We’ve just had two fabulous days in Milan.
At first glance, Milano seems like a polished and business-like city, but once you begin walking through its streets, courtyards, churches and fashion districts, the city becomes one of the most layered and sophisticated places in Italy.
Your two-day Milan itinerary
First Day
- The Duomo, Milano Cathedral
- Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper
- Shopping – Milano’s fashion quarter
- Dinner recommendation In Brear
Second Day
- Chef Milan Cooking School, learning the art of making gnocchi, ravioli and tiramisu
- The ‘Sistine Chapel of Milano’, the church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
- Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan’s art gallery)
- Visit the Navigli district for cocktails and dinner
- Dinner recommendation
Day one
Duomo di Milano
The Duomo is an immense Gothic cathedral in the heart of this beautiful city. Construction spanned six centuries, beginning in 1386 and finishing in 1965. However, with constant maintenance, locals joke that the Duomo will never be finished.
What makes the Duomo extraordinary is not only its size, but its astonishing detail. Thousands of statues, forests of marble spires, and the golden Madonna statue high above the city, watching over Milan. Inside, the light filters through enormous stained-glass windows onto dark marble floors, creating a solemn and almost theatrical atmosphere.
As is the norm, parts of the Duomo were under construction during our visit. Interestingly, the marble used to repair the Duomo comes from the same quarry that supplied the stone for the Duomo’s construction in the 1300s.
One of the highlights for me was walking the exterior rooftop terraces, among the spires and looking across the skyline of Milano to the Alps. There is a real sense of connection, and you can appreciate the intimacy of the spires and statues.
NOTE: Tickets required – book well in advance and ensure your ticket includes access to the rooftop terraces
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper
Milano was not part of our original itinerary (until Tim’s finger problems!), and as hard as I tried, I could not get tickets to The Last Supper.
However, I have seen it on previous visits to Milan and recall its lasting impact.
Seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece in the refectory of Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie is a profound cultural experience. Ushered into the rather small space for just a 15-minute viewing, you feel the suspense. Rather than depicting a static religious scene, Leonardo captured the dramatic instant when Christ tells the apostles that one of them will betray him. Each disciple reacts differently, shock, anger, disbelief, fear, creating one of the most psychologically complex paintings in Western art.
NOTE: Tickets required – Tickets to the “Last Supper” sell out FAST, so purchase them months in advance.
Milano’s fashion quarter
Not far from the Duomo is the famous fashion district known as the Quadrilatero della Moda. This “Fashion Quadrilateral” is formed by four high-end streets: Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Manzoni, and Corso Venezia.
Although today it is synonymous with luxury brands and haute couture, the district has a much older history. It began as an aristocratic residential neighbourhood, filled with noble palaces and convents, before becoming the centre of Italian fashion after World War II.
Designers such as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace and Franco Moschino helped establish Milan as one of the world’s great fashion capitals during the 1970s and 1980s. Walking these streets is less about shopping and more about observing Milanese elegance, polished stone facades, hidden courtyards, art galleries, beautifully dressed locals and impeccably designed storefronts. Even if you buy nothing, the area captures Milano’s identity as a city where craftsmanship and style are taken seriously.
Nearby is the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, often called Milan’s drawing room. The Galleria is filled with historic cafés, more luxury boutiques and beautifully tiled mosaics beneath the dome.
Dinner recommendation
We ate at Taverna Trastevere Milano, described as a Roman restaurant in the beautiful Brera district. It was lively and blends the rustic charm with contemporary Milanese style. We sat outside on a warm evening and enjoyed excellent food and service.
Day Two
‘Chef in Milan’ Cooking School
Milan is a great food city. Many of you who read my blog will know I love nothing more than immersing myself in the food culture of the places I visit. As well as eating and drinking too much, it means going to a local cooking school.
I chose ‘Chef in Milan Cooking School’, and Tim and I set off to learn how to make truffle gnocchi, ricotta and tomato ravioli and tiramisu for our ever-growing family.
Tim and I, along with a mother and daughter from Florida, made up the perfect small class. Hands-on, with good instruction, we created a beautiful three-course lunch, paired with gnocchi with a very dry prosecco and the ravioli with rdelicious big read.
Tim was far more hands-on than I had anticipated, as he still had his finger out of action, but he embraced the pasta making with gusto, another home appliance about to be purchased.
Note: Reservations required, cost 160 Euro pp
The “Sistine Chapel of Milan”
The “Sistine Chapel of Milan” is the breathtaking church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, tucked away on Corso Magenta in central Milano. From the outside, it looks surprisingly modest, almost plain, which makes the experience of stepping inside even more astonishing.
Every wall, arch, chapel, and ceiling erupts in colour and frescoes.
Another fascinating feature is that it is effectively a “double church.” One section is for ordinary worshippers, while the larger, hidden section behind a dividing wall is reserved for cloistered nuns who live apart from society. This creates a remarkable sense of secrecy and intimacy inside.
NOTE: free entry
Pinacoteca di Brera (Art Gallery)
This is the most famous and important art gallery in Milan. It’s located in the elegant Brera district, inside the historic Palazzo Brera.
It’s not a modern gallery; instead, it’s focused on old master paintings, especially Italian Renaissance art, Baroque and religious works, and Venetian and Lombard school paintings.
The museum is arranged chronologically, so you literally walk through the history of Italian painting.
What makes this gallery so special is that it’s housed in a beautiful former Jesuit college, and it feels more like a quiet palace than a busy museum. It’s often less crowded than Florence’s Uffizi, even though the quality is comparable. The peaceful inner courtyard is a lovely place to sit and relax.
Note: Tickets are required. They can pre-purchase or buy them on the day from ticket vending machines in the courtyard. You will be given a time slot, depending on how busy the gallery is.
Navigli district
A lovely way to finish a day in Milan is to head to the Navigli district, where canals originally designed in part by Leonardo da Vinci still cut through the city. In the evening, the area fills with locals enjoying aperitivo, the Milanese tradition of drinks accompanied by generous snacks before dinner. The atmosphere here is entirely different from the grandeur of the Duomo or the polish of the fashion district, more relaxed, creative and bohemian, and it shows another side of the city.
What makes Milan memorable is not one single monument but the way history, art, design, fashion and food all overlap. The city rewards people who walk slowly, look upward at hidden architectural details, linger in cafés and wander beyond the obvious attractions. Beneath its elegant exterior is a city of remarkable artistic depth and cultural sophistication. Can’t wait to get home and treat the kids to ravioli and tiramisu.
Dinner recommendation
Close to Milan’s picturesque Darsena and Navigli canals is Osteria della Darsena. With its rustic elegance and in a welcoming neighbourhood, it felt very comfortable. The food was traditional Milanese, and as you can see, the Cotoletta alla Milanese was a great hit. We both enjoyed it.
We had also planned a day trip to Lake Como, which unfortunately didn’t eventuate. It’s a lovely add-on when you are in Milan, as it’s just a 50-minute train journey.
Enjoy this beautiful city.