Milan: Italy's City of Ambition, Art and Style

The Malpensa Express train runs directly between Malpensa Airport and both Milano Centrale (the main railway hub) and Milano Cadorna, with journey times of approximately 50 minutes to Centrale. Trains run frequently throughout the day and evening and are the fastest, most straightforward connection between the airport and the city. From either terminal station, the metro network connects to all areas of the city centre and beyond.

The Last Supper is painted directly onto the plaster wall of what was originally a dining hall, using Leonardo's experimental tempera technique rather than traditional fresco. This method, while giving him unprecedented control over detail and colour, proved far less durable than standard fresco — the work began deteriorating within decades of completion and has required ongoing conservation ever since. To protect it, strict environmental controls are maintained in the room and visitor numbers are limited to a maximum of 30 per 15-minute session. With millions of potential visitors annually, this tiny capacity means standard tickets are typically exhausted months in advance.

The historic centre between the Duomo and the Castello Sforzesco is compact and highly rewarding to walk, taking in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the area around La Scala opera house and the Via Dante along the way. The Brera district, just north of La Scala, is particularly pleasant for relaxed exploration, with its gallery, boutiques and outdoor cafés. For a more local atmosphere away from the tourist centre, the Navigli canal district offers a very different and equally authentic character, especially in the late afternoon and evening.

Milan's cultural identity is considerably deeper than its fashion prominence suggests. The city is home to Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, the world-renowned La Scala opera house, the Pinacoteca di Brera (one of Italy's finest art galleries), the extraordinary Duomo cathedral, and Michelangelo's final sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà, in the Castello Sforzesco. Milan also has a strong industrial and product design heritage — many of the world's most celebrated household objects and furniture pieces originated here — and a food culture rooted in the rich traditions of northern Italy.

Milan is generally the most expensive city in Italy for accommodation, dining and some cultural experiences. However, the cost of museum entry, public transport and café culture is broadly comparable to other major Italian cities. The aperitivo tradition — where a drink purchase typically includes generous complimentary food — offers particularly good value as a light evening meal. Eating at a neighbourhood trattoria rather than a tourist-facing restaurant in the immediate vicinity of the Duomo is both significantly cheaper and usually produces a more authentic and satisfying experience.

The Duomo is among the most visited monuments in Europe and can be very crowded, particularly in summer and at weekends. Separate tickets are required for the cathedral interior, the rooftop (accessible by lift or stairs), and the archaeological area beneath the church — a combined ticket is available and often the best value. Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is required to enter the interior; security staff enforce this and disposable cover-ups can sometimes be purchased or borrowed at the entrance. Visiting early in the morning or in the late afternoon reduces queuing considerably.

Milan's central position in northern Italy makes it an excellent base for day excursions. Lake Como and Lake Maggiore are reachable within one to two hours by train or road, while Bergamo's beautiful medieval upper city is just 45 minutes by train. Verona is approximately one hour by fast train, and the Cinque Terre coast is around two hours. For cruise passengers spending time in Milan specifically before or after their voyage, however, the city itself offers enough cultural depth to fill one or two complete days without any need to travel further.

The Pinacoteca di Brera is Milan's foremost public art museum, housed in a grand 18th-century palazzo in the heart of the Brera neighbourhood. Its collection focuses on Italian painting from the 13th to the 20th century, with exceptional strength in the northern Italian Renaissance. Works by Mantegna, Raphael, Caravaggio, Bellini, Piero della Francesca and Lotto are among its highlights. The gallery is consistently less crowded than equivalent institutions in Rome or Florence, making it possible to spend genuine time with extraordinary works of art rather than navigating around tour groups. For any visitor with an interest in European art, it is one of the most rewarding museums in Italy.

The aperitivo hour — typically from around 6pm in the Navigli or Brera districts — is the experience most often overlooked by visitors focused on daytime sightseeing, and it may be the most genuinely local. A coffee taken standing at the bar counter, as Milanese do every morning, costs a fraction of seated café prices and is a ritual that defines daily life across the city. The Mercato Metropolitano and neighbourhood food markets offer a vivid insight into how Milan eats. And simply walking through the Brera streets or along the Naviglio Grande in the early evening, when the day's heat eases and the city comes back to life, gives a sense of Milan that no museum or cathedral can fully provide.