The second largest city in Italy and the center and capital of the Lombardy region. It's home to Italy's most famous opera house, the Scala, and is known as the epicenter of Italian fashion and design, and of course, it's a shopper's paradise. Milan is both the modern center of the affluent north and also boasts significant historical landmarks like The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and other major artworks, for instance from the Pinacoteca di Brera, as well as a spectacular Gothic cathedral, the Duomo.
The heart of the north, fashion, innovation, and design! Milan, the capital of Lombardy, is a cultural, modern, and vibrant city rich in monumental beauty and artistic masterpieces. The Duomo, or the Cathedral, with its marble facade and late-Gothic architectural style, symbolizes the metropolis of Northern Italy. From the roof of the Duomo, you can enjoy a unique panoramic view dominated by the 135 spires of the church pointing towards the sky. The Piazza Duomo is the heart of the city featuring the Palazzo Reale, the seat of Milan's city government, and historical halls where major art exhibitions are held. Beside the Palazzo is the ultra-modern 20th-century museum; Museo del Novecento. Nearby is another famous city icon, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, essentially a pedestrian crossroad covered with glass-vaulted arcades. Inside, there are historic restaurants, bars, and fashion boutiques, as well as magnificent mosaic floors. If you cross the Galleria, at the end, you'll find the Piazza della Scala with one of the most important opera houses in the world, the beautiful Teatro La Scala. The Milanese theater tradition is not just found here in La Scala but also in several other venues around this beautiful city - including the Teatro del Piccolo, founded in 1947, and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the local cabaret theater. Most of these and more of our favorite spots in Milan you will find back on the interactive map.
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How to survive Italy's 2026 heat dome: An insider's guide
After a full week of extreme temperatures, red alerts and researching every official warning, we've put together the practical guide we wish every visitor had before arriving in Italy. From free drinking fountains and cool churches to museum closures, heat alerts and local tricks, here's how to enjoy Italy safely when the mercury refuses to budge.
Italy Tourist Tax Explained (2026): Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan and More
There are few things travellers dislike more than unexpected charges. Yet every year, visitors to Italy arrive believing they have already paid for their accommodation, only to discover an extra fee waiting for them at reception and it can add up, depending on the number of occupants per room. Welcome to Italy’s tourist tax, known in Italian as the Contributo di Soggiorno.
Italy Train and Airport Strikes June & July 2026: Dates and Travel Advice
Travelling to Italy in June and July 2026? Public holidays, crowds and planned strikes overlap again. Flights, trains, metros, ferries and local transport can all be affected, though not always nationwide. This guide gives travellers what matters most: the dates to watch, what may be disrupted, and how to protect your plans. Source: Italian Ministry of Infrastructure - The official government source for all scheduled transport strikes in Italy
The Country That Became a Queue: Italy’s Tourism Breaking Point
There is a tension running through Italy right now, and it is not the romantic kind. It is the tension between what the country looks like on a screen and what it actually feels like to stand in it at two in the afternoon in August, surrounded by 35,000 other people who had exactly the same idea.
Three Billionaires and a Lockbox: How Airbnb Is Unmaking Italy
How the short-term rental boom is hollowing out Italian cities, and what your next booking actually does.
Where Does Contemporary Art Live in Italy?
From cave museums in Matera to industrial halls in Milan: a guide to Italy's living art scene in 2026, and why the Biennale has become non-negotiable. Any artist who claims not to want to show at the Venice Biennale is probably lying.
Milan During the Games: A City Waiting for It to Be Over
TL;DR: Milan is serving as the backdrop for the Winter Olympics, but the real city has retreated. The locals have fled to the lakes, the streets are filled with security barriers and sponsor stands, and the only action happens on screens. Observations from a city waiting for the Olympic caravan to move on.
From Horse Stables to Bathhouses: Northern Italy’s New Thermal Destinations
Northern Italy is going through a thermal renaissance. Former horse stables are being turned into bathhouses, lost Roman springs are being rediscovered, and an estate that once served as Rommel’s headquarters turns out to be sitting on thermal water. These are the addresses you’ll want to know right now, from Milan to Lake Garda.
Leonardo's Hidden Masterpiece in Milan's Castello Sforzesco
Everyone knows The Last Supper. Far fewer people know about Leonardo da Vinci's other masterpiece in Milan, hidden in plain sight inside the Castello Sforzesco. The Sala delle Asse is a room where Leonardo painted the entire ceiling and walls as an illusionistic forest: intertwining mulberry trees, golden ropes, and a canopy of green leaves that makes you feel like you're standing in a woodland clearing. It's extraordinary, and for a limited time during the 2026 Winter Olympics, you can get closer to it than almost anyone has in five centuries.
