Category: Milan

“Are we there yet?” I shout wobbling on the shiny pebbles, my bike increasingly difficult to control.
“Almost… it’s the second left. Or the third.”

Cycling in Milan on a mild evening, is arguably the best way to spend a night out in town: flat wide roads and few cars around if you avoid the two circular roads enclosing the city centre.

Unexpectedly, but rather unsurprisingly, my friend Ské brusquely swerves at the first road to the right. I follow him avoiding pedestrians and parked cars with an outstanding dribbling skill also known as sheer luck.
“You see” he pontificates while we secure our bikes outside the next stop of our bar crawl “ordering a cocktail here is not just picking a name from a list: you have to explain the barman your feelings, or an inspiring episode, and he’ll do the rest.”. I’m quite confused by this but I see his point. I think. It’s been a long night so far, started a few kilometres – and rounds – ago…

Bar Basso: a classic overture

It was easy to choose how to start a cocktail bar crawl in Milan. Where else other than the Bar Basso? The most notorious establishment that introduced the art of cocktails in the city that became the capital of mixology.
In this classic and sharp environment we joined the elegant Milanese ranks drinking out of glowing red fish-bowl glasses. As there is one thing you need to order: Negroni Sbagliato. It was invented here, by accident, changing the original Negroni recipe into something lighter and fresher: Campari, vermouth and prosecco (instead of gin). I love the story about this place being visited by jet-setters in the 60s – politicians, entrepreneurs, bandits… – flying in from Cortina, the classy winter retreat par excellence, to Linate just to enjoy a drink here.
Those days are long gone so, instead of flying back to snowy slopes, we mounted on our bikes and headed off to our next destination, as dusk languidly set on the buildings.

Working class Milan, world class drinks

After 20 good minutes pedalling the alcohol of our first drink evaporated and we were ready to start from scratch. The Selz Bar welcomed us with Battista’s broad smile and good-natured banter. I was invited to taste their famous Bloody Mary, made with the proper spices, difficult to find in Italy. I duly obliged, promising to bring back some celery salt from the UK, as I tucked in the spicy thick drink that would constitute, together with a few toast nibbles, my dinner.
Jokes and glasses are swapped at the bar counter while we delve into the leit-motif of the evening, Negroni Sbagliato, topped off with a final drink for a touch of class: shaken Campari, served in unique triangular glasses discontinued since the 70s.

Morgan’s: A magicians show

Back to us, to my friend’s cocktail bar philosophy and the difficult task of locking the bikes. We amble in the Morgan’s, a bar not far from Porta Ticinese, but safe from the its rowdy nights at the Colonne. The décor hits me as classy but welcoming, the playlist is well crafted. We talk to Jimmy, the master of ceremony here, and we decide that I shall have a Rocket Fuel. And so I do.
At this point I should clarify that I generally don’t like cocktails other than Negroni Sbagliato, but this lime green fuel I just bought is incredible. A balance of sweet and sour, the alcohol level skilfully dosed. But my favourite part of this bar is how they do the cocktails, a show that by itself should be enough of a reason to come to Morgan’s. They pour the spirits and mixers in a large vessels, with no measurement aid whatsoever. They spin the oversized glass a few times before pouring all its content in the highball. I never saw them spilling a single drop or leaving more than one millimetre from the rim. You need to see it to believe it.

Cocktails = Rita

If Milanese citizens would be surveyed to choose a word to translate “cocktail” in Italian, they would probably choose “Rita“. This is the traditional place where to have a proper cocktail skilfully crafted by expert barmen, using only the highest quality ingredients. Very busy, as always, it’s concealed in a quiet street off the Naviglio Grande, past the first chaotic bit and at safe distance from designer-friendly via Savona. We gladly chain our bikes to the next pole available while our friends text us, after a 15 minutes fruitless search for a parking spot, giving up and going back home. We drag our weary selves in the lush environment for our last drink of the night, Rita will close soon but nobody seems to care. The signature cocktail here is the Vodka Zen, but I opt for a much easier Gin&Tonic, obviously with Hendricks.

