Ciao Italia!
Just a 3.5 hour train journey from Interlaken, Switzerland was my first stop in Italy. I arrived in Milan mid-afternoon before getting the tram to my accommodation. After settling in, I went for dinner and then back to the hostel to chill – this meant I had one full day in Milan.
In this blog, I'll give you a couple of things to do in Milan...
How to spend one day in Milan
Wake up and head out to Milan Cathedral. Aim to get there as early as possible to avoid the huge crowds in the Piazza del Duomo di Milano and the cathedral itself. I got to the Piazza at around 9:30am for entry to the cathedral at 10:30am. I got breakfast and wandered around the Piazza for about 45 minutes before queuing up to enter the cathedral.
When I’d got through the queue and the bag checking security, I finally walked into the cathedral. Milan Cathedral is stunning on the outside – when it’s sunny it’s like it glows! The inside is equally as beautiful. Vaulted ceilings, marbles pillars and stained-glass windows – so beautiful! After viewing the inside, and providing you have the appropriate ticket, you can make your way to the rooftop.
The rooftop walk is not for the faint-hearted. I wouldn’t consider myself afraid of heights, I’ll happy look over the edge of cliffs, but standing on top of a building is not for me. While the views and the detailed marble carvings are stunning, the climb up the stairs where you can see how high up you are made even my knees buckle. Safe to say my excursion to the highest accessible part of the roof was short, I spent longer on the lower levels of the roof though.
I booked my cathedral visit with Get Your Guide – it cost me €26 for the entrance into the cathedral, the rooftop walk (via the stairs – you can do it via elevator if you need/want to) and audio guide. The audio guide was very informative and has information about all areas of the cathedral, inside and outside. It takes around 2 hours to visit the cathedral and rooftop.
After visiting the cathedral, go for lunch. There are plenty of places to eat around the Piazza (although they may be slightly more expensive than outside the Piazza). There are also a number of shops (designer and other) around the Piazza and along the various surrounding streets.
In the afternoon, I would recommend visiting the Castello Sforzesco which is about a 20-30 minute walk from Piazza del Duomo di Milano. The Castello’s museum is home to some fascinating treasures and stories – a wide range of things from ceilings painted by Leonardo di Vinci to ivory and bone trinket boxes. It costs just €5 for entry into the museums but walking through the grounds is free. There is also a café and toilets on site.
After visiting the Castello, you could either continue exploring or you could return to your accommodation – I was super tired and had done a lot of walking so I went back to my hostel and chilled for a little bit before going for delicious dinner at Miscusi (again) with one of the girls from my dorm room.
Where to stay
While in Milan, I stayed at Babila Hostel and Bistrot which is a tram ride away from the main train station and located pretty much in the centre of the city and not far from Milan Cathedral. It cost £104 for 2 nights in a 6-bed female-only dorm room with ensuite facilities. It was a lovely hostel and had a bar downstairs (where drinks are quite cheap) – the rooms are large, clean, have good sized lockers for each guest and the beds are comfortable. Please note that there are no kitchen or laundry facilities at this hostel.
Favourite restaurant
Nearby to the Babila Hostel is a restaurant called Miscusi. It’s a pasta only restaurant – they have a menu of delicious, classic pastas or you can choose to make your own from a selection of ingredients. The dishes are absolutely scrumptious! I went both evenings I was in Milan (yes, I know but it really was incredible food!) and ate a traditional carbonara (my favourite) one evening and beef ragu rigatoni the next. I also had a tiramisu for dessert which was very yummy!
I really enjoyed visiting Milan – it was a nice start to my Italian adventure. I hope to visit again some day and explore more of the city!
Comments