Milan is a city with a number of things to see, both historical and modern. You may picture Milan as being the main financial hub of Italy, but in reality it is so much more. Full of culture and diversity, it is a city that is well worth the visit. One great thing to remember when visiting this hip city, is that you can visit almost any Milan Museum for free, on the first Sunday of the month. Milan’s municipal museums are free, including over 60 museums and art galleries around the city. StudentsVille.it has made a guide that can make it easier for you to find the Milan museums, Milan City Tour and exhibitions that the city has to offer. Take this list of the best museums in Milan as your guide because whether you want to see some of the best pieces of work in history or the new cool photography exhibit, this is the city you will find it. On this page you can also discover the Milan day trips to make: Pavia, Varese, Lake Maggiore.
Studentsville Staff has selected the things you should not miss in Milan, so you will always the answer to the question, "What should you not to miss in Milan?".
Useful links to visit Milan:
The city of Milan has a wide selection of Milan Art Museum that you can choose from and a wonderful Photography Museo Milan which is the first public museum of photography in Italy, from 2004, situated in Villa Ghirlanda in the historical center of Cinisello Balsamo. You can also find the Milan Science Museum that is the biggest science and technology museum in Italy and one of the most important in the world. So, there are many things to do, Studentsville Staff is here to advise you on the itinerary best suited to you: two days, one week, one month and so on.
- The Last Supper: a late 15th-century mural painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci housed by the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
- Caravaggio's paintings: In Milan you can admire some Caravaggio's paintings. For example: "Basket of Fruit"(1599) at Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and "Supper at Emmaus" (1606), housed in Pinacoteca di Brera (Sala XXIX).
- "Lamentation of Christ", one of Andrea Mantegna's most famous paintings, tempera on canvas, dated with uncertainty between about 1475-1478 and preserved in Pinacoteca di Brera.
What is there to do in Milan in 2 days?
There are many things to do and see in Milan, a city full of history and art. So, don't waste your time and read our suggestions. We created a little route.
- Walking around Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
- Visit the Duomo
- If you take Via Dante from Piazza del Duomo, you will arrive directly at the main entrance of the Castello Sforzesco, another symbol of Milan.
- Behind Castello Sforzesco you will find the green lung of the city, Parco Sempione.
- Not so far away (only 14 minutes) from Parco Sempione there is Pinacoteca di Brera, the main public gallery for paintings in Milan.
What can you do in Milan?
If you still don't know what to do in Milan, we'll give you some ideas about it:
- Admire the charm of the Liberty architecture in Milan: Liberty style found wide application in Milan, especially in the applied arts, as shown by the rich and precious decorations with wrought iron and majolica that adorn the palaces of the Porta Venezia area, the area of Milan Liberty par excellence, also rich in evidence of Art Deco, the style that followed Liberty and varied decorative motifs.
- Observe the pink flamingos of Villa Invernizzi.
- Climb the Duomo terraces on foot. They are accessible every day from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
- Take a walk on the Navigli: "Navigli" are a system of irrigation and navigable canals, with the centre of gravity of the Lombard city of Milan.
Milan City Tour
If you have enough time, you can also take part in some city tour:
Milano Fashion Tour - Admire the world of high fashion in Milan on this private tour, with an itinerary that can be customized according to your preferences. Avoid tourist traps and shop in real factory outlets and showrooms in designers' studios. The guides will bring you the way to find pieces directly from the catwalks.
Milan Open Tour - A route with more than 37 stops to discover the most evocative and hidden corners of the city of Milan, with a ticket valid for 2 consecutive days that allows you to get on and off our open bus at any time, to explore monuments and museums in total freedom or to let yourself be captured by the quadrilateral of fashion and examples of design, peaks of excellence of Made in Italy that make Milan famous internationally.
Navigli walking tour: The Bohemian District on the Canals - Explore Milan’s Navigli district on a 2-hour and a half walking tour. It's a private tour: only you, the host and the beauty of Milan.
Tour Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - tour dedicated to what is called the "heart" of Milan: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the elegant corridor that connects the two most important squares of the city, Piazza Duomo and Piazza della Scala. With this tour you will see the city from the roof of the gallery, the Highline Galleria, admiring the wonderful panorama of the city.
Milan Day Trips
Varese
Milan is such a beautiful city but around the capital of Lombardy there are many things to see. Varese is one of the places you can't miss, so it is strongly recommended a day trip from Milan to Varese. You can take train a regional train from Milan Porta Garibaldi or Cadorna Station and in one hour's time you will admire Villa Recalcati, Villa Torelli Mylius and many other buildings, churches. Read Studentsville's travel reportage and review.
Pavia
Just outside of Milan there is Pavia, a city where nature meets culture. By taking a Trenord train from Milan, in 20-28 mins you will be in Pavia and you choose whether nature (Parco della Sora) or culture (Duomo di Pavia). Read Studentsville's travel reportage and review .
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is the second largest lake in Italy. Its name "Maggiore" derives from the fact that it is the largest of the lakes in the area, but it is actually the second largest in Italy. Anyway, it is one treasures of Lombardy, and it's not so far from Milan. A Milan day trip from Milan is necessary, you only need to take a regional train. Read Studentsville's travel reportage and review.
