Marble spires of the Duomo in the foreground and the Porta Nuova skyscrapers behind
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Milan in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 8.9 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days is the ideal pace for enjoying Milan without rushing: one route each morning, afternoons for museums, parks and neighbourhoods, and dark Milan saved for the last evening. It's a plan for curious travellers who want to go beyond the Duomo and La Scala, and who value long breaks at the table.

Day 1The heart of Milan

Begin with "Must-see Milan: from Brera to the Navigli", taking in La Scala, the Galleria and the Duomo. Have the risotto alla milanese without hurrying and keep the afternoon for two stops near the cathedral: the Museo del Novecento and the basilica of San Satiro. If you still have energy, climb the Duomo terraces to watch the light fall on the spires. It's a first day without long distances, ideal for settling in.

  1. Morning

    Must-see Milan: from Brera to the Navigli

    Mixed · 3.2 km · 2 h

    1. Palazzo di BreraA former Jesuit college turned temple of art, with a naked bronze Napoleon in the middle of the courtyard.
    2. Teatro alla ScalaA modest façade for the world's most famous opera house, born in 1778 on the ruins of a church.
    3. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIMilan's «drawing room»: a glass-and-iron covered street with a bull in the floor that everyone treads on for luck.
    4. Milan Cathedral (Duomo)Almost six centuries of building, a forest of pinkish marble spires and a golden Madonna watching over the city.
    5. The Columns of San Lorenzo and the TicineseRoman columns, a basilica with a huge dome and the square where Milan sits down to chat at dusk.
    6. The Navigli and Vicolo dei LavandaiThe canal that brought the Duomo's marble, a century-old stone washhouse and Milan's favourite bank for an aperitivo.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Risotto alla milanese at Trattoria Milanese. Via Santa Marta, 11

  3. Afternoon

    Museo del Novecento

    Twentieth-century Italian art in the Arengario, right beside the Duomo: Futurists such as Boccioni and Pellizza da Volpedo's "The Fourth Estate". Its big windows frame the cathedral. A perfect afternoon stop, a couple of steps from the route.

    Directions

    Basilica of San Satiro

    A Renaissance church a step from the Duomo, famous for Bramante's false choir: a painted perspective that suggests great depth in under a metre. Pop in on your way to the square or before lunch.

    Directions

Day 2From Romans to Sforza

The morning belongs to "From Mediolanum to the Sforza: twenty centuries on foot", from the Columns of San Lorenzo to Sant'Ambrogio, Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Castello Sforzesco. Have a cotoletta alla milanese on the way back to the centre. In the afternoon, wander through Parco Sempione, right behind the Castello, then take the metro to the Cimitero Monumentale, a museum of nineteenth-century sculpture.

  1. Morning

    From Mediolanum to the Sforza: twenty centuries on foot

    History · 2.7 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. The Columns of San LorenzoSixteen Roman columns that have stood for nearly two thousand years, a reminder that Milan was once an imperial capital.
    2. The Basilica of Sant'AmbrogioThe church founded by the most influential bishop of his age, which became the spiritual heart of Milan.
    3. Santa Maria delle GrazieThe Dominican convent Ludovico il Moro wanted as his family mausoleum, and where Leonardo painted the Last Supper.
    4. San Maurizio al Monastero MaggioreA plain façade hiding the so-called «Sistine Chapel of Milan» and a church split in two by a wall.
    5. Castello SforzescoThe fortress of the Visconti and the Sforza: blown up, occupied, half demolished and finally revived by a stubborn architect.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Cotoletta alla milanese at Antica Trattoria della Pesa. Viale Pasubio, 10

  3. Afternoon

    Parco Sempione

    The park behind the Castello Sforzesco, with the neoclassical Arco della Pace at the far end. A good place to sit down after the history route; Gio Ponti's Torre Branca offers views (check the opening hours).

    Directions

    Cimitero Monumentale

    An open-air museum of funerary sculpture, opened in 1866. The Famedio holds the tomb of Alessandro Manzoni, author of "The Betrothed". It sits near Garibaldi and Moscova; check the opening hours and closing days.

    Directions

Day 3Fashion, skyscrapers and mysteries

Spend the morning on two opposite faces of Milan: the Fashion Quadrilateral, with its palaces, and Porta Nuova, with the Bosco Verticale. Enjoy an ossobuco at your leisure and, at dusk, walk "Dark Milan: devils, plague-spreaders and skulls", from the Devil's Column to San Bernardino alle Ossa. To close the trip, a pasticceria panettone as a sweet supper and a last stroll past the illuminated Duomo.

  1. Morning

    Fashion Quadrilateral

    The district of Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and Via Sant'Andrea, with neoclassical palaces and the windows of the big fashion houses. Even if you don't shop, it's a lovely stroll; the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, on Via Manzoni, is close by.

    Directions

    Porta Nuova and Bosco Verticale

    Twenty-first-century Milan: Piazza Gae Aulenti and Stefano Boeri's Bosco Verticale towers, covered in trees. Take the metro to Garibaldi and an hour is plenty; the contrast with medieval Milan is total.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Ossobuco at Trattoria Milanese. Via Santa Marta, 11

  3. Early evening

    Dark Milan: devils, plague-spreaders and skulls

    Mysteries & legends · 3 km · 1 h 50 min

    1. The Devil's ColumnA Roman column with two holes that, legend says, were made by the devil's horns as he charged at Saint Ambrose.
    2. The Colonna InfameThis was the home of the barber Gian Giacomo Mora, executed in 1630 as a plague-spreader after a trial under torture.
    3. Via BagneraA narrow, winding alley where Antonio Boggia, regarded as Italy's first serial killer, carried out his crimes.
    4. The half-woolly sow of Piazza dei MercantiA sow half covered in wool, carved on a medieval arch, holds the legend of Milan's founding.
    5. Casa degli OmenoniEight stone giants guard the house of Leone Leoni, sculptor to emperors and a man with a violent temper.
    6. San Bernardino alle OssaA small church beside Santo Stefano hides a chapel whose walls are covered in skulls and bones.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Panettone at Pasticceria Marchesi. Via Santa Maria alla Porta, 11/a

The map

Milan in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Milan in 3 days

  • Spring and autumn are the best seasons: in high summer the heat bites and in August many places close. Wear comfortable shoes; there are cobblestones and tram tracks.
  • If you'll ride the metro a lot over three days, check whether a multi-day ticket pays off. Many museums and the cemetery often close on Mondays, so check before you go.
  • Book Leonardo's Last Supper before you travel and slot it into day two, next to Santa Maria delle Grazie: it's the only visit in this plan you can't improvise.

Questions

Milan in 3 days: your questions

Is three days too long for Milan?

It depends on what you want. For the big icons, two days is enough; three lets you add museums, parks and modern districts without rushing, or even swap an afternoon for a trip to Como or another lake.

How far do you walk in three days?

The three routes add up to about 8.9 km, spread over three days, plus strolls to the extra sights and the odd metro ride. The pace is very gentle, with afternoons designed for sitting down.

Which day is best for the mystery route?

Dark Milan is best at dusk, when it's quieter. In this plan it falls on day three: you already know the centre, which helps you place the Colonna Infame and the story of the 1630 plague.

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