Happy Travel Tuesday! This post is going to be a little different than my normal recaps but I hope you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.
Before leaving for our trip, we all did a ton of research on things we wanted to do in each city, any possible day trips we may want to take out, etc. I found myself reading a lot of “top things to do in ______” and wanted to write my own for Milan.
- Visit the Galleria Emanuele II.
This is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, houses two Prada stores and a Louis Vuitton and famously refused to renew McDonald’s lease because it wasn’t upscale enough.
Everything about this place is grandeur. The building is arcade style and four stories high, topped with a beautiful glass ceiling. The floor is beautiful and floor mosaics are scattered throughout the mall.
The mall holds a few restaurants as well as the stores.
The window displays in Milan were so ornate; I loved this one that had dressed mannequins as well as cakes that were eight feet tall.
2. The Milan Duomo
The Galleria will actually lead you right into Duomo square so if you want to knock both of these out in one day it’s definitely possible.
I’d seen pictures of this Duomo, but nothing really captures how beautiful and ornate it is in person. The Duomo was under construction while we were visiting but still held all its beauty — and a large Samsung screen #corporateWorld.
The roof wasn’t as terrifying as I had expected and I found myself climbing all over to take pictures of the spires, the views and the ornate detail all over the cathedral.
3. Breakfast at Luini’s
Luini Panzerotto is famous, yet I hadn’t heard of it but my dad had. We walked down here one morning for breakfast and I fell in love.
They have a wide variety of selections: chocolate filled, ham and cheese pastries, mini pies, bagel like rolls, you name it they have it.
I got this bread roll, kind of bagel consistency with chocolate chips (YUM) as well as a couple of donut hole type things with granulated sugar coating them. Also yum. Other family members opted for more savory breakfast like options: ham and cheese stuffed bread, tomato and basil pastry but I have a permanent sweet tooth (thinking about running to get donuts and a frap as I write this).
There’s multiple Luini’s locations, the one I visited is very close to the Duomo.
4. Sforzesco Castle
This is on everyone’s list to visit and better yet it’s free.
Right in front of the gate is a ticket office for the World Fair (if you happen to be in Milan before September ’15).
On the backside of the castle is a large park that’s wonderful to walk through and also has lots of street food vendor in case you need to grab a bottle of water or a bite to eat.
Also, lots of turtles.
5. Enjoy the local cuisine.
Okay, it’s not secret that I enjoy food. Enjoying local food is something I do everywhere: here in Louisville, DC, Atlanta, Chicago, the Bay Area — so of course, I did it in Italy too.
I’m 100% not an eggplant fan but I do love ravioli so I decided to just go for it and it paid off. So yummy!
The buffalo mozzarella in Milan wasn’t my favorite because of how fresh it was. It sounds weird but it was almost soupy, not my style.
This salad was the bomb.com! The cherry tomatoes were super sweet and the whole thing tasted delicious topped with a reduced balsamic vinegar.
Hope you enjoyed this post!
xo, Nicole
