The dynamo behind the country's "economic miracle", MILAN is a city like no other in Italy. It's foggy in winter, muggy in summer, and is closer in outlook, as well as distance, to London than to Palermo. This is no city of peeling palazzi, cobbled piazzas and la dolce vita , but one in which time is money, the pace fast, and where consumerism and the work-ethic rule the lives of its power-dressed citizens. It's a historic city, with enough churches and museums to keep you busy for a week - the Accademia Brera, duomo and the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie - but there are also parks and cafés to relax in, and the contemporary aspects of the place represent the leading edge of Italy's fashion and design industry The City
Historic Milan lies at the centre of a web of streets, within the inner Cerchia dei Navigli , which follows the route of the medieval city walls. Piazza del Duomo is the city centre's main orientation point: most of the city's major sights lie within this area, as well as the swankiest designer shops and most elegant cafés. Visits to art galleries and museums , the Duomo and other churches can be punctuated with designer window-shopping in the so-called Quadrilatero d'Oro, or sipping overpriced drinks among the designer-dressed clientele of the pavement cafés of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele or around the Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery. The second cerchia , the Viali , skirts behind the centre's two large parks - the Parco Sempione and Giardini Pubblici - to the canal sides of the Navigli in the south, following the tracks of defensive walls built during the Spanish occupation. Within lie the Castello Sforzesco and the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie , which houses Milan's most famous painting, Leonardo's The Last Supper . What follows is a wedge-by-wedge account of the city: Milan is not an easily wanderable city, so make a judicious selection, walking a little but where necessary hopping between places by way of the metro or other public transport. Food in workaholic Milan, at lunchtime at least, is more of a necessity than a pleasure, with the city centre dominated by paninoteche and fast-food outlets. Don't despair, however: there are plenty of good-value - and some extremely good - restaurants here, and you can eat as well and as reasonably as in any other part of Italy. Restaurants
Though many restaurants in the centre of Milan are pricey, expense-account places, there are a few survivors from a time when the city wasn't dominated by the fashion crowd and business execs. Just outside the immediate centre, the ...
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Snacks and fast food
Amico , Piazza Duomo 5; Piazza Cinque Giornate; Corso Beunos Aires at Piazza Lima. Chain of self-service restaurants that has several branches around the city centre. Brek , Piazza Cavour; Piazzetta Giordano 1; Via Lepetit 20. Chain...
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Food markets and supermarkets
For real low-budget eating, there are street markets every day except Sunday scattered through the city, selling all the cheese, salami and fruit you need for a picnic lunch. A complete list is given daily in the Corriere della Sera ...
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Milan has perhaps Italy's best nightlife . This centres on two main areas: the streets around the Brera gallery, and the canal-side Navigli and the adjacent Ticinese quarter, south of the city, where there are any number of lively bars, restaurants and nightclubs, some hosting regular live bands. The city's clubs are at their hippest midweek, particularly on Thursdays - at weekends out-of-towners flood in and any self-respecting Milanese trendy either stays at home or hits a bar. Many places have obscure door policies, often dependent on the whim of the bouncer; assuming you get in, you can expect to pay L20,000-30,000/10.33-15.49 entry, which usually includes your first drink. As for live music , Milan scores high on jazz, and the rock scene is relatively good by Italian standards: there are regular gigs by local bands, and the city is a stop on the circuit for big-name touring bands. If you need an antedote to the expensive designer side of Milan's nightlife, check out the very healthy alternative scene, which revolves around the city's many Centri Sociali . Born out of the student protests of the late Sixties, these centres are essentially squatted buildings, where committees organize cheap, sometimes free, entertainment, such as concerts and film showings. They also contain bars and - often good - vegetarian restaurants, and are an established part of the social scene, accepted by neighbours and even sometimes receiving local funding. Worth checking out are Gargliano , in Via Gargliano, ten minutes' walk north of Garibaldi Station, and Conchetta , on Via Conchetta, five minutes' walk south of Porta Ticenese and the flagship, Leoncavallo , which you can contact on tel 02.670.5185 or csleo@tiscalinet.it . Cafés, bars and pubs
Arco della Pace , Piazzi Sempione 2a. Located in the arch itself, this café is a relaxed place for a drink in the summer when you can spill out onto the pavement and listen to the concerts in the nearby park. Open Wed-Fri. Bar Magenta ...
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Venues and clubs
Capolinea , Via Lodovico Il Moro 119 (tel 02.8912.2024). Founded in 1969, this place is a jazz milestone where all the best performers, Italian and foreign, have played. Named for the terminus ( capolinea ) of tram #19. De Sade...
read more >> Europe > Italy > Lombardy and the lakes > Southern Lombardy > Milan (Milano)
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