Milan

Milan is a town of 1,362,863 inhabitants in the province of Milan, in Lombardy, Italy. It is the capital of Lombardy.

The municipality covers 182.07 km², with a density of 7,485 inhabitants per km².

The nearest airport is Milan Linate (LIN), about 7 km away as the crow flies. Read our guide to the airport.

Italy's modern capital

Milan is Italy's capital of business, fashion and design, but behind its fast pace it hides one of the richest art heritages in the country. It is also the perfect base for the great lakes and the Alps, all within an hour or two by train.

What to see

Start with the Duomo, the Gothic cathedral that took six centuries to complete: climb to the roof terraces to walk among its spires. Next to it, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II leads to Piazza della Scala and the famous opera house.

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie and must be booked well in advance. The Sforza Castle holds Michelangelo's last sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà, while the Brera district combines a great picture gallery with cafés and boutiques. In the evening head to the Navigli canals for an aperitivo, a ritual invented in Milan.

Food

Try risotto alla milanese, golden with saffron, the breaded veal cutlet, ossobuco and, at Christmas, panettone. The aperitivo with snacks is a way of life.

Around Milan

Lake Como and Bellagio, Lake Maggiore, Bergamo with its upper town, Pavia and its Carthusian monastery are all easy day trips. Milan has three airports, Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo, and high-speed trains to Turin, Venice, Florence and Rome.

Milan on the map

Nearby towns

All towns in the province of Milan →