And so our night ends, looking at the shimmering lights and blurry shades reflecting on the Naviglio. Along its banks Milan lived its most intense and rough years, that seem to come back late at night when the last few people scurry away unsteady on their feet. We dig in profoundly philosophical matters while somehow cycling back home, where we fall asleep thinking of the cocktail bars to visit next time.

During this evening we’ve cycled across half Milan (17km), visiting:

• Bar Basso (Via Plinio, 39; website)
• Selz Bar (Via Antonia Pozzi, 1; Foursquare)
• Morgan’s (Via Francesco Novati, 2; Foursquare)
• Rita (Via Angelo Fumagalli, 1; Foursquare)

No barmen were hurt during our rampage.
Some livers were lightly damaged.

The places listed in our post on restaurants in Milan are neither expensive nor too formal but, if you’re looking for a quicker and cheaper meal, a diner where you can (when possible) sit a few moments for a bite, here’s some suggestions for you.

• Luini (panzerotti)
• C’era una volta una piada (piadine)
• Spontini (pizza al trancio, by the slice)
• La pizza dal 1964 (pizza al trancio, by the slice)
• Giannasi (fried and roasted goodies)

Luini

Via S.Radegonda
(MM1-3 Duomo, MM1 San Babila, and any of the other lines going to Duomo)
Opening hours: Monday 10-15 / From Tuesday To Saturday 10-20
Mentioning the word “Luini” is enough to make my mouth water, any time of the day. One of the most legendary fast food parlours in Milan, it remained nearly unchanged for 50 odd years and made its way to the main tourist guides. Hidden in a short alley beside the Duomo it’s ideal if you’re visiting the city centre. As a bakery they offer a wide range of products, both sweet and savoury, but there is one reason to go there: the famous panzerotto. Shaped like a hand-size calzone, its soft fried dough is filled with tomato sauce and mozzarella. They have other fillings but the original one is undoubtedly the best. Try to avoid it around lunch time even though observing the diverse crowd might be interesting: students with rucksacks, traders in suit and tie, tourist holding maps and cameras.

C’era una volta una piada

Viale Coni Zugna, 37 (MM2 Sant’Agostino) Mon-Fri 10-15/19:30-23; Sat 10 – 23; Sun 19-23
Piazza San Gioachimo, 5 (MM repubblica) Mon-Fri 10:00-16:00 / 19:00-23:00
This place is worth visiting even if you’re not hungry, it’s not far from Porta Genova and it’s worth a 15 minutes walk from the Navigli. It’s like walking in a spooky kitchen designed by Tim Burton in a pastel pink overdose. It’s a small place and you need to find your space at the bar, behind which the piadina is prepared. In case you didn’t know, piadina is tipical of Bologna region, is a round flat pita-like bread folded and filled with…whatever. Take your time to go through the long list of options hung on the wall and order at the till. My favourite one is with Bresaola (dry cured beef meat) but tf you’re really hungry you should go for a piadina with prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) and you probably won’t need a second round.

There’s also another one near Repubblica / Central Station, it’s got a nice upper floor but not as charming as the one in Coni Zugna. To be avoided lunch time during the week.

Spontini

Via Gaspare Spontini, 4  (MM1-2 Loreto, MM1 Lima)
tel. 02 2047444; web: www.pizzeriaspontini.it
Lunch: Mon-Sun 11,45-14,30; Dinner: Mon-Fri 18-23,30; Sat 18-24, Sun & Bank Holiday 18-23
This is a pizza institution in Milan and one of the greasiest pizzas you’ll ever have. Pizza al trancio is one of the most popular snacks in Italy, spongier than the classic one served in pizzeria, it’s sold in squares or slices. The one you’ll eat here is baked following the same receipt since the 60s and you’ll only get the classic margherita: tomato sauce and an abundant layer of melted mozzarella cheese. You only have to choose between regular or large, considering that there’s only 50 cent difference it’s really a no-brainer isn’t it? You can find the original Spontini in Corso Buenos Aires, close to Loreto but they recently opened other three stores for your convenience:

