29 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Milan, Italy

29 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Milan, Italy

some people say to skip Milan altogether or just spend a short period of time there well I just got back and here’s everything that I wish I would have known before going and some of these might surprise you we’re going to talk about some common mistakes and money-saving tips couple things about like where to hang out and how to avoid most of the tourists going to talk about some paid and free things to do in the city cuz you don’t have to spend a ton of money going to talk about some food recommendations and of course my top regret because I definitely do have a regret first thing to note has to do with the train station if you’re traveling in or out of it just make sure that you schedule some extra time to admire how beautiful this thing is i move to a new country every single month i’ve been in a lot of train stations and this is by far the most beautiful train station I’ve seen anywhere in the world just make sure you give yourself some extra time there it really is special now a really common mistake that I see tourists make is hanging out in the galleria and saying “Wow the Galleria is fantastic.” And it is it is beautiful it is a work of art but recognize that most of the dining options and shopping options in there h they’re catering to the tourist they’re trying to take advantage of you you’re just going to find way better deals literally anywhere else in the city so be cautious there and also I find a lot of tourists get sucked into that main area circled here where all the tourists hang out and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t see those things but just recognize that hey this is the tourist trap area so if this is the spot that you’re going to limit yourself to you’re probably not going to love Milan as much as you could because to me the real beauty is outside of this area and I’ll show you where to get to in a minute now if you do have that desire to explore the other parts of Milan you probably want to know how to get around and yes the whole city is very walkable but it’s very big and I’d really recommend using the public transit it’s a great system here they have a metro underground they also have these adorable trolleys that kind of remind me of Lisbon i don’t know who did it first lisbon might have copied Milan but it is really picturesque but the metro is a great way to get around the city and it’s super simple you don’t need to buy a ticket in advance you can just tap to pay with your credit card or your phone just like this and when you tap in also make sure to tap out that’s how they’re going to calculate how much to charge you which is just a couple of dollars for a single ride now if you are going to be doing a lot of exploring and using the metro a ton you can save some money by getting a 24-hour pass i think that’s somewhere around $78 so if you’re going to use it more than three or four times in a day you’re probably going to save money getting that pass now if you’re wondering where to actually go and find those local areas these spots that I circled these were some of my favorite places to explore that didn’t feel completely touristy locals you can correct me if I’m wrong and if you think there are other places that we should be exploring but these are the hot spots to me but let’s talk about some of those hot spots that you aren’t going to miss that are those touristy spots that are well worth visiting the first is obviously the Duomo and oh my gosh this place is just unbelievable probably the top church I’ve ever been to anywhere in the world and I have been to quite a few this thing is just it’s incredible now a few tips around this that a lot of tourists don’t realize you can pay for access to go up on the roof a lot of tourists do know that i want to note that it is well worth going up on the roof but there’s something else that I think is worth it especially for folks who are not prepared to climb a ton of stairs you can buy a package that includes an elevator ride so you can skip most of those stairs and we felt like it was very worthwhile for a couple of reasons one obviously you skip the stairs but two and maybe more importantly is most people who do choose to take the stairs and don’t pay for the elevator they’re going to end up about halfway around the roof which means when you take that elevator up you’re actually going to have like this first section where they never have access to and it’s much much less crowded it’s a great area for pictures and just to take things slow and really explore because once you catch up to everybody it kind of does become one of those things where everybody’s just in a slowmoving line that’s not how it was when you first get off the elevator now another mistake that I saw lots of tourists make is hey you get up there you take the elevator and they’re just flying through cuz they’re trying to see everything take your time there’s a lot of little nooks and crannies that are interesting to explore that aren’t always easy to see unless you’re taking that slow pace so take things slow and you’ll be rewarded now recognize that even if you do take that elevator up there is an extra part of stairs that gets you to that highest level that there’s just no elevator option now the tip here is that if you’re somebody with low mobility and you’re just not feeling up to the stairs if you wanted to you could skip that top level we actually found it to be the least rewarding just because you don’t have as much of a view cuz you’re just looking at the top we found the perimeters to be a bit more scenic but hey don’t let that stop you just be prepared for those steps if you are going to go all the way up now the next thing that you might want to be aware of is close by to that touristy section there is a theater that a lot of tourists just blow by cuz they don’t recognize it and this theater really is worth your time it’s gorgeous you can pay to just go and kind of walk around but the real key tip here is go online in advance they actually show you half hour by half hour what’s going on and the reason that’s important is a lot of times there’s rehearsals which means the main theater is actually going to be dark it’s cool to see the rehearsals or lighting but it’s much better once the lights actually come up so schedule your time around when the lights are going to be turned on that way you’re going to make the most of your time now one last paid attraction that I do think is well worth your time is this museum is just absolutely phenomenal uh I love museums but this one stood out for a specific reason it’s just so well curated next to most pieces of art they state why they put it in the museum and what purpose it serves in the museum itself and it makes sense that they’re taking this approach because this museum is kind of integrated with the university and it’s just really special it’s very small and a manageable museum to do and I really recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing now if you’re on a budget and you don’t want to pay for the museum that’s okay i’d still recommend going there for one thing this garden again is the university garden and it’s just it’s adorable i mean it’s super cute just a great spot to take a breather from all