Milan Travel Guide

Milan is a city that evokes extreme feelings; the city lifestyle is extreme too. A frenetic, restless rhythm is an element of work and leisure, so much so that it is difficult to stay unmoved and not get overwhelmed by the entire cultural and social stimulus. Perhaps to this reason, Milan makes itself indispensable, because it is impossible to stay so alive and full of energy when you are away from the city.

Milan is always one step ahead: a laboratory of artistic experiments and a building site for social behavior that is continuously changing. City full of contradictions, ancient and modern trends and counter-trends, fashion and underground, middle class and working class, but always simply “cool”.

This city is whole about worldly pleasures. Theatre and cinema prosper in this fashionable milieu, as does a hopping club scene and a slew of tempting restaurants. Apart from a few gems, the city is not renowned for its looks; it's lifestyle that counts. Shopping is of quasi-religious significance.

Milan is one of the principal artistic centers of Italy of the north.

Some cultural centers of Milan:
» The Duomo, the second largest cathedral of the world and the world's largest collection of marble statues.
» The Castello Sforzesco
» The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
» The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Lorenzo
» The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, containing drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture. The city is also the home of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.
» The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, housing one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
» The Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Poldi Pezzoli, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum and the Musei del Castello galleries, which host a great number of pictorial masterpieces.
Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala).