Published: 2/8/2024

 Is Milan Really Worth It?

Is Milan worth visiting? When I booked plane tickets to Milan, Italy, I wasn’t really sure.

While Milan had been on my short list of places to visit for years that wasn’t because of the city itself. Rather, the fact that Milan is the gateway to the Italian Lakes District and my low-key obsession with Lugano, Swizterland were the driving factors. I’d actually heard that Milan could be a little, dare I say it . . . boring.

Happily, my time in Milan in November 2023 was an amazing, eye-opening experience. The city definitely wasn’t without its surprises, but most of them were very pleasant.

In this post I’ll share what I really thought of Milan. Spoiler alert: I loved it, but depending on your travel style, it might not be the right Italian city for you.

If you’re debating whether or not to include Milan on your European itinerary, read on for the pros and cons of visiting Milan. I’ll spell out what I loved about the city, but don’t worry, this isn’t another gushing glow-up. I’ve also got all the tea about Milan’s challenging, unappealing aspects.

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What Milan Is Really Like

Pros and Cons of Visiting Milan

Pros:
• Easy to get around
• World-class landmarks and artwork
• Aperitivo culture
• Amazing day trip options
• Variety of neighborhoods
• Affordable
• A multifaceted identity

Cons:
• Busy, crowded
• Food
• Hard to be spontaneous
• Kind of dirty
• Not scenic

What I Liked About Milan

Easy to get around

Milan is the business center of Italy and their business smarts really help the visitor experience.  The best example of this is how you pay for public transportation in Milan. Rather than bother with confusing ticket machines, you can just use your credit card’s tap function.  

Milan was already winning for me when we shuffled our jetlagged selves down to the train station at Milan Malpensa Airport and all I had to do was tap my credit card to board the Malpensa Express into central Milan.

Once in Milan, you just tap your card (or in my case, use Apple Pay) at the Metro turnstile and you’re good to go.

Be sure to tap the same card when you exit the metro so the system can properly calculate charges. The technology automatically gives you the best price. For example, if you take more than four rides in a day, you’ll be charged for a day pass rather than each individual ride.

(I  learned during my Azores trip how important a VISA card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees is for European travels. I got a Chase Sapphire card before my trip to Milan and it worked great.)

I also found the city very walkable. The most popular area for visitors near the Duomo and Sforza Castle is a pedestrian only zone. You’re never far from something interesting in Milan and it’s always just a short walk or Metro ride away. 

World-class landmarks and artwork

It might not be Paris or Rome, but Milan is no slouch when it comes to world renown landmarks.

In many ways, how Milan blends historic sites with modern ingenuity reminded me of London, one of my favorite cities in the world. I loved that from the top of one of the most impressive cathedrals in the world, you can spy Milan’s impressive skyscrapers, including the famous tree-covered apartment buildings, Bosco Verticale.

Don’t forget that Milan is also home to Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. It does take a little forward planning to visit this masterpiece, but I highly recommend making the effort.

Other notable art in Milan includes the Pinacoteca di Brera. This small gallery considered the third best collection of medieval and Renaissance artwork in Italy after the Vatican and Florence’s Uffizi.

Aperitivo Culture

I always thought all of those reels on Instagram of “spritz o’ clock” in Milan were cliches. But Milan really, really loves an aperitivo. Around 5 p.m. you can head to basically any Milanese bar or restaurant, order a cocktail or glass of wine and you’ll also be served a complimentary plate of snacks. Many restaurants have full buffets set up which are complimentary with your drink order. I mean . . . !

Amazing day trip options

If you’re not big city person, don’t worry. Milan offers a plethora of day trip options. As the gateway to the Italian Lakes District, it’s almost a must to day trip up to Lake Como during your Milan trip. It’s also very easy to travel to Lugano, Switzerland.

Other day trip options include Genoa, Turin, and Lake Maggiore. Honestly, I was shocked by how many different landscapes and cultures we experienced in our travels in the Milan area. We never got more than 40 minutes away from the airport!

Variety of neighborhoods

If you think you don’t like Milan after spending time in the Piazza del Duomo area, I encourage you to branch out a little. As Italy’s second largest city, Milan offers so many different and varied neighborhoods. You’re bound to find something to your liking!