• Via Santa Radegonda, 11 (MM1-3 Duomo)
• Viale Papiniano, 43 (MM2 Sant’Agostino)
• Via Marghera, 3 (MM1 Wagner)
• Via Cenisio, 37 (corner with Piazza Diocleziano)
• Piazza 5 Giornate, 6

La pizza dal 1964

Via Casoretto, 44 (Bus 55, 62, 81)
tel. 02 2846659; web: www.lapizzadal1964.com
Tue-Sat 12.00-14.30/18.30-22.30; Sun 18-23; Closed Monday 

As it can be easily guessed by the name it’s all about pizza here. Like Spontini this is one of the first pizza al trancio parlour in town, just a little less greasy. Also here the pizza margherita are baked in enormous round pans and served in slices. You can ask for regular or large size, and the slice is paid by the weight. In addition you can top it up with some simple and classic ingredients. The basic margherita is still the best choice for me but if you really can’t help asking for a topping, go for a salame piccante (it’s spicy pepperoni but do never ask for “pepperoni” in italy or you’ll get your pizza covered in peppers!)

It’s not central, ideal if you live in the Lambrate area (like at the Hostel Colors for instance). If you show up late you might have to wait for a table and the take away queue is always painfully long. Good sign isn’t it?

Giannasi

Piazza Buozzi (MM3 Porta Romana, Bus 62)

Forget about your diet and cholesterol levels the king of fries is awaiting for you! A nice kiosk placed in  Piazza Buozzi, a stone throw from Porta Romana, Giannasi can be easily spotted by the inviting smell even before you see it. Like a market stall you can find anything here from roast chicken, tasty take-away dishes and the magnificent choice of fried snacks. Which is the best one? You’ll have to try them all to find out!

There are a few really cool places that we love to regularly visit in Milan. They’re quite eclectic and we found it difficult to categorize them. Yes, we go there for food but we couldn’t fit them in our article on the restaurants in Milan as they’re way more than just a restaurant. Let’s find them out!

Santeria

Ostello Bello

Address: Via Medici, 4  20123 Milano (MM1-3 Duomo, Tram 2-3, how to get there)
Phone no.: 02 3658 2720
Not only it’s one of the very few authentic hostels in Milan, but Ostello Bello offers some of its services and activities to a wider audience. Anyone can visit it without necessarily having to spend a night. They have food all day round and leisure activities from music to games, sometimes they’re improvised so any day is good to pop there. If you’re after a meaty lunch make sure to go there for the monthly “Turbo Burger” day. Only one item on the menu, guess what it is?

Visit their website: www.ostellobello.com and follow them on facebook to keep up to date.

La Balera dell’Ortica

Address: Via Giovanni Antonio Amadeo 78, Milano (Bus 54, 39)
Phone no.: 02 70128680
It takes just 20 minutes by bus from Duomo, or a short bike ride, to end up in a place where time seems to have stopped 50 years ago. The “Balera” could be a perfect set of an old school Italian movie, like Fellini showing the more trivial aspect of the Italian working class having a good time with the few spare money they had. As you enter you will find the balera itself to your right: a open-air dance floor where couple dance the night away whirling on the rhythm of the traditional popular music called liscio, which means smooth.

To the left you’ll find the bar restaurant. A very rough diner, not the same quality of the bocciofila Caccialanza but cheaper. Ideal during the warmer months, when you can enjoy the patio outside and chill with few drinks. Few minutes in and you’ll forget to be in a big city and you’ll start feeling the relaxed atmosphere of a vintage countryside.