Milan Design Week 2026: Why It's Not About Furniture (And What It's Actually About)
A Design Forecast Disguised as a Trade Fair Every April, a quarter-million design professionals, architects, and curious outsiders descend on Milan for what's billed as the world's largest furniture fair. The uninitiated wander the endless halls of glossy sofas and statement lighting, snap a few photos, and leave thinking they've "done" Design Week.
Winter Olympics Milan–Cortina 2026: A Journey Across Northern Italy
The Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Games tell the story of a deliberately scattered Olympics. Instead of concentrating everything in one host city, these Games unfold across Northern Italy, linking major urban centres with Alpine valleys and historic mountain towns. With around 3,500 athletes from 93 countries, it will be the largest Winter Olympics to date, and also one of the most geographically ambitious.
Matcha in Italy: A Taste of Japan with an Italian Twist
You don’t expect to find a bamboo whisk in an Italian café, yet here it is — right next to the espresso machine, frothing something bright green and faintly grassy. Matcha has arrived in Italy, and like all foreign guests, it’s been given a distinctly Italian welcome.
New Biometric Border Checks Coming to Europe
Starting October 12, 2025, travelers from outside the European Union—including those from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries—will face a major shift when entering the Schengen Area, which includes popular destinations like France, Italy, and Spain.
The most beautiful daytrips from Milan
As the famous song goes, 'Milan l'è on gran Milan' ('Milan is a great Milan'). This vibrant city is not just the economic and cultural hub of Northern Italy; it also boasts a prime location that allows you to reach various regions of Northern and Central Italy within one to three hours by car. This makes it easy to combine your city exploration with delightful excursions to the plains, mountains, or the coast.
Best Beach hotels in Puglia - new flights from NYC to Bari
Looking to escape to a lesser-traveled yet stunningly beautiful corner of Italy? NEOS Airlines is making it easier than ever with the first-ever nonstop flight from New York to Puglia, launching this June.
Porta Nuova from Corso Como to the Bosco Verticale
Milan, Corso Como. 30 years ago there was nothing here except the small world of Carla Sozzani, publisher, bookseller and gallery owner. Now, two steps away you find the new urban amphitheater Piazza Gae Aulenti with a brand new shopping center including flagship stores of major Italian and foreign brands like DSquared, Alexander McQueen, Tesla but also Sephora and Nike. The design of the square resembles a snapshot from a whirlwind with a light water play of fountains and benches in the middle. Slightly beyond the oval-shaped plaza are expo spaces and a number of eye-catching...
The Up- and Downsides of Living Rich in Italy
High-net-worth individuals (HNW) often seek tax havens, and Italy, with its appealing lifestyle and favorable tax benefits, has become a prime destination for the affluent. My dad (may he rest in peace) always used to say our family was like the Tribes of Israel, despite the fact that we had no Jewish ties and were firmly of French-Canadian descent. He and my mother named me Elisabeth, and with Bertrand as my family name, our French heritage is undeniable. The only things American about me these days are my passport, my voting rights, and my middle name: Jane. With such ancestral roots, it's...
The future of travel starts at Milano: FaceBoarding
Travelers who often fret about leaving their passports behind may find relief at two Italian airports. Milan's Linate Airport and Catania Airport in Sicily are currently testing an innovative facial recognition system named FaceBoarding. This technology, introduced by the French IT company Thales, allows travelers to navigate security using just their facial features, promising a more streamlined and quicker airport process.
Our favourite Spring events in Italy
Spring in Italy always makes for a busy calendar of events, not only because of various important sagras and religious celebrations, but also because of numerous fairs. Yes, folks, more than 30 events, so get ready. To help you navigate our favorite events, please check out the events map or list of Spring events below.
Important dates for anyone planning a trip to Italy this year
You guessed it, or maybe not. Italy has one of the most packed conference agendas of any city in the world in any one month, say January you'll find conferences on Feline Dentistry to Drug Tourism, and you were wondering why the hotels were full, right? Of course, not all of these conferences are expected to attract millions of visitors to the city of Rome. I mean, how many feline dentists are there? However, I just want to make it purrrfectly (pun intended) clear that there are definitely a few events that you will want to keep an eye out for.
