reason for this is that in its history Milano went through being davastated by wars several times, and what was left of the ancient buildings was later used to rebuild houses and other structures for (and by) the survivors. So, the Roman city was destroyed in the late Empire days and early Middle Age; the Medieval city was destroyed by "Federico Barbarossa" (Frederick I, maybe: I do not know how he is called in English) during yet another war (in the Catleoo Sforzesco museum there is a statue of the Emperor's wife showing her intimate parts , nothing pornographic in the statue, though: just a very gross satire), than the renaissance city was destroyed during the long wars that opposed local powers to the Spanish and the Spanish and the French, than this city was partially destroyed in the early XIX century when, during the "Five days" Milano revolted against the occupants and welcomed Napoleon, who did some vast reshaping of the center, gutting the area around the Duomo to build a huge square (Piazza del Duomo) and a monumental entrance to the city at the end of Corso Sempione (the main route from Paris to Milano!), creating Parco Sempione, Foro Bonaparte, rebuilding the Castle, Via Dante and, finally, renovating the Via Mercanti area; finally, WWII came and the city was bombed flat by the Allied. So we have little left, and what little is left we don't preserve the way it should be.
We flew into Milan last year, primarily because we were renting a villa in Desenzano. Based on what little I'd seen about Milan here and on other sites, I didn't really have high expectations. We were pleasantly surprized. It's large, but not too large. It's certainly less chaotic than Rome or Naples. There are a lot more attractions than it's given credit for (including one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in Europe.) The restaurants are fabulous, the nightlife is great and it's easy to get around. I did not find the Milanese cold. They may be slightly more indifferent to tourists because their livelihood is not so closely tied to tourism. But the people we met (including a beautiful woman in her 60's peddling her bicycle in traffic, who gave us directions to a farmacia) we helpful and gracious.
Posts: 186 | Location: Rochester NY | Registered: 10 December 2002
Enjoyed reading this post as we will be flying back to London from Milan after seeing other parts of Italy. We will probably have just part of a Friday day and evening there before leaving for Heathrow early on Saturday morning.
If you were us, 2 adults, 2 teenage girls who enjoy walking and seeing standard tourist sights, what might you enjoy seeing in such a brief stay?
Also would you recommend staying in a certain part of the city that would make it not too difficult to get to and out of in terms of the airport? We will have been driving a rental car in Switzerland and will be returning it to the airport. Would you return the car on the Friday and take public transport that day and the next or keep it and deal with parking and driving in the city.
The Canonical Three get most of the press, 'tis true; there's some large and beautiful places that barely get a line out there: no fault of SlowTrav's, many of whom know Italy very well indeed (our Jim Zurer has been to all 20 regions I believe and just about every place of any consequence, and he's not completely alone, either) — but mostly that of people coming to us to find advice, but bringing with them for starters the unkillable baggage that they want to see , , and .
But Milan — Gosh, I don't like Milan either. It's cold, yes, exactly: people nowhere as warm as even the reserved Umbrians I know best, to say nothing of the Romans or almost anywhere else in Italy; even the not unduly warm inhabitants of my own town Chicago are easier on the visitor. All kinds of interesting things to see — this is old Europe — but on balance, I'd rather be somewhere else.
I have to start by saying that I don't know very much about Milan. I have been there maybe six times, and alot of that was spent walking on Corso Buenos Aires looking for cheap shoes. Having said that, I can say that we have had several Italians and non Italians from Milano as guests, and they all pretty much are of the same opinion: Milano is for work. And they get out whenever they can and go to the country. Good for us!!!!
Originally posted by Meg Taggart: ... If you were us, 2 adults, 2 teenage girls who enjoy walking and seeing standard tourist sights, what might you enjoy seeing in such a brief stay?
Also would you recommend staying in a certain part of the city that would make it not too difficult to get to and out of in terms of the airport? We will have been driving a rental car in Switzerland and will be returning it to the airport. Would you return the car on the Friday and take public transport that day and the next or keep it and deal with parking and driving in the city. ...
If it were me, I'd return the rental car before going into Milan. I'd look for a drop off location closer to the city than the airport -- Malpensa is about 50kms from Milan.
Search the message board for "Malpensa Shuttle" or "Malpensa Express" for previous discussions on city -> airport public transportation options and best places to stay. There are hotel reviews sent in by Slow Travelers on the Slow Travel website.
Topic Closed
, nothing pornographic in the statue, though: just a very gross satire), than the renaissance city was destroyed during the long wars that opposed local powers to the Spanish and the Spanish and the French, than this city was partially destroyed in the early XIX century when, during the "Five days" Milano revolted against the occupants and welcomed Napoleon, who did some vast reshaping of the center, gutting the area around the Duomo to build a huge square (Piazza del Duomo) and a monumental entrance to the city at the end of Corso Sempione (the main route from Paris to Milano!), creating Parco Sempione, Foro Bonaparte, rebuilding the Castle, Via Dante and, finally, renovating the Via Mercanti area; finally, WWII came and the city was bombed flat by the Allied. So we have little left, and what little is left we don't preserve the way it should be. 
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