Open every day of the week from 13.00 to 00.30 (1.30 Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Visit their website: www.labaleradellortica.com

Milan is full of restaurant but finding one that meets the two basic requirements: good and cheap, is not that simple. If you walk in the city centre, holding your city guide you’re pretty hopeless and the chances of being ripped off for some basic meal you would find at your local Italian franchising restaurant are very high. After long researches, horrible experiments and precious tips by locals, we’ve shortlisted a few trusted ones:

• Bocciofila Caccialanza (traditional milanese – home made)
• Il Doge di Amalfi (pizza – neapolitan food)
• Da Giannino l’abruzzese (traditional trattoria from the Abruzzi region)
• Poporoya (sushi – japanese)
• Trattoria Albero Fiorito (traditional milanese)

Bocciofila Caccialanza

Via Padova, 91 20127 Milano, tel.02 2826059
Closed on Sundays
“Bocciofila” is the name given to those local joints where old people meet for drinking wine and playing bocce, the italian version of petanque. This has came quite in fashion recently and many places have taken this name without the attitude. But not Bocciofila Caccialanza. This one hasn’t changed in 50 years, and still preserve a charme like time stopped. If you  go there in summer you would be sitting in the big gravelled yard surrounded by other cheerful guests and grumpy waiters. There’s no english menu here, which is a good sign, and actually there is no menu at all. Just ask the waiter…I don’t know if they can speak any english so get ready and write down some of my favourites: Tagliatelle al ragù di cinghiale (tagliatelle with boar meat ragu) Cotoletta alla milanese (the traditional battered veal escalope) Grigliata mista (tasty grilled meat) If you’re still hungry after all this ask for the dessert “torroncino”, which is a creamy vanilla icecream topped with caramel and nuts.

Il Doge di Amalfi

Via Sangallo, 41  20133 Milano, tel.: 02 730286 Bus 93, Tram 5
Closed on Mondays
If you’re looking for a taste of “real Italy”, according to the stereotypes, this is the place to be. A noisy, crowded pizzeria, serving the best neapolitan pizza in Milan, it’s an unforgettable experience for your tastebuds and for your ears. Try to come quite late (from 9pm onwards) to find the confusion at its peak. This is when the owner warms up and gives his best, grinning and shouting something at everyone. If you’re up for it he will immediately focus on you, give you nick names and offer a limoncello at the end. He can speak english and god knows how many other languages, and if you’re not one of the locals you will get a special treatment. And when you think it can’t get messier, with the boss shouting, the waiters running around the tables and kids screaming, there comes the two musicians, loudly playing some popular tunes. Honestly unmissable. You should book in advance, especially if you’re going in the weekend.

Da Giannino l’Abruzzese

Via Rosolino Pilo, 20  20129 Milano, tel.: 02 2940 6526 MM1 Porta Venezia, Tram 23
The real name of this restaurant is Da Giannino l’Angolo d’Abruzzo but if you’re asking for street directions you’d better call it Giannino l’Abruzzese and everyone will understand. Located on via Bixio, in one of the most elegant areas of the city, right behind Porta Venezia, you will be shocked by the change of scenario as you’ll walk in this “osteria” with a very traditional décor. We recommend the “tris di primi” a safe choice for the first course giving you three different pasta in one plate, and the regional legend arrosticini (Abruzzo is located in central Italy, in case you didn’t know), which is skinny sheep skewers served in large numbers.

Poporoya

Via Bartolomeo Eustachi, 17 , +39 02 2940 6797 MM1 Lima, Bus 60
Open 11:00 am–2:00 pm, 6:00 pm–9:30 pm. Closed Sundays
Tel.: 02 29512635 – 02 29406797 web: www.poporoyamilano.com
In the recent years a growing number of Japanese restaurants popped up in the streets of Milan, from the most sophisticated ones with minimalist lounges and soft atmosphere to those offering the very popular all-you-can-eat formula. Between these two extreme there’s a restaurant that happens to be the first ever opened in Italy and, in my opinion, the best (at least in Milan. It’s called Poporoya and it was open by Master Shiro in Rome, near Piazza del Popolo, hence the name. This happened in the 70s and I guess that was a very bold move. After few years they relocated in Milan, and never moved since. It’s very small, there’s a shop at the entrance and walking through a door between the shelves you will access the dining room: 4 small tables and a bar facing the desk where Shiro is skillfully chopping the raw fish. He’s a very nice man and he’ll be delighted to entertain you. The food, of course, is amazing. Go for the classic Sushi, or Sashimi, but don’t skip those weird Japanese specialities that you won’t normally find in the other restaurant.

