Spending One Day in Milan

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Planning to spend a one day in Milan? Get ready for an exciting time packed with stunning sights and delicious treats! Start by visiting Milan's awe-inspiring cathedral, the Duomo, with its beautiful Gothic architecture that will leave you amazed. Next, satisfy your food craving with delicious food. Then, head over to Corso Buenos Aires for an unforgettable shopping experience.

In the following text, we'll share our own day trip adventure in Milan, featuring unique dining experiences and must-see spots. Plus, we'll give you some handy tips for getting around Milan. Enjoy your one-day visit and make the most of every moment!

👍 Spend 6 hours exploring the best Milan's sights in a company of local guide on this great walking tour!

1. Explore the Duomo (Milan Cathedral)

Start your one day visit to Milan with city's main highlight - the Duomo. You'll be amazed by this Gothic building, which construction took 600 years. The building houses the thousands of carved spires and statues, made of pink-white marble (sourced from Candoglia near Lake Maggiore, over 100km northwest for Milan). Be sure to see the large green doors at the front of the Duomo, themed around stories from the life of Mary.

For exploring the Duomo and climbing to the top, we recommend buying skip-the-line tickets. Buy them a couple of days ahead. A visit to the terraces is highly recommended to admire the stunning panorama of the city. Rooftop terraces - you can climb up 200+ steps or take the elevator for an extra cost.

The Duomo di Milan (front)

There are always long lines to go into Duomo di Milan

Get close to the Duomo to see beautiful sculptures made of marble

Duomo's central door are themed around stories from the life of Mary

How to reach the Duomo? Once in Milano Centrale, go to the metro station, catch the M3 (yellow line), direction San Donato and get off at 4th stop. The Duomo can also be reached by trams 2, 14, 15, 16, 24 and 27.

Best ways to explore the Duomo:

• When you have just one day in Milan, every minute counts. On this skip-the-line Duomo tour, you'll go straight inside and take an elevator to the top.
• Explore the Duomo on your own, with this skip-the-line tickets.

2. Visit Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the world’s oldest shopping mall

Right next to the Duomo, you'll find Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the world's oldest shopping mall in the world. Be sure to visit it, as it's a historic sight and architectural gem. Walks leisurely through it, and enjoy window shopping (it's full of luxury shops such as Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton) and snapping a couple of fabulous photos. It's especially beautiful with dazzling lights and elegant decorations for Christmas holidays. It would be good if you can get here first thing in the morning, to avoid big crowds. It also houses numerous well-decorated restaurants and cafés.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is the world's oldest shopping mall in the world

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is especially beautiful decorated with Christmas decorations

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a synonym for luxury shopping

We recommend! Marchesi 1824 (inside the gallery) - a stunning spot with beautifully adorned decor. Ideal for having an espresso and the most delicious pastry. We love their pastry with pistachio custard! A machiatto costs €5, while pastries range from €4-7; slightly prices but still worth it!

Marchesi Passticeria serves mouthwatering freshly baked pastries and good coffee

Tre Marie - Bistro Caffetteria (Corso Venezia 2 - a short walk from the gallery), a bar and pasticceria for sitting down, enjoying a cup of espresso and freshly baked pastry in a cosy atmosphere. Or spend a time here, chatting with your company while sipping a spritz and nibbling olives and potato nibbles. Grab one of the best panettones in Italy from this bar/store! It's an ideal food gift to the dear ones!

Tre Marie produces their own panettone, which is among the best ones in Italy!

3. Visit Brera & Corso Garibaldi

Brera district is one of the most authentic areas of Milan offering a pleasant atmosphere away from tourist crowds. Corso Garibaldi is a shopping street offering something completely different from other areas.

Here you'll find Italian stores offering quality products (but still affordable). You can buy here everything, from clothes, shoes, leather goods, electronics, kitchen products, home decor, bedroom linen and much more. This area offers also great places to eat, where you can have a lunch (or dinner) in a pleasant, calming atmosphere, and not overcrowded with tourists. 

Corso Garibaldi in Milan

Clothes shop on Corso Garibaldi street in Milan

You'll find many nice shops along Corso Garibaldi

A cute fruit/vegetable store you'll find on Corso Garibaldi

How to reach Corso Garibaldi? Take M2 (green line) from Milano Centrale to Moscova metro stop (direction Assago).

We recommend! Tamandi Focacceria (Corso Garibaldi, 34), a cute place offering tasty focaccia bread with various toppings (prices ranging from €4 to €6). Focaccias are warmed and cut into bite-size pieces! We loved mozzarella and fiori di zucca flavour! The staff are super friendly!

