Long overdue trip report here, guys! Milan was our final stop after an adventure through Britain and France. (You can read my British trip reports here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-england-scotland-17-nights-part-1 & https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-england-scotland-17-days-part-2)
What can I say, Milan was a fitting finale, and arriving there by train was an experience in itself. Wow, what a station! Milano Centrale was even more impressive than we had heard. We wandered around taking it all in and, of course, looked for the allegedly hidden Mussolini in one of the murals before taking the metro to our hotel near the Duomo.
We absolutely loved our central location. We kicked things off with a visit to Campari Bar and some time wandering through the beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping center before heading up onto the roof of the Duomo. The views over Milan were incredible, and the details of the cathedral itself were just as impressive.
A big part of our time was, naturally, finding great food. Yes, we went to Eataly. No, I won't apologize. We also enjoyed some of Milan's newer food spots, including Trapezzino, which was a fun change from the more traditional food we'd experienced in France and Italy.
We also saw Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, which was every bit as special as we'd hoped. It's one thing to see a famous painting in books and photos, but quite another to stand in front of it.
I really loved the modern side of Milan, too. The mix of historic buildings and sleek new skyscrapers gave the city a completely different feel. The Bosco Verticale, with its towers covered in trees, was especially striking. I loved the big-city vibes of Milan. And when you compare it to Rome? Wow. Just night-and-day different cities.
One evening we headed to Navigli to check out the canals, but it was a bit more lively than we were looking for. So we did what any reasonable travelers would do and went back to Campari Bar.
We also took an afternoon-and-evening trip to Lake Como. We arrived later in the afternoon and felt like we'd missed the worst of the crowds, which made the experience much more enjoyable. It was a great contrast to Milan and absolutely worth getting out of the city for.
Milan ended up being a great mix of old and new, with incredible art and architecture, fantastic food and a modern energy that I really loved. A fitting end to a long overdue return to Europe.
Thank you again to all here who helped; we can’t wait to return!