A visual tour of Milan — the Duomo and its piazza, the Galleria, Sforza Castle, Brera, the Navigli canals and the lakes beyond the city.
A visual tour of the city — the Duomo and its piazza, the glass vault of the Galleria, the Sforza fortress, the galleries of Brera, the canal bars of the Navigli, and the lakes and hill towns an hour beyond.
By Ivanka García Mancebo, Civitatis travel specialist
Monuments & landmarks
Milan's great set pieces sit within a few hundred metres of each other in the historic centre — the cathedral, the opera house, the arcade and the medieval square are all walkable in a single morning.
The Duomo, six centuries in the making, seen across its piazza.Piazza del Duomo at sunset, with the arch of the Galleria on the left.The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the world's oldest shopping arcade.Castello Sforzesco, the Sforza fortress and its seven museums.Piazza Mercanti, medieval Milan two minutes from the Duomo.The Cimitero Monumentale, an open-air museum of funerary sculpture.
Museums & art
For a city of its size Milan holds an exceptional concentration of art: Leonardo in two places, Raphael and Caravaggio a short walk apart, and one of Italy's largest science collections.
The Last Supper — 40 visitors at a time, booked weeks ahead.The Pinacoteca di Brera, thirty-eight rooms of Old Masters.The Ambrosiana, home to Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus.Italy's largest science museum, with Leonardo's machines and a submarine.San Bernardino alle Ossa, an ossuary chapel steps from the Duomo.The Galleria d'Arte Moderna — Van Gogh and Cézanne, free of charge.
See it with a guide
Guided tours and skip-the-line tickets
The Last Supper, the Duomo rooftop and Brera with local expert guides — free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Away from the monuments, Milan is a city of districts with distinct characters: the fashion quadrilateral, the bookshops and galleries of Brera, the canal bars of the Navigli, and the glass towers of Porta Nuova.
The streets of the centre, walkable end to end.The Navigli — Milan's canal district, at its best in the evening.The Quadrilatero della Moda, the city's luxury fashion district.Aperitivo hour, the Milanese early-evening ritual.Piazza Gae Aulenti, the heart of modern Porta Nuova.The historic trams, still running on the original 1920s cars.
Beyond the city
Milan's position is one of its pleasures: within ninety minutes you can be on the shore of three great lakes or inside a medieval walled town.
Lake Como — Bellagio, Varenna and Tremezzo, an hour by train.Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake, and the promontory of Sirmione.Lake Maggiore and the Baroque gardens of Isola Bella.Bergamo's Città Alta, a walled upper town 45 minutes away.
All photographs on this page are Civitatis images of Milan and the surrounding lakes. They illustrate the pages linked from each caption, where you will find opening hours, prices and how to get there.
Frequently asked questions
No. The photographs on this page belong to Civitatis and are published here to illustrate the guide. They are not free to reuse — please contact Civitatis if you need permission for a specific image.
Piazza del Duomo, and specifically the cathedral facade at dusk. The rooftop terraces are the more rewarding vantage point, though: from them you see the spires at eye level with the city and, on clear days, the Alps behind them.
Early morning for the Duomo and the Galleria, when both are almost empty, and the hour before sunset for the Navigli canals, when the water reflects the buildings and the bars fill up.