Crunchy warm foccaccia with zucchini flowers and mozzarella from Tamandi

4. Shop on Corso Buenos Aires

Corso Buenos Aires is the place for shop till your drop. It's lines with numerous shops and is always packed with people. It has something for everyone, whether you're shopping for clothes, a good book, jewellery, shoes, sporting goods or cosmetics. You'll find there top high-street brands including Sisley, Kiko Milano, Zara, Gap, H&M, Benetton, Nike, Muji and many others.

If, by chance, you have some free time, an attractive selection of bars and pizzerias will entice you to take a pause from your shopping spree.

Corso Buenos Aires is also a great place for bargains during sales periods, after Christmas and in mid-summer. Going toward the city centre, it continues into Corso Venezia, that reaches the very centre at Piazza San Babila.

Corso Buenos Aires, the longest shopping street in Europe, is the paradise for shopping lovers!

How to reach Corso Buenos Aires? It extends from Piazzale Oberdan (Porta Venezia) to Piazzale Loreto, as a direct continuation of Corso Venezia, and is served by 3 stops on the M1 (red line) - Porta Venezia, Lima and Loreto. From Milano Centrale, catch M2 (green line) to Loreto direction Gessate (it's only 2 stops).

Getting around Milan by trams/metro

The best ways to get around Milan are by using metro and trams. You can easily hop on each one to get to your desired spot. Tickets are the same for both means of transport. The single ticket costs €2,20 and is valid for 90 minutes. We suggest you to buy a daily ticket which costs €7,60 (be sure to validate it each time).

Buy tickets at metro stations (from both counters and ticket machines), in giornali (kiosk) or tabacchi (marked with "T").

Take tram 9 to get from Milano Centrale to Brera (6 minutes ride). From Milano Centrale to the Duomo, take M3 (yellow line) and get off at 4th stop. A nice alternative would be using a tram 1 which runs along Via Settembrini. From Duomo, take M1 (red line) to reach Corso Buenos Aires for shopping (just a couple of stops).

Milan Metro map

What to beware of in Milan?

Pay attention to your surroundings, especially in crowded areas like train station as they are many pickpockets there. Make your items (bags, wallets, cameras, mobile phones) inaccessible for pickpockets. Keep your bags and backpacks in front of you instead on your back. Be especially vigilant when getting on and getting off the trains. Don't stop for any strange person, just quicken your pace and look determined.

Getting to Milan by train

Trains are one of the easiest ways to get to Milan from elsewhere in Italy as well as from abroad. You can reach Milan from Rome by high-speed train for 4 hours, from Naples in 5 hours, from Florence in 3 hours. You can reach Milan also from Turin, Genova or Venice. Train tickets are pretty affordable, but be sure to book them well in advance.

From Bergamo train station you'll take a fifty-minute train ride to Milano Centrale, which is the main train station in the city. Direct trains leave Bergamo at five minutes past the hour, every hour, but be sure to check the train schedule before the journey. You can check the latest train schedule at Trainline website, and easily book train tickets online. 2n class train ticket costs €6, while first class tickets costs €9. Be sure to validate the ticket at green ticket machines you'll find before reaching platforms (binarios).

Another option would be buying Io Viaggio in Lombardia, which covers train to Milan, as well as metro and buses once you get there. This way you can skip the lines for buying metro tickets! There are 1, 2, 3 o 7-day tickets! 1 day ticket costs 17:50 Euros!

Where to stay in Milan on one day visit

When staying in Milan for a day, we recommend staying in some of these areas: Brera, Porta Nuova, Porta Venezia, Corso Magenta and S. Ambrogio, Sempione, the area around the Duomo  (Centro Storico). The are around the Duomo di Milan, is where you'll spend the vast majority of time and where most sights are located. The area around Porta Nuova and Porta Venezia, offers a combination of great location, easy public connections, great places to eat, drink and shop.

A couple of great places to stay in Milan:

• Moscova Luxury B&B
• Hotel Spadari al Duomo
• Prestige Boutique Aparthotel - Piazza Duomo
• Milan Royal Suites - Centro Duomo
• Aparthotel Casa Mia
• Urban Hive Milano
• Be Mate Via Tivoli
• Sospeso Boutique Hotel
• Brera Prestige B&B

Planning Your Travel to Italy

3 days in Florence

Best Rome Food Tours

What to Do in Bergamo

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