Milan or Turin

The best would be not to spend any night in either one city. Just kidding! But don't spend the whole 6 nights there. Milan and Turin could have enough for 1 full day each. Not sure I'd want to spend much more in either.

I find Milan to be my least favorite city in Italy. I find the food there to be sub-par, and expensive, as are the lodgings. I've seen the Last Supper and the Duomo once, and the only time I ever go to this city any more is if I get a really good deal on flights in or out and spend as little time as possible there just the night before the flight, and if arriving there leave immediately for Florence or Venice. I don't know where the rest of your trip takes you, but you might want to extend days in Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi, etc., and only spend the last two nights in Milano. Just my opinion.

I agree with the other posters. I've been to both cities, and in a day you can see all there is. Do you have some other options? Will you be near the CT on your trip? Maybe extend your time there, or add a night or two. Lucca is a pretty town to visit and spend a night, although not a lot there either. We found Turin to be very boring....I would recommend maybe a day trip to the city to see the Mole and the Shroud of Turin, the few Roman ruins and eat some chocolate. Don't spend the night there. Maybe go to the lake region and spend a couple of nights there. If we knew where else you'd be traveling in Italy, it might help us to make some other suggestions. Milan and Turin are just not very interesting cities.

I think Milan may not be the worst place to headquarter for a week. What time of year? You can visit La Scala, if it is not summer. If Opera is too heavey for you, they have symphony concerts by the excellent La Scala Orchestra. Our young French guide suggested hanging out a while in the Navigli neighborhood for a look at the Milano hipster scene. Lots of bars with great happy hour spreads. "Just stick your nose in and see if its something you like. If not, move on to the next bar, thats the way the Italians do it." Trains to the lakes, Como and Magiore, are cheap and fast and make an excellent day trip. Our guide said, "...there are a lot of amazing things in this town, but they are secret. You just have to know where they are, then knock on the door and they'll let you in." and lastly, "DO NOT eat in the Victor Emmanuel Mall!"

Susan first of all sorry for my english. In Milan there are a lot of place to visit...sadly also the "milanesi" doesn't know them...just banks,shops,duomo.. Museum: Museo del novecento in Piazza Duomo http://museodelnovecento.org/en/ Gallerie D'Italia in piazza della scala http://www.gallerieditalia.com/en/palazzi/piazza-scala Villa Reale di Milano http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Villa_of_Milan http://www.gam-milano.com/la-villa/ Museo del risorgimento http://www.museodelrisorgimento.mi.it/ Museo Poldi-Pezzoli
http://www.museopoldipezzoli.it/en if you need names of other churches besides the Duomo..just ask

Excuse my English too. Andrea gave you good advice. I think the food is great and not too expensive in Milano. Please give Milano and their food a try. Have fun!

I liked Turin, and found it an interesting contrast to other Italian cities. In the church where they keep the Shroud, over the main doors there's a copy of the Last Supper that is supposed to be the most accurate (it was made early, when it was already clear that the original was deteriorating but before much damage had occurred). I also had some great meals there, and it's definitely the place in Italy where I've had the most memorable restaurant desserts (meaning not at a gelateria afterwards). I'll have to check my notes for restaurants, but the dessert I remember is a "bonet" (not sure of spelling or even pronunciation, as it's a dialect word). It's like a cross between a chocolate mousse and chocolate pudding and chocolate cake - delicious. The main dish I remember was agnolotti with butter and sage - yummy.

Harold, yes, it's Bonet. A bit of history here... Bonet is a Piemontese preparation that was served at noble banquets all the back in the 13th century. Made the same way you would make a pudding or crème caramel, bonet originally did not contain chocolate. Chocolate was added to the recipe after the discovery of America and when cacao became available in Europe. The original version is hard to find today and is referred to as bonet alla monferrina.
Try it!

I like Turin but my interests are probably different than yours. But it's still worth a night or two. Milan is also worth a night or two, but personally I don't care for the city that much. For 7 days, I'd try and find another place or extend your time in other cities.

Susan, Don't miss out on seeing Torino. It is a very beautiful city and you can definately find things to do here. Spend at least one night there. I have lived here for two years and find the city to be one of the most charming Italian cities. Many people forget about the Northeast part of Italy when travelling here. Also, from Milan you can take the train to the lake areas (Maggiore, Como, etc.)which are abosolutely beautiful!

Wow...thanks for a the tips! I haven't even thought about the lakes but what a great idea! A night or two in Torino, a night or two in Milano and then a couple at the lakes!

Gemma: Thanks for the history lesson!

And thanks Andrea, Gemma, and Kelly for on site input.

I'm furious (nah, not really, just puzzled and flabbergasted) with the mentioning that Milano has "sub-par food". Seriously, where have you all been eating? Milano has a unique characteristic among Italian cities: its most interesting areas (for culture, for dining and lodging) are NOT located around its main square. If you stop at one of the tourist/shopper traps around the Duomo, though luck. That are is really a let-down in terms of accommodation and the restaurants are bad. However, if you dare to walk 15 min (or take a subway ride of 3 minutes) to the Brera area, or to the Porta Genova area, you will find some of the most exciting gastro-pub scenes of Italy (that still won't break the bank). Many, many restaurants that put a modern touch on Italian cuisine, interesting apperitivi offers on the evening and so on. Milano also has many interesting art galleries dedicated to photography, sculpture, some modern art. They are just not packed in a single streets or in gigantic single-museum - the Pinacoteca di Brera, though, is the most underlooked art institution of Milano in my opinion. I think many people approach a visit to Milano as they would approach a visit to - say - Firenze, and then they get disappointed because, God forbid, the vicinity of the major church is not that attractive except for shopping. What I agree with is that Milano is not a city good for random walking around a narrowly defined area. It is much better if you know where you are going, since there are - for instance - 4 or 5 clusters of good evening strolling/apperitivi areas reasonably far from each other (but all easily accessible with public transportation) So, Susan, don't let Milan-bashing get the better of your visit there :) It is like someone criticizing NYC based on a visit to Times Square only.

Andre L. Thank you for such a good post. I've been trying to tell people for years how great Milano is and no one seems to listen. It is one of the greatest Italian cities. Much history and the food is just wonderful! Living in Italy, I travel around Europe a lot and Milano is one of my favorite cities.

I've been all over Milan and still don't like it much. It's subjective and people will disagree, but please don't generalize and make up reasons why some of us don't like it.

Did not mean to offend anyone with my "dislike" of Milan. Probably if I lived there for some time I'd love it, but I am a tourist/visitor when I go to Italy.
Therefore, I like to enjoy historical sites, museums and enjoy the cuisine. Milano remains to me very expensive when compared to other cities in Italy, like Florence, Venice, Rome, and has, in my opinion, the least tasty food. The other cities, and Sicily, I return to at least once every year. I never tire of them. That's just my opinion and advice.

Donna, how many meals did you have in Milan on which you're basing your opinion? I'm guessing only a few. I'm not a huge fan of Milan, but I did really enjoy the area around the Duomo and the Castello Sforzesco.