Trattoria Albero Fiorito

Via Privata A. Pellizzone, 14
Closed on Satuday night and Sunday
Going to this trattoria (an italian term that stays for “traditional family-run restaurant”) feels like having the privilege of sharing a secret. Getting there can be challenging too: far from every metro station, it’s in a dead end street in a logistically absurd area where streets are laid as an asterisk. It doesn’t have a sign, except for a worn sign of a coffe brand, and it’s behind a hotel so you don’t really see it when you are at the beginning of such alley. For all this, writing about this place and divulging this little hidden treasur feels like I’m betraying this secret society. As we walk in the first question from the fiercely moustached landlord is “Are you here to eat and go or you want to spend the whole evening here?” we manage to give the correct answer. “Who sent you here?” We mumble a half munched answer and he goes “You must know the rules: you take the drinks from the bar and write down your order. Quick”. If you expect a proper restaurant don’t even bother going there. The food is simple but good, cooked at the moment, so it might take a while after your order. Prices are ridiculously cheap so they must ensure that the turnover is quick. This place checks all the boxes of a nostalgic vintage diner: checked tablecloth, fireplace, old signs, liquor bar, simple food and relaxed atmosphere. It’s so real that we never met any hipster, probably because they don’t find the comfort of a wifi connection and the word “organic” written here and there on the menu.

Warning: the mission of this blog is to suggest places where you can fearlessly go and experience the real soul of the country and the city you’re visiting. It’s the case of this restaurant to but we highly recommend to go to Albero Fiorito with someone who’s fluent in Italian.

If you’re planning on visiting Italy, whether you’re going by train or plane, you’re very likely to arrive in Milan first. The city is well connected to the rest of Europe by the railway and, thanks to its 3 big airports, also by the main airlines.

It’s the perfect starting point for the classic tour: Venice, Florence, Rome.

By Train: Stazione Centrale

Surely Central Station is not displaying the best welcoming committee for you. Whether you arrive by train, or by coach coming from some airport you will find a place so messy to even look picturesque. Getting useful information there is a tough challenge, and I speak Italian…good luck if you don’t. I also feel quite unsafe there, even though it’s been renewed there’s always a strange feeling…like of being under siege, and sometimes the evil world from outside might leak in. You get off the coach and you’ll be surrounded by men with a trolley offering help for carrying your luggage (I don’t think I really need to specified that but their services are not “for free” as they claim), people selling you umbrellas if the weather is lousy or some useless item when it’s not. You work your way to the metro station, try to purchase a ticket at the automatic machine and you are surrounded by women kindly volunteering to help you with that complicated machinery and with the change (I don’t think I really need to specify that they’re not moved by sheer generosity and altruism).

The Station is served by the underground (lines 2-3) and several other surface transport lines. Check out our detailed article on public transport in Milan.

Arriving by plane: Malpensa, Linate, Orio al Serio

If you’re flying to Milan you will land at one of these airports:

• Malpensa
• Linate
• Orio al Serio

Malpensa is the international airport. If you’re on an international flight you will land there. The airport is connected to Milan city centre by buses arriving to and leaving from Central Station (10 euro one way, 16 return, you can buy tickets at the newsagent’s) and by the Malpensa Express train (www.malpensaexpress.it) arriving to and leaving from Cadorna, another train station, mainly used for local connection. A one way ticket costs 11 euro, but there are other trains from/to Central Sation. A ticket for one of those local trains is 10 euro but they’re very slow, so for 1 euro more I’d definitely get the Express.
If you arrive late or leave early you might go for a taxi, but consider that a ride to the city centre will cost about 90 euro!

Malpensa has a smoking cabin and offers free wifi.

Linate is the city airport. Is connected to the city centre by a bus line that costs like a single ticket (€1,50) and arrives to San Babila, right behind the Duomo. The line is either 73 or X73, the first is the regular bus, while the latter is an express service, with no intermediate stops. The distance is quite short but the bus will have to work its way through the nightmarish traffic and will take at least half an hour. Make yourselves comfortable.

