Milano | The fashionista’s beauty treatment

All Milanese will tell you: the city has changed a lot with the passage in 2015 of the Universal Exhibition. More cosmopolitan, cleaner, more alive.

To welcome the whole world that year, the fashion capital had a makeover. Facades have been cleaned of centuries of accumulated dust, pedestrian streets and cycle paths have multiplied, and restaurants have stopped closing their doors at 10 p.m. to extend their business hours. Even today, Milan is on this momentum.

Since 2015, the city has been eyeing tourists who are more than ever seduced. Visitors stay longer before heading out to explore Italian lakes, such as nearby Lake Como. “The average stay has gone from 1.2 nights before the Expo to 2.2 last summer,” explains Davide Ariel Ballardini, associate director of sales at the Park Hyatt Milan hotel.

How to explain this increase?

You should know that the Italian National Stock Exchange is located in Milan, which has long earned the city a reputation as a haven for bankers and financiers.

Other news that in no way harms the good tourist health of Milan: the pandemic does not seem to have dampened the desire of travelers for the Italian boot. “Last summer, the hotel occupancy rate approached 100% for all hotels in the country, including ours,” adds Mr. Ballardini.

From the Navigli district to the spiers of the Duomo

Milan’s makeover can be seen all over the city, but perhaps it’s most palpable in the Navigli district. Along the canals, restaurants have sprung up like mushrooms, as have merchant stalls selling antiques, vinyl records, books and second-hand clothes. This is the perfect place to take theappetizer (a glass accompanied by a few nibbles), feet in the water. It is said that the sunsets are splendid there.

It is also a stone’s throw from the canals that Georgio Armani chose to install (in 2015, precisely) his personal museum, in an old restored silo. Here, you can admire his great ready-to-wear creations, some of which have been seen on the Oscars red carpet. The place also hosts temporary exhibitions, including photography.

In the historic center of the city, the famous Teatro alla Scala has also undergone extensive renovations, between 2019 and 2021. The room where the greatest in the history of opera have passed for 240 years (think of Maria Callas, Puccini or Verdi) has remained unchanged, but the rehearsal rooms and stage equipment are now at the cutting edge of technology. As a result, the program has grown significantly and the illustrious hall is hosting – this year alone – some 270 performances (opera, but also theatre, ballet and even children’s shows). Tickets are still in demand, however, and advance reservations remain the best way to admire this mythical room, all dressed in red and gold.

Another mythical must-see place in Milan: the Duomo, the Gothic-style cathedral, a real marble hedgehog with its 3,400 statues pointing to the sky, all different and sometimes surprising. In the 1930s, Mussolini notably added two marble boxers and wall decorations representing a tennis racket and climbing equipment…

You can go up to the terrace of the cathedral to take in all of Milan, from its futuristic skyscrapers to the steeples of its churches. Good to know: it is possible to access the heights of the building by elevator, but you have to walk down the 251 steps to reach the nave (and the floor of the cows). The masterful stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Scriptures, the majestic organ and the frightening statue of Saint Bartholomew carrying his flayed skin are among the most beautiful attractions of the Duomo.

From Napoleon to Lady Gaga

The city of fashion, known for its many haute couture houses, continues to bewitch shopping fanatics and those who swoon over the cut of a jacket or a pair of handmade shoes. It is in the Quadrilatero d’Oro that the latter will spend their fortune: all the great Italian designers, but also foreigners, have set up shop on the pedestrian streets of the sector. The trip is worth it, if only to observe the windows, the clothes with uninhibited lines and the exorbitant prices that are asked.

We can bet that Lady Gaga did some shopping there when she was in Milan for the filming of the film House of Gucci. The film released in 2021 attracts many curious people to one of its most beautiful filming locations, the Necchi Campiglio villa. The Gucci family has never lived here, but the place is cinematic… Indeed, this residence completed in 1935 and planted in the heart of Milan benefits from an astonishing Art Deco architecture, luxuriant gardens and the very first private swimming pool in the city. Better, it is filled with works of renowned artists.

Very close to the Quadrilatero d’Oro, in the Brera district (considered the Marsh of Milan), one can discover the effects of the passage of another “celebrity” in Milan: Napoleon Bonaparte.

The French emperor conquered the city in 1796 and raided the churches to appropriate the most beautiful works of art. The latter are gathered in the Pinacoteca di Brera, a breathtaking museum housed in a Baroque palace.

This is the perfect place to discover great Italian masters from various schools, including Bramante, Titian and Caravaggio. More contemporary works have also been added over the years, such as Modigliani or Braque. There is enough beauty here to spend the day there.

Part of the travel costs for this report were paid by the AITGL (Italian Tourism Association for the LGBTQ+ Community) and the Italian Tourist Board ENIT, who did not exercise any right of inspection on this article.

Some addresses to discover

Luini

The tradition of panzerotti (small filled, fried or baked, sweet or savory turnovers) is not Milanese, but rather originated in Puglia. Whatever. At any time of the day, locals and tourists line up at this small shop located a stone’s throw from the Duomo. The fried turnover stuffed with mozzarella and tomato costs 2 or 3 euros, but it is perfect for replenishing your strength after having faced the crowds of visitors to the cathedral.

Pasticceria Biffi

Because the decor – chandeliers and upholstered armchairs – makes you want to go on forever and because the panettones prepared here are to die for. The recipe dates back to 1847 and is perfect as it is. This pastry shop located in Corso Magenta also offers candied chestnuts, biscotti, croissants…

Peck

The end of the end of Italian gastronomy is not in the global chain Eataly (even if Milan has a branch), but in Peck. At the motherhouse, near the cathedral, delicacies are ostentatiously displayed: prosciutto, cheeses, fresh pasta of all kinds, wines, olive oils… Quality comes at a (high!) price, but here, the eyes also feast.

Mag Cafe

In the Navigli district, this bar is one of the most renowned in the city for its creative cocktails, perfect companions toappetizer Milanese style. The terrace, which directly overlooks the canal, offers an ideal view of the bustle of this outlying district where it is pleasant to stroll.

Boecc

Milan’s oldest restaurant, Boeucc, has been offering gourmet cuisine inspired by Milanese tradition for more than 325 years, served on white linen tablecloths with silver cutlery. The restaurant is housed in the Palazzo Belgioioso, in the historic heart of the city.