Milano

Having returned from a fantastic week exploring three of Italy's most captivating cities, I will now try my hand at some travel writing. I hope it doesn't come across too boastful of our travels, but then I do want to make it a bit more personal than a simple travel guide. I guess I will try and give some interesting/useful information about each city based on our experience of it. We shall see how it goes anyway!

Our week began in Milan - an effortlessly stylish city which acts as a perfect beginning to a tourist's exploration of urban Italy. Being thrown into the deep end of the tourist hives of Venice, Florence or Rome could be enough to dampen any traveler's relationship with Italy's cities. Milan, of course, is a tourist destination, but somehow has the feeling of a grounded, stimulating and uniquely Italian urban environment. In the opinion of a sales assistant in a make up store, this makes it far more 'boring' than the other cities. Granted, if you were to spend any considerable amount of time here as a tourist, you can see how the city's limited attractions pose little threat to the vast ruins of Rome, or the seemingly endless canals of Venice. In a few days though, Milan is perfectly compact and by no means dull. 

The limited attractions I refer to are the obvious ones - you simply have to stroll around the castle, wander through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and marvel at the gleaming Duomo (Perfectly compact because all of these are within walking distance, almost touching distance). The castle is free to walk through (charge to go inside), and there is a nice park the other side to relax in. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, being a street, is also free to walk down - this grand arcade is quite something. Be sure to rub the bull's balls for good luck (in the floor, with your heal!)

The Duomo is also free to go in (we didn't have to queue either - when I write about Rome you may appreciate this fact more). However, as impressive as the inside is, the best way to experience this is by going on top. It's not a great deal €7 to take the stairs, more to take the lift, but I would say it is definitely worth doing. Once up, you can wonder amongst the turrets and tiles, walking right across the main roof. Yes, the view of Milan isn't very pretty (the most appealing main building is probably the Duomo which, obviously, doesn't feature in this view), but it is not the view that makes it worth it. Perhaps this is something best experienced rather than describing in writing. 

 Once these main attractions have been exhausted, my tip would be to draw a close to the 'sight seeing'. Put bluntly, that is the 'sight seeing' done. Whilst you may be able to squeeze a few more tourist attractions out of Milan (Sant' Abrogio Basilica, or maybe you could count the Armani shop/hotel/restaurant as a sight), if you persist then you will probably fall out with this city. Instead, take in the atmosphere of the city. Walk through the Brera district and you will find a maze of pretty, narrow, cobbled streets with restaurants, galleries and shops. Try an ice cream from Grom (looks a bit pretentious compared to the traditional gelatrerias, but don't be put off), try a famous Luini (from Luini's), which is basically a pasty-size fried calzone, savoury or sweet. Take in the people - the sharply dressed men and the glossy women in heals, wander through the designer shops and boutiques, the symbols of Milan (if you can afford a souvenir of this nature, and aren't intimidated by the looming security staff, then you may even consider going into one of the shops).

Finally, our top tip for Milan is a bit of a hidden gem, as far as I can tell. The Navigli area (the canal area basically) is a little bit out of the centre, but following the main shopping street so it doesn't feel a trek. This is the meeting of two canals in the city, once a key trading area, then rather seedy and run down. Now, the area is on the up with a number of trendy bars and shops. During the day, I am told, it is a bit dead. In the evening, however, this place is a bustling meeting place for the young, trendy population of Milan (as you can imagine, this is quite a large population).

The bars which line the canals here are tightly packed together and, at least on the Friday night we were there, bustling with people. These places do a roaring trade in what is called 'happy hour'. Now, to us British travellers, happy hour is an hour when drinks are cheap, usually at an inconveniently early time like 5 till 6pm. Italian happy hour is much more sociable and, well, happy. Firstly, it is not an hour. It runs seemingly throughout the evening including weekends, till late. That isn't even the best part. You pay for your drink, usually about €8-10 for a large cocktail type drink, or an aperetivo. With that, you get an unlimited food buffet. Not just finger food, pizza, pasta, meats, deserts. Dinner sorted, drink sorted. The bar we went to was called Manahattan. After that, take a walk along the canals and take in a truly stylish evening in Milan.