Milan Contemporary Art Museum: the list
If you are an art lover Studentsville.it has selected the most important Milan Contemporary Art Museum from which you can choose from and all the best things to do in Milan and all the advice on how to enjoy your visit in Milan even your trip is of a few days.
- Pinacoteca di Brera:
The last supper (technically not a museum there is just one artwork being exhibited, is Leonardo da Vinci’s artwork, portraying the reaction of the apostles after Jesus’s announcement that one of them would betray him. It is not a true fresco, it is painted on a dray wall rather than on wet plaster. It is very fragile and only a limited number of people are allowed to see it each day.
- Fondazione Prada:
This gallery is dedicated to contemporary art and it includes permanent exhibits as well as temporary ones, arranged in the spaces of the former distillery and in three purpose-built structures.The centerpiece of the gallery is the Haunted House, a four-story building covered with gold leaf and including artworks by Louise Bourgeois – only 20 visitors are allowed at each time, so make sure you book a time slot when you purchase your entry ticket.
- Museo del Novecento:
it’s right next to the Duomo, and from its terrace you can get a wonderful view over the square. This museum is dedicated to 20th century art and has over 300 permanent exhibits. One room includes works by international artists, but the bulk of the museum focuses on Italian 20th century art, with sections dedicated to the major art movements of the time.
- MUDEC:
Dedicated to arts and cultures from all over the world. Rather than being divided geographically, it follows a historical approach, detailing the history of Milanese ethnographic and archaeological collections.
- Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
This is another perfect Milan Museum for children, located in the Porta Venezia public gardens and right next to the Planetarium. It was my favourite museum when I was a little girl, and I guess it was one of the reasons why I fell in love with nature and travel.
- Museo Poldi Pezzoli:
This is the house and private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli. The house was renovated and designed and includes paintings from the Italian and Northern European masters as well as some beautiful statues.
- Villa Necchi Campiglio
Villa Necchi Campiglio is the house of a wealthy industrialist family, turned into a museum, left to FAI (the Italian National Trust) after the death of the last member in 2001, with Art Deco furniture and decorations, and is one of the first ‘modern homes’ in Milan with a lift, telephones and intercoms, and a heated swimming pool.
Art Museums in Milan:
- Museo Poldi Pezzoli:
This is the house and private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli. The house was renovated and designed and includes paintings from the Italian and Northern European masters as well as some beautiful statues.
- Museo Bagatti Valsecchi
The Bagatti Valsecchi house Museum hasan extraordinaryy collection of the late nineteenth century. Here you can discover its history and collections of Bagatti Valsecchi
- Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
Within the exhibition itinerary of the Pinacoteca, divided into 24 rooms, you can admire some of the most extraordinary masterpieces of art
- Pinacoteca di Brera
It is a national gallery of ancient and modern art, located in the homonymous palace
Historical museums in Milan:
- Theatrical museum alla scala:
It preserves a rich collection of paintings related to the world of opera and theater in general.
- Memorial of shoah of Milan:
Of all the commemoration places in Europe that had been theatres of deportations of thousands of Jews, the Milan Memorial is the only one that has remained intact.
- Villa Necchi Campiglio
A historic residence (house museum) that is part of the "Museum houses in Milan" circuit, full amazing masterpieces of art.
- Antiquarium Alda Levi
Preserves remains of the foundations of the radial and perimeter walls of the monument, and a museum that illustrates the history of the amphitheater of Milan.
Unique Museums in Milan:
- Museo Martinitt e stelline
- Fonderia Napoleonica Eugenia
- Civico museo di Storia naturale
- INAF Osservatorio astronomico di Brera
Art Galleries in Milan
- Arzigogoglo
- Sotheby’s
- Museo del Design 1880-1980
- Centro artistico Alik CavaliereTop museums In Milan:
- Palazzo reale (Exhibition space)
- Leonardo da vinci’s Last supper – fine arts
- Pinacoteca di brera – Fine arts
- Pinacoteca Ambrosiana –fine Arts
- Museo delle culture MUDEC – Human History
- Armani Silos – Decorative Arts Design
- Castello sforzesco Museums – Archaeoloy, decorative Arts, Fine Arts,
- Museo della scienza e della Tecnologia – Science & TecnologyMilan Monuments:
- Duomo di Milano
- Palazzo Reale
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
- Teatro alla Scala
- Castello Sforzesco
- Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
- Cenacolo Vinciano e chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Cimitero Monumentale (Monumental Cemetary Milan)
- Basilica e colonne di San Lorenzo
- Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Palazzo Reale
- Villa Reale
- House of Omenoni
- Arco della Pace
- Grattacielo Pirelli
- Navigli
- Stadio Meazza detto di San Siro
- Pirelli Skyscraper (Pirellone)
Monuments in Milan
We also made sure to note all of the most important monuments in Milan, so you'll know what to look for and most importantly the proper name of said monument.
So, now that you know their names you should go on an adventure and visit the most monuments in Milan possible!
- Stazione di Milano Centrale
- Duomo di Milano
- Palazzo Reale
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
- Teatro alla Scala
- Castello Sforzesco
- Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
- Cenacolo Vinciano e chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Cimitero Monumentale
- Basilica e colonne di San Lorenzo
- Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Palazzo Reale
- Villa Reale
- House of Omenoni
- Arco della Pace
- Grattacielo Pirelli
- Navigli
- Stadio Meazza detto di San Siro
- Pirelli Skyscraper (Pirellone)