For example, you could visit the canals in Navigli, walk in the shadows of modern skyscrapers in Isola, or head to a residential neighborhood that’s a little city in and of themselves. My personal favorite was Brera, the art district just east of Sforza Castle and the Duomo.

Affordable

While Milan isn’t quite as affordable as Portugal, I still found it a pretty affordable western European destination. (Especially when compared to Switzerland!) We scored flights to Milan Malpensa from our home airports (neither of which are hubs) for under $700. Obviously, if you live in Europe, you can travel to Milan very cheaply on discount airlines like Ryanair or EasyJet.

Once we were in the city, it was easy to move around the city cheaply thanks to the user-friendly metro system. Since we found the buffets during Milan’s aperitivo hour very filling, we were often able to eat dinner for the cost of one measly drink.

Even things that I was told would be very expensive – like tickets to La Scala – didn’t feel obscenely expensive, especially when compared to professional sporting events and concerts in the United States.

What I Found Difficult About Milan

Busy, crowded areas

With its wide variety of neighborhoods, there’s plenty to do and see in Milan. So why oh why, does everyone insist on hanging out in the Piazza del Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele area?

While we found the worst crowding in central Milan, you will deal with crowds all over the city including at popular aperitivo spots (like La Hora Feliz), getting to our seats for a ballet at La Scala, on the metro (especially the Duomo stop), and in the Milan Centrale train station.

If you don’t like crowds, you’re not going to like Milan.

Food

Simply put, the food in Milan is not great. (I said what I said.) 

If you come to the city expecting sun-ripened fruit and heaping bowls of pasta, you’ve come to the wrong part of Italy. Even though I knew that Milan’s cuisine trends more Germanic – think risotto, pan-fried cutlets, polenta, and slow-cooked pork shanks – I still found Milanese cuisine uncompelling.

Food is definitely a huge reason why I travel (in example: Boston and Cincinnati), so I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was still a letdown even with my tempered expectations. The pastries and espresso didn’t disappoint though! 

Hard to be spontaneous

If you’re someone who likes to travel by the seat of your pants, Milan will prove challenging.

We booked basically everything about this trip – plane tickets, lodging, tours (especially The Last Supper), La Scala tickets – months in advance and were richly rewarded for our efforts.

For a last minute trip to Milan, I imagine you’ll spent a lot of your visit standing in line. Likely the only way you’ll see The Last Supper is by joining a tour that will upcharge you for 15 minutes with the masterpiece. Tickets for performances at La Scala also sell out quickly. If you visit during high season, expect many restaurants to require reservations.

Kind of dirty

This criticism isn’t specific to Milan, but a general observation about Italy. I’m always a little surprised by just how much graffiti there is and how garbage pools along curbs and the edge of walking paths. 

Milan definitely isn’t the gentrified version of Italy you’ve been introduced to at Epcot or in Las Vegas. This is a real country with real people living their everyday lives here. It gets dirty.

Not scenic

Milan is one of only a few cities I can think that aren’t associated with a major body of water. The city just kind of pops up out of nowhere in the middle of a plain south of the Alps. If you’re used to spending your life next to water, it’s a little off-putting to have no central water feature in Milan.

While there are plenty of beautiful things to see in Milan – after all, the city is very fashionable – as a whole, the city can feel austere. Some places like Milan Centrale, have downright authoritarian vibes. If you’re expecting a romantic Italian holiday you will be disappointed by how stoic Milan feels. 

Things About Milan That Might Surprise You

One of the most important things about having a great trip to Milan is knowing what you’re getting into. Because Milan might not feel like Italy at all to you.

Milan was incorporated into Italy when the Italian peninsula unified as one country in 1870. But throughout its history, Milan has been ruled by France, Spain, and Austria. The Milanese food tradition is decidedly Germanic and thanks to Napoleon’s influence, some of the streets especially near Sforza Castle feel like Parisian boulevards.

One of my biggest hesitations about my trip to Milan was my previous experience in Rome. I spent two weeks in Rome during college and it wasn’t great. While the Roman ruins, churches, and landscapes were amazing, I found the city difficult to navigate and the Romans frosty. But in the end, Milan felt a lot more like London to me than Rome. 

