Milan is the fashion capital of Italy. The center of the city hosts some of Italy's - and the world's - most luxurious brands. Being in the heart of luxury, I figured it was ok to splurge on a room at the Four Seasons Hotel Milano.
Walking distance from the Four Seasons, is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and you'll be surrounded by luxury fashion brands: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, etc. - all housed inside a beautiful glass-covered mall that opens to the Piazza del Duomo.
As you might guess, the Piazza del Duomo is the square that hosts the Duomo di Milano (or the Milan Cathedral). The Duomo is the world's third largest church and took 600 years - yes, 600 years! - to complete. Construction started in the late 1300s and wasn't completed until the 1960s.
Head to the top of the Duomo for views of the Piazza and the Milan skyline, but be prepared to traverse stairs in a narrow corridor.
One of the benefits of being jetlagged and not being fully adjusted to the time zone is waking up early enough to be one of the first to get some delicious pastries from Pasticceria Sissi at 6:30am.
I should mention that the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan hosts Leonardo's famous The Last Supper painting. I wish we could have seen it, but tickets sell out months in advance, so it wasn't in the cards for us. I highly recommend booking The Last Supper tickets in advance.
Another thing I should mention about Milan: it feels different than other Italian cities. The vibes are much more like other European cities, rather than the more uniquely Italian feeling of Florence or Rome. The food is different as well. I'm not saying you can't find pizza and pasta, but the cuisine is much more rice-based (think risotto) than in central or southern Italy. I'll get to my favorite food in Milan in a second, but first about the pizza...
I love all types of pizza. New York pizza, Chicago deep dish, Detroit style, and, since this is a post about Italy, Neapolitan pizza. I love them all. But I think I'll have to settle for "liking" the pizza in Milan. It's nothing to complain about and the line was out the door at the place I got my pizza (Spontini), so there's a very good chance I'm in the minority with this opinion.
Don't get me wrong, it was some tasty pizza, but it's a very bready slice and wasn't my favorite. And that was generally my opinion on the food in Milan - it was all good, but I freaking LOVE Italian food and I didn't really love anything I ate in Milan. Well, except one thing...
Southwest of the city center you'll find Naviglio Grande, a canal in the Navigli region of Milan. While Milan-proper has an extremely high fashion vibe - seriously everyone looked like models and dressed the part - Navigli is much more laid back and a really fun area for an evening out. The road along Naviglio Grande is packed with bars, cafes, restaurants, and shops. And it was here that I found my favorite food in Milan. Except it isn't technically Milanese food. It's Sicilian. But anyway, at a place called A'Vucciria that specializes in "old Sicily and new food" I found arancini. If you're not familiar, arancini are deep friend rice balls, typically with meat, cheese, and often peas in the middle. A'Vucciria had a few varieties and I helped myself to two. I loved these arancini so much that I started planning a trip to Sicily.
After Milan it was off to Lake Como and the rest of my Northern Italian Road Trip.
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