Orio al Serio is tagged as a “Milan airport” but it’s actually near Bergamo. The best way to reach Milan from there, or the other way round, is by bus. There are several companies connecting the airport to Central Station (roughly 50km), for the cost of 5€ each way. The price was originally higher so it might get back to the original fare. There are buses departing each 15-20 minutes and the trip takes about 1 hour (you’d better factor in 1 hour and a half in case the bus get stuck in the traffic).

Orio al Serio airport has been recently renewed and has a modern shopping gallery and a smoking room in the gates area.. Wifi is free, you’ll only have to sign up. The form is a bit tricky when it asks where you live. Apparently it doen’t accept non-italian cities, but type Milano or any other Italian city and it’ll do

You can buy tickets at the newsagent’s or directly at the bus. Check this website for the timetable:

Travel like a clueless tourist

I could have checked the website for information ahead, I could have looked up the nearest bike station before arriving, I could have signed up to the bike sharing service the day before. But I didn’t, instead I wanted to arrive in Milan completely unprepared and figure out by myself how to get a bikeMi, as any new-arrived would have to.

I arrived in Garibaldi station, which is not the most popular choice therefore there are no information offices or help for tourists whatsoever. I found a rack of bicycles after a nice stroll along the pedestrian Corso Como, past the big stone arch that gives the name to the rail station.

The instructions are clear and written in four languages. I struggle a bit to hook up one of the many free wi-fi hotspots so I give up and I pass on 3G. A few clicks (the site is apparently only in Italian but the “sign in” button is quite obvious: a hand holding a pen) and I get the code that will grant me a bike for the next 24 hours.

How does BikeMi work?

With the code provided you will unlock a bike, use it and put it back in any station when you’re done. Repeat whenever you need. It’s very simple and, being Milan so small and flat, is much better than the motorised public transport, weather permitting.

Remember: you need to return the bike within 2 hours, after which you can just pick another one. If you exceed this time limit for three times your account will be suspended.
The service is active from 7am to midnight, after that it’s only possible to return a bike, not pick it up.

If there are no slot where to return a bike or there are no bikes to pick up you can type the code on the column and the nearest available station will be shown.

How much is it?

• Daily (24 hours): €2.50
• Weekly: €6.00
• Annual: €36.00

As you can see 24 hours on a shared bike is €2 cheaper than the 24 hours public transport pass.

How to get a shared bike?

You can subscribe online, which is by far the most convenient way to do it. Alternatively you can call the free-toll number: 800 80 81 81 or go to an ATM points (ATM being the public transport company of Milan) open from Monday to Saturday, 7.45am – 7.15pm at these stations:

Duomo M1-M3
Cadorna Triennale M1-M2
Loreto M1-M2
Centrale M2-M3
Garibaldi M2
Romolo M2

What do you need?

To make your experience smoother I would suggest to subscribe ahead. Also make sure you know where the bike stations are: there is an online map, but it might be tricky to use if your smartphone is as rubbish as mine, alternatively you can download this map.

The public transport company in Milan (ATM) is very efficient, at least for the Italian standards. Four metro lines (soon to be 5), tram, buses, trolley-buses, and the passante ferroviario (overground metropolitan train), connect the whole city.

The trolleybus runs along a ring road surrounding the city centre (circonvallazione) and runs also during the night, with only a gap between 2am and 4am. It will probably be your only chance to get back home before dawn after a night out but it has a horrible reputation so look out. Even though it looks pretty rough I don’t think it’s that dangerous, however I would recommend a lone female traveller to avoid it.

How much is the ticket?

The single fare costs 1,50 euro and it’s valid for all the urban lines. It’s valid for 90 minutes, during which you can have only one journey on the metro and unlimited use of the overground lines (bus, tram, trolleybus).

Other options are the 24 hours pass (€4,50), 48 hours pass (€8,25) and a 10 tickets carnet (€13,80). There’s also a 2×6 formula, that works as having 2 single tickets a day, for 6 days in a week. This is normally used by commuters working in the city. You might find it useful to know, especially if purchasing the ticket at the newsagent, that the “pass” is called “abbonamento“. You can find more detailed information here.

