Milan, Italy

Yes. Go to Venice.

Where are these horror stories? I probably should read them. . .

We have always stayed around the Central Train Station with no problems, easy transportation. You need to give some clarity to your concerns.

I have a friend who lived in Milan and she recommended, "do not stay near Stazione Central."

I have just returned from Milan on Sunday. We stayed for one night at the Grand Duca di York Hotel. It is located near the Duomo train station and within walking distance to the Duomo cathedral and Vittorio Emmanuel shopping strip. The hotel was clean and accessible on foot and public transport.

The reservation was done via Fastbooking.com. We were charged 129 Euros per night. I thought that was reasonable for a European city like Milan.

Perhaps your friend can recommend a location and/or hotel that may better suit your needs? Are you planning to visit just Milan? The Lago di Como area is about an hour from Milan and is very nice and scenic. I like Albergo Milano in Varenna.

The trouble with Suzeanna's friend advice is that it doesn't tell us anything. The area AROUND Centrale is huge. Maybe the north side or the east side is bad -- I don't know. Last summer we stay in a hotel on Torriani which is a diagonal street off of the plaza in front of the station. On the south side towards the Domo. Several nice hotels on that street along with restaurants. Maybe she knows something I don't know, but it sure appeared safe. We would stay there again.

For tourism I would stay as central to the Duomo as possible - not near the train station (although you should definitely visit it if you come in by some other means).

Venere.com specializes in Italian hotels - http://www.venere.com/italy/milan/

Milan has taxis and also trams or street cars, and a subway - so there are many ways to get around.

I was in Milan just for day in February - more here if you are interested:

http://www.florence-on-line.com/around-florence/day-trip-to-milan.html

Here is the map of Milan from Google - I would stay somewhere in this area:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=milan+duomo&sll=43.762819,11.195369&sspn=0.017357,0.028753&ie=UTF8&ll=45.464917,9.189227&spn=0.008428,0.014377&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A

And call the hotel direct and haggle if you find one you like - travel is down and there are deals to be made. Good luck -

I think I have narrowed my search to: Hotel Regina or Grand Duca di York. I basically want something clean (#1), conveniently located and not "over the top" in terms of cost. Any experience with these hotels?

I am looking for comments about the following hotels in Milan: Grand Hotel Verdi, Grand Duca Di York, Regina or other centrally located accommodation that is clean and reasonably priced. Also any other suggestions related to a short stay in Milan are appreciated.

Try www.tripadvisor.com for reviews. I love this site and will not book a room until I read what others have to say first.

Hi Suzanne,

We stayed in Milan 1 night at the Hotel Berna (http://www.hotelberna.com/EN/welcome)and thought it was great. We paid $127 and it included a full breakfast (which was probably one of the best we had in Italy). They also had a FREE minibar (with soda, water, and juice) which I thought was great. They also had complimentary internet.

It was very close to the main train station (5min walk) which was convenient. It was also close to the subway which we took to get to the duomo.

I would recommend staying there. How long are you staying in Milan?

Have a great trip!

Suzanne,

I just returned from Milan about a week ago and stayed at the London Hotel, which is listed in the Italy Guidebook. The Hotel seemed a bit older, but was clean and well run and in a great location! I felt the cost was about "mid range". Breakfast was optional at €8 and Rick suggests getting this elsewhere (they only have a very small breakfast room).

To elaborate on the location, it's only about a one minute walk from the London Hotel to Via Dante, which is a pedestrian-only area. There are lots of restaurants, etc. To the left on Via Dante, it's only a short walk to the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele. To the right about the same distance to the Sforza Castle. If you're going to be heading to the airport, Cadorna station (and the Malpensa Express) is within easy walking distance (or you can take a Taxi as I did). There are several Metro stations within easy walking distance.

On my last evening in Milano, I dined at a small restaurant called Le Briciole (also listed in the book). It was fantastic and only about a three minute (brisk) walk from the Hotel.

BTW, where is "Ras Tanura"???

Happy travels!

Trip advisor is a great reference. I appreciate the info.

My wife and I were in Milan for one night in late May - we stayed at Hotel Piacenza (http://www.hotelpiacenza.com/en/). The staff was very helpful, the rooms clean and comfortable, and a breakfast was included. We payed E100 for the night. We found the location convenient because we were about a five minute walk from a metro stop (P. Romana) which is on the same line as the Duomo, and Montenapoleone (which is where you would get off to browse high-end shopping stores, and also for a short walk to the Brera neighborhood). Depending on your willingness to use the metro system, I'd definitely recommend it.

Also - I recommend eating at Ristorante Nabucco (http://www.nabucco.it/) in the Brera area. It was pricey, but definitely worth it in my opinion. We only stayed in Milan for one night, so that is all I can offer.

Have fun!