Gillian Knows Best Guide to Milan

Where to have rooftop Mi-To's, vitello tonnato in a villa garden & the best glass of wine in Italy's most understood city

I have lived in Italy for a long time. One of my very best pals is Milanese. Until a few weeks ago I had never visited her hometown. We finally fixed this glaring oversight. I spent approximately 55 hours at the very end of July being shown around Veronica’s favorite streets and museums and cafes and restaurants. The list of things we didn’t get to is longer than what we did. I am planning a return trip when the weather is cooler so I can see the Last Supper, Villa Necci, have a negroni at Bar Basso, a brioche at Marchesi, and ossobucco con risotto (or maybe a cotoletta Milanese) at Antica Trattoria all Pesa.

Here is the briefest of guides to one of Italy’s most misunderstood places.

La cosa più bella di Milano è il treno per Roma - The most beautiful thing about Milan is the train to Rome

This is the joke every Roman makes about Milan. I heard it is ugly. I heard it is gray. I heard that the Milanese are cold. None of that is true¹. Let me address the stereotypes with my experience. Most of Milan was bombed by the Allies in WWII, a fate that cities like Rome and Venice and Florence were mostly spared. Like London, countless treasures were destroyed and modern structures have been built around what remained. I have a soft spot for a mid-century Italian condominiums and I love a mish-mash of architecture, so I think Milan is beautiful. There are skyscrapers, ancient Roman columns, Liberty and Art Deco buildings, and of course that Gothic cathedral. I visited on a scorching few days at the end of July. The sky was clear and blue and the city was almost August empty. When the tram that we needed was out of service for work on the tracks and we joked with the the controllare that was handing out flyers explaining disruption that Milan was supposed to be more organized than Rome. He shrugged his shoulders and said to me “when else are they supposed to do this kind of work? ” He had a point. His colleague, intrigued by my accent, then told us all about his great grandfather from Pittsburgh had been an assistant to a US Ambassador and fell in love with Italy and immigrated to Milan.

This is my highly personal list of things to eat and do and see in Milan as shown to me by my very favorite Milanese.

What to see in Milan

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

This very pretty iron and glass roofed shopping arcade is the oldest in Italy. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is next door to the Duomo and is where you can see the very first Prada store and have a cocktail at Camparino. Yes, you have to spin on the bull for good luck. There is even a very fancy hotel hidden away in there.

Fondazione Prada

The Fondazione Prada is a sprawling complex full of modern and contemporary art on the edge of town. Plan on spending a big chunk of your day here. The permanent collection is spread out over six floors in a tower designed by Koolhaas with glass walls that insist with compelling and distracting views back towards the city.

Pinacoteca di Brera di Milano

The Pinacoteca di Brera di Milano is one of the most thoughtfully designed and approachable museums I have been to. First of all there are all kinds of place to sit and take in the art. The rooms are small in scale, they are beautifully lit and the paint colors are gorgeous and lush without being distracting (I was distracted but I am renovating a house and spend an inordinate amount of my free time looking at paint colors.) There are lots of explanations for kids with things to touch and offering fun ways to look at and understand a piece. The English translations make sense. There is a Caravaggio, lots of golden altar pieces with Madonnas and tourtured saints and the famous Kiss by Francesco Hayez.

Palazzo Reale

We managed to get tickets for the one of the last days of the Dolce and Gabbana multimedia extravaganza at the Palazzo Reale. The show is expected to tour in other cities in 2025. I am not a big fan of Dolce and Gabbana fashion or merchandise. (though I will admit their Moka pot is pretty cute.) This show is extraordinary. Each room has sound and video that interacts with the bewildering complex fashions. There are coats embroidered like a Caravaggio painting and the domes and mosaics of Piazza San Marco. There is a room full of dresses woven with Murano glass that is filled with the sound of crystal crashing. The next big show here is in October of Ugo Mulas photographs. I saw it last year here in Venice and enjoyed it immensely.

We didn’t visit the Duomo but we did go to some of Milan’s other churches. The Basilica San Lorenzo Maggiore is one of the oldest churches in town. It is next to a long row of Roma era columns, the Colonne di San Lorenzo, where high school students gather in the late afternoons. Inside the Chapel of Saint Aquilino has a few display cases with pieces of marble and sculpture and downstairs the remains of the Roman era foundations. Santa Maria presso San Satiro is tucked away off the busy shopping street, via Torino. To fit in the small space Donato Bramante created an illusion of a deep altar with a forced perspective. Borommini created a similar trick Rome. Go in the late afternoon to catch the sharp light and shadows.

Where to eat and drink in Milan

Le Cantine Isola

I have been telling people to go to Le Cantine Isola for 15+ years. This very famous (and historic, it has been here since 1896) enoteca is owned by my pal’s brother-in-law Luca Sarais, who is literally the Best Wine Shop Owner in Italy. If you want a quiet glass of wine go on a late summer afternoon. If you want the Cantine experience go on a Tuesday evening when the narrow shop is full and Luca recites poetry from atop a stool.

Ristorante Ratana

I am still thinking about this meal almost two months later. It is not a secret here that I am not a fan of fancy restaurants. Given the choice I will always pick the place with interrogation lighting and strange art over an elegant banquette and beautiful glassware. Cesare Battisti’s Ristorante Ratana in the middle of a park surrounded by skyscrapers is Goldilocks perfection. Special but relaxed. We had the menù degustazione because I love not making a decision. There was gazpacho made with tomatoes and peaches, another cold vellutata of zucchini with mint and a subtle zing of vinegar topped with a the crunchiest fried zucchini flower stuffed with ricotta, a chevice of freshwater fish with cubes of cool creamy avocado, and two Milanese standards, Vitelli tomato and quite possibly the best risotto Milanese I have ever had, rich with saffron and the drizzled pan juices of osso bucco. A few years ago Cesare cooked in Toronto at the invitation of my friend so we got to spend a long time talking with him about his rigorous selection of local seasonal ingredients, the current state of the restaurant business, and the challenges and skyrocketing costs of living in Milan. Another reason to add this restaurant to your must do in Milan list,

Michele Boyer

told me that she has eaten here solo twice and had the same warm service and excellent food that our privileged invitation did.

Macelleria Sirtori

This once was the neighborhood’s most elegant butcher. Think Macelleria Angelo Feroci in Rome. Today Macelleria Sirtori still sells gorgeous cuts of beef and farm fresh eggs but the new Chinese owner most of the space has been filled with long high tables where you can eat meatballs (Milanese style) and a egg crisped crepe filled with chopped beef, Chinese spices and cilantro.

Rovello 18

Rovello 18 is a refined spot in the sophisticated Brera neighborhood. Even with Michelin guide and glossy Instagram recognition it still has touches of the warm family trattoria at its roots like a long communal table. On a blistering afternoon and just before the kitchen closed the staff welcomed us in and served us quickly. I had a perfect cold plate of Vitello tonnato, with whisper thin slices of veal and the correct amount of not too mayonnaise-y velvety tuna-y sauce. Veronica’s vivid green pesto and potato pasta tasted like a summer afternoon in Liguria. The simple salad of lettuce and white onion slices that I dismissed as wan and plain when it arrived was full of flavor and crunch.

Rinascente

When in doubt, find a Rinascente. There is always a good bathroom and a good rooftop for a drink. We wanted a drink with a view of the Duomo and that is exactly what we got. I had a Mi-To², a drink I was introduced to in Ponza by a friend I met in Rome who is from Brescia. We also ordered a plate of sweet potato fries.

Bar Luce

I have to say Bar Luce wasn’t at the top of my wish list. I thought its moment had come and gone with the height of Wes Anderson and his vision of all things pastel and symmetrical frenzy. I was wrong. It is delightful and not at all twee³. The panini are good and the pink and green terrazzo plus matching melamine seating is a thoughtful confection.

California Bakery

A very long time ago cupcakes and Brunch with a capital B was a very big deal in Italy. California Bakery was one of the first places in Italy that capitalized on the trend. It was late afternoon and we wanted once last sweet cold treat before our train back to Venice. I got an enormous iced coffee and an equally enormous slice of chocolate cheese cake. Veronica had a small but decadent, not in any way Italian, chocolaty coffee drink. The Brera location has a ceiling inspired by Bunny Mellon’s Basket House (That

Ali LaBelle

just wrote about and I am seriously thinking about copying in my entryway.)

More Milan Resources

I took the tram a few times and the metro once. You can tap in (and out on the metro! Something we don’t do in Rome) with your credit card or your phone. I also used FreeNow⁴ for taxi rides across town.

I had a small, light backpack and Veronica had a big leather purse. I was asked to store my backpack at every single museum.

Yes Milano is a good website for general Milan information in English.

Movies set in Milan

This is a good list of books set in Milan.

1. Sometimes it’s gray. Milan is not as sunny as Rome. That is just geography.

2. Campari (Milano) + Vermouth (Torino)

3. A wee bit twee, but in that charming, clever, Wes Anderson way.

4. We both get €5 credit if you use my code RTKCBDSIQ