Milan guide
Neighbourhoods, transport, paperwork and practical life. What you need to know before you arrive, written by people who live here.
Neighbourhoods
Main guideWhere to stay in Milan
Which Milan neighbourhood to pick based on why you are coming, with real metro times to the centre, the trade fairs and the universities.
4 min read
The Navigli
Milan's two canals, the Darsena and the Vicolo dei Lavandai: what is actually there, what time to go, and why by day they are a different thing.
3 min read
Staying near Milano Centrale
The area around Milan's Central Station: what to actually expect, and why two metro stops away you sleep better and pay less.
3 min read
Staying in Bicocca
What is actually around Bicocca, how to reach the centre on the M5, and why it is Milan's best value neighbourhood for a longer stay.
3 min read
Città Studi and Porpora
The Politecnico, the hospitals, the tree-lined avenues. Why Città Studi is Milan's most practical base for a stay of a few weeks.
3 min read
Torre Diamante and viale Pirelli
The new towers on the edge of the Bicocca campus: high views, lifts, air conditioning. The right area for a business trip to Milan.
2 min read
Arriving and getting around
Main guideGetting to Milan from the airports
How to reach Milan from Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo Orio al Serio: real journey times, options, and which airport to pick.
3 min read
Driving in Milan — Area B and Area C
Milan's two restricted-traffic zones explained for drivers: who may enter, when you pay, where to park and why leaving the car parked is usually right.
3 min read
Getting to Rho Fiera
Metro, train or car to the Rho exhibition centre: real journey times from Milan's districts, and where it makes sense to set off from on a trade fair morning.
3 min read
Getting around Milan
The four lines, opening hours, tickets and how to pay with a bank card. Everything you need to move around Milan without wasting time.
3 min read
Living in Milan
Main guideShort-term rentals in Milan, what to know
Documents, check-in, city tax, the CIN code. How a short-term rental in Milan actually works, explained by people who run them every day.
3 min read
Self check-in, how it works
No reception, no fixed hour: how self check-in works in a Milan short let, what you need, and what happens if your flight is delayed.
3 min read
What Milan costs
Coffee, lunch, transport, accommodation: what you actually spend in Milan in a day, a week and a month, including the items that catch people out.
3 min read
The Milan city tax
How much it costs, who pays, who is exempt and how it is collected in Milan short-term rentals. Explained plainly.
2 min read
Eating and drinking
Main guideEating in Milan
Cotoletta, saffron risotto, panettone and aperitivo. What people actually eat in Milan, when they eat it and what it costs, without the tourist traps.
4 min read
Studying and working
Main guideStudying in Milan and finding a place
How to find housing in Milan for a semester, a master's or an Erasmus, what it really costs, and why most people start with a short-term rental.
3 min read
What to see
Main guideTrade fairs and events in Milan
Salone del Mobile, Fuorisalone, fashion weeks: when to book in Milan, and where it actually pays to sleep.
3 min read
Milan for free
What Milan does not charge for: contemporary art in a former factory, castle courtyards, parks, churches and a cemetery that is a sculpture museum.
3 min read
Milan in August
The city empties, the heat is real and prices fall. What stays open in Milan in August, what closes, and why for some trips it is the right month.
3 min read
San Siro, concerts and matches
How to reach the Meazza stadium for a match or a concert, how to get home afterwards, and why the lilac line changes everything.
3 min read
Milan with children
Museums that actually work with children, parks, manageable distances and why an apartment changes the trip when you travel as a family.
3 min read
Milan in three days
A three-day itinerary for Milan that accounts for real distances, the bookings you must make in advance and the days things are closed.
3 min read