Ah Milan… or Milano da bere… “Milan to drink.” The phrase came from a gloriously 1980s Ramazzotti advertising campaign and became shorthand for fashionable, prosperous, pleasure-loving Milan. Beautiful clothes, fast cars and cocktails before dinner. Not a terrible philosophy for a city break. Italy’s fashion and financial capital also gave us Prada, Armani, Campari and Alfa Romeo… while Leonardo da Vinci spent almost two decades here. Rome may have more ruins and Venice more romance, but Milan has something arguably more useful… impeccable taste.
See Leonardo’s The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in the late 15th century. His experimental technique meant it began deteriorating remarkably quickly, and it has since survived questionable restorations and a Second World War bombing.
Visits are limited and reservations essential.
Spontaneity is charming. Missing Leonardo because you forgot to book is not.
Have a proper shave
Antica Barbieria Colla has been grooming Milanese gentlemen since 1904. For decades its location near La Scala attracted actors, musicians and businessmen.
Today it remains gloriously old-fashioned, with traditional shaving, haircuts and the sort of attention to male grooming that makes your electric razor seem deeply inadequate.
Ladies… send him in scruffy and see what comes back.
Drink Campari where Milan drinks Campari
Gaspare Campari opened Caffè Campari in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in 1867. His son Davide followed with Camparino in 1915.
Today Camparino remains one of Milan’s great drinking addresses. Stand at the bar overlooking Piazza Duomo and order a