Like London, many people move to Milan for work which gives it an interesting transplant vibe. Milan isn’t really a place to be from; it’s a place you end up for school or work. I really loved Milan’s busy, worker-bee hustle.

Milan might be an affordable city to visit, but it is also the wealthiest city in Italy. The Milanese would be the first to credit their success with their pro-business habits like long hours in the office. (The general stereotype is that northern Italians are hardworking but standoffish while southern Italians are friendly but lazy.)

As a northerner with a bit of a productivity addiction, I felt right at home in Milan!

Factors That Impacted My Impression of Milan

If you’ve made it this far, you can probably tell my answer to the question to “Is Milan worth visiting?” is a resounding “YES!” 

But I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same experience on your Milan trip. In fact it was my good travel friend Jenny and Leah’s (of the Azores and Carolinas fame) less than glowing review of Milan that tempered my expectations.

There are so many factors – some within our control and some completely outside of it – that play into our impressions of a place. It’s worth noting how the following factors played into my Milan experience. 

Weather

We were gifted absolutely gorgeous weather during our Milan trip: not a cloud in the sky and unseasonably warm weather. I run a Boundary Waters canoe outfitters and once as I explained to group that we don’t refund for early returns, a woman in the group quipped “because any fool can have fun in the sun.”

It’s so, so true. Yes, I had an amazing time in Milan. But with the weather that we had, we would have had to work really hard to have a bad time.

Time of year

Our visit in late November fell in Milan’s shoulder season which made everything from booking an Airbnb to getting a table at a restaurant so much easier. Since Milan’s holiday season doesn’t start until December 7 (the feast day of Milan’s patron saint, St. Ambrose), this is a lovely time to see the sights before holiday crowds settle in.

Honestly, given how busy the Piazza del Duomo was at the end of November, I’d hate to experience it with summer crowds. Talk about a pickpocket’s delight!

Money

Travel has gotten a lot easier for me as I’ve grown older. Sure, you could chalk this up to increased wisdom, but the true superficial reason is this: I have more money. It’s hard to have an amazing time anywhere if your overarching goal is to spend as little money as humanly possible.

I don’t think I truly realized how difficult travel was as a college student and broke 20-something until I reached my 30s. Suddenly I could book whatever tour I was interested in and stopped batting an eye at restaurant’s entrée prices.

While Milan is truly a pretty affordable city, my Milanese experience was greatly improved by being able to spring for tickets to a ballet at the La Scala Opera House, getting a bottle of local sparkling wine with dinner one night, and taking the  rooftop tour of the Duomo I had my heart set on.

Planning

I’ve alluded to this already but Milan rewards planners and early risers. Happily we’re both and that made our Milan experience very, very nice.

When I think of places where I didn’t have the best experience, like Paris (I also got severe food poisoning here, but that’s another story for another time) it often boils down to not doing enough research ahead of time.

Since we booked our flights to Milan near 10 months in advance thanks to a Thrifty Traveler deal, we had zero problems planning ahead for this trip.

Conclusion: What Makes Milan Worth Visiting

It’s true: Milan isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for charm and whimsy, you’re not going to find it here. But if you like busy, no-nonsense cities that effortlessly blend centuries of fascinating history with everyday modern life, you’re going to love Milan. At least, I know I did.

While I’m not itching to return to Milan asap, I’m so pleased to have seen it and definitely think it’s worth visiting. Even if you only go to see the city’s very top highlights like the Duomo and Last Supper, I think you may find Milan surprisingly intriguing.

If you’re able to stay longer, you’ll be able to soak up Milan’s aperitivo culture, stunning landmarks, and varied neighborhoods.

That said, if this is your first visit to Italy, I’d skip Milan in favor of Rome and Florence. Instead, work Milan into a trip to Switzerland, Germany, or Austria. Regardless of when and how you visit Milan, I hope you’ll consider adding Milan to your European itinerary so you soak up its rich history, excellent cultural offerings, and beautiful sites.

If you liked this Is Milan Worth Visiting post, check out my other Italy content!