RicaricaMi

If you’re staying for a longer period you might consider purchasing the top-up card called ricaricaMI. Like the Oyster Card in London you can top it up with both single tickets and any of the passes listed above; it costs €2,50 and includes a single ticket. It will save lots of paper, think of the environment! (yes, I know, the stations are paved with used tickets but someone should set the example).

ATM Travel Card

If your engagement with Milan is going to last for a few months you might want to get a travel card. It costs €10 and you’ll need a passport sized photo, that will be horribly warped by the software that prints your face on the plastic card. So don’t bother, your hair is fine just like that.

The car can be topped up with a weekly pass (€11,20) or a monthly pass (€30), students and under26 will get a good discount. See all the details on this page on the ATM website.

Plan your journey with GiroMilano (opens official Milan Transport site)

Milan city centre public transport map: Metro, Bus, Tram (PDF)

The updated Metro Map including the Passante:

Bicycle and bike sharing in Milan

There’s nothing better than a good ol’ bicycle to get yourself around Milan. The city is small and completely flat and you’ll be whirring from one side to another at incredible speed. You might not be faster than the metro but it’s a fair competition with the buses, which normally get stuck in the traffic. The only downside is that some paved streets will make your brain bounce inside your skull. It can be hard work avoiding cars, pedestrians and tram rails on a paved street. And if the road is wet…you’d better be very sober!

[box type=”bio”] You can rent bikes through the city bike sharing program, very useful in the city centre.[/box]

But if you want to invest on your very own velocipede you might want to go for a second hand. You’ll find some bargains on the second-hand websites or you can google “ciclofficina” and find the nearest where you can go and put together your own custom bike…or fix it when needed. These are bike laboratories set up mostly by university students or by autonomous associations.

You can take your bike on the metro and on the passante ferroviario. Technically rush hour is off-limits but if the station is not too busy nobody will complain.

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Milan, a room or a flat on Airbnb might be your best bet. Cheaper than hotel, comfier than most hostels, you will be staying in a private house in areas where locals live for real. And you will be able to see why Milan has such a reputation for interior design…
Sign up clicking the link above to have £25/$33 off your first booking!

Taxi in Milan

Taxi drivers don’t enjoy a great worldwide reputation, and Milan is no exception. A taxi ride can be more expensive than expected, especially when compared to the size of the city and the cost of public transport.
But when there are no other options you can use a taxi app (TaxiYoo, TaxiMilano, MyTaxi) or call the unique number that will put you in contact with the first available taxi from any company.

Or you can Uber it, if you sign up to the service clicking the link below you get money off your first ride

What a nice way to welcome visitors to Milan, I think, wading my way under the pouring rain through the people selling umbrellas and offering trolley services for heavy suitcases, crowding around the bus from Malpensa airport on the dark pavement next to the Station.

Milan Central Station is an imposing building, of typical fascist grandeur, representing their ideals of strength, austerity, and Roman legacy, though remaining quite attractive. It’s been recently renovated and, besides the dimly lit, long, ancient stairs that have put to a test the fitness of countless travellers running up with their heavy luggage, there are shiny and slow treadmills parading through the luxury shops. The result of the makeover is that the interiors of the station has been turned, unsurprisingly, into a high-market shopping mall.

Leave the station and you will find the confusing mess of taxis to the right and buses to the left and, at the front, the familiar faces of homeless and junkies who survived the redevelopment, keeping themselves busy arguing, staring at the void, necking cheap strong lager and occasionally fighting.

Enter the gutters to the underground station and you’ll get the full package, with gypsies trying to trick naive tourists helping them to use the ticket vending machine in exchange of some coins, or other aiming straight to their pockets without even going through the effort.

And contemplating all this I find some harmony and, mostly, a great consistency: unintentionally the bulky central station managed to hone itself, through the years, to a perfect representation of what Milan is: old architecture and hyper-modern shops, ladies in fur coats hovering past homeless rummaging in the dirt, hopeful technology and hopeless inefficiency.
I walk away while two illegal vendors abandon their jumble to attack a gypsy who just managed to score a rather surprised tourist.

Is it wrong to feel a certain affection for such a controversial place?