the tourists walk around and just admire uh it’s completely free and I’d highly recommend it now let’s talk about the castle because a lot of tourists end up going to the castle and you can absolutely pay money to see it and it is wonderful but if you are that budget traveler or just are short on time you can go to the castle without paying for admission and you can just kind of walk the grounds it’s very accessible it’s beautiful to just walk the grounds like there is a lot to see without having to pay and yes there are going to be quite a few tourists but I do still think it’s well worth your time now if you’re over in that area you should not miss the rest of the park which is just gorgeous yes you’ll find some tourists there but also a lot of locals on this end of the park and just again another scenic place to take a breather from the big crowds throughout the day and admire some nature cuz it really is special so don’t miss that now obviously there are a lot of churches that you can explore in Milan and outside of the Duomo this one stood out to me the most it’s completely free and what’s unique about it is it is just like covered from top to bottom and just beautiful art there weren’t large crowds in it so it was really nice to just kind of wander through and explore and was just again very small and manageable so I wouldn’t miss that if you’re walking by these next three might surprise you and the first is this canal and raise your hand if you didn’t know that there were canals in Milan i will raise mine because I definitely did not know it i found it and it was just gorgeous like it wasn’t a very deep canal and I guess they used to use it to transport marble into the city which makes sense but it’s just beautiful wonderful spot to walk especially at that sunset hour do note that the front part of it around here is a bit touristy but you pretty quickly get to the more local area and it’s just a very worthwhile experience something that’s different that I think a lot of tourists miss another spot that might be of interest is Baroo uh this is actually a bar/cafe created by Wes Anderson it’s all in his style and it’s kind of like you’re stepping into one of his movies so I’ll let you decide how well they pulled it off i thought it was pretty cool so if you’re into that you might enjoy checking it out but our number one most underrated and completely free thing to do in Milan was walking through this cemetery now I didn’t film inside the cemetery for obvious reasons but hear me when I say this cuz this is important this cemetery is the best expression of life that I’ve ever seen in any cemetery it’s so uniquely beautiful that it’s just worth seeing and and I’ll leave it at that but let’s talk about some food because there’s great food in the city do note I’m just going to give you the highlights all the rest of my recommendations along with most other things in this video are in a free digital guide that I made it’s completely free you can check it out in the description and I I hope it’s helpful for you but if you’re looking for a meal that’s going to stick to the traditional dishes but still be cooked at a high level there’s a place called Danio we had a fantastic dinner there do note that you’re definitely going to want reservations it is a popular place but popular for a reason if you’re looking for one of those much fancier meals but not quite at those like stupidly high prices but still really high there’s a place called Autumn and I believe this place might have a Michelin star within the next couple years they were doing some pretty incredible things again all very traditional to the region but very innovative and high high prices like go there for a special occasion if you’re looking for a place to enjoy an apparativo cuz why wouldn’t you when you’re in Italy and if you didn’t know an apparativo in Italy is basically think of the pre-dinner meal it’s where you’re going to go have some drinks small bites it’s going to take place somewhere between 6 to 7:30 p.m somewhere in that range it’s going to be great most of the locals they’re going to eat later like 7:30 8:00 p.m and beyond so that’s a way that you can kind of screen for tourist traps as if a place is open from like 5 to 6:30 probably not the spot the locals are eating at so if you are wanting to try an apparativo we found this place called Venoir think of this as just a really cute wine bar there were no tourists it was just locals which is exactly what we’re looking for very kind staff awesome small bites and just the wine was fantastic now if you’re a coffee lover like me there are two spots that I’ll recommend the first is Orsonero this was in a very local area of town trendy cute just it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a coffee shop really high quality coffee and man they had a cinnamon roll that was uh it was punching it was it was punching above its weight class it was fantastic and the second place is called Lost um this one’s a little bit more trendy closer to where the tourists are going to be hanging out but just another really good spot fantastic pastries and well worth your visit but let’s talk about my biggest regret cuz god I screwed up and you’ve probably noticed I have not mentioned the last supper that’s because I didn’t get to see it because I did not realize that you literally need to book not just like weeks but months in advance if you can so do your booking ahead of time for that but if you find yourself in a situation like me where you’re like shoot there’s no tickets your last resort option is going through one of those third parties like Get Your Guide or somewhere else that’s going to be a tour operator i guess a lot of them buy the tickets up in advance and they did actually have a single ticket available for the day that we were going but obviously I was with Sarah we didn’t want to split up so we said “Hey we’ll do it next time.” But if you are a solo traveler or somebody with a group where you have one member that’s like “Man I really got to see it.” Maybe check that out it might be a good last option for you but if you’re going to any other cities in Italy like Venice or Florence or Rome I have videos on all of those as well you can find them right here i hope all this was helpful if you have questions leave them in the comment section thanks for watching and we’ll catch you guys next

✅ Here’s the exact list I share with friends visiting Milan (my free guide): https://bit.ly/Milan-Guide-Camden
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This is everything I wish I knew before visiting Milan, Italy. Think of this video as a travel guide filled with top recommendations and tips you’ll actually use on your trip. I spent a full month exploring Italy and this is everything you’ll need to know before your trip to Milan. I hope it helps 🙂

✈️ The eSIM I used to keep my phone working in Italy — https://airalo.pxf.io/CamdenDavid — You can get 15% off by using code: CAMDEN15

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DISCLAIMER: I only express my opinion based on my experience. Your experience may be different. Links above may include affiliate commission or referrals. I’m part of an affiliate network and I receive compensation from partnering websites. This video is accurate as of the posting date but may not be accurate in the future.