Milan

Being from Como, I often happen to reach Milan for a few evenings or simply take a stroll around the center or along the Navigli. However, it is rare that I have ever visited it as a tourist. Usually it only happens to me when perhaps some friend from afar comes to visit me, and so I act as a guide and in addition to showing them my beloved lake, I also take them to the liveliest Milanese nightlife. Ironically, I only went up to the Duomo once... on the occasion of a visit from an old Parisian friend of mine during the week of August. In fact, since the city was quite empty at that time, it was very easy to get in without too many queues and without having to spend too much money on "skip the line" tickets or anything like that. The Milan Cathedral is something majestic! An imposing structure entirely worked and quite elaborate which unfortunately/fortunately is constantly under restoration. The interior is also very beautiful and majestic but never as much as the exterior with its pointed spiers and gargoyles, not to mention the famous golden Madonna, symbol of the city. Let's say that at least once in your life you have to go up to visit Milan from above. Right next door we have the famous Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery with its luxury shops and starred restaurants, unusable for us mere mortals. 

Another symbol is the Sforzesco Castle, historic home of the Sforza family, with the immense Sempione Park behind it. In this area, usually in the period that coincides with the Immaculate Conception (which also coincides with S. Ambrogio, 7 December, the feast of the Patron Saint of Milan), the famous "ObejObej" fair takes place, that is, a typical street market Christmas. I admit, however, that my favorite area of ​​the city is the slightly more peripheral one... that of the famous Navigli. These are two canals (Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese) that cross the city and make it a small "Amsterdam" (of the poor we mean haha) and especially during the summer, along both banks there is a lot of nightlife, including clubs, restaurants, bars and pubs, up to the Darsena, the artificial basin where the two canals join. But the Milanese nightlife can also be found in Corso Como, with some of the most famous discos in the whole of Lombardy, frequented by footballers and show business personalities. This street connects Porta Garibaldi with the recent Piazza Gae Aulenti with its towers and skyscrapers. The Vertical Forest is also very recently built, two large buildings, particular for their architecture, full of greenery. For shopping however, if you can't afford shops like those in Via Montenapoleone or Via della Spiga, nor even "La Rinascente", an excellent alternative is Via Dante, especially if you arrive by train at Cadorna Station and do it on foot up to the Duomo, or even better the long Corso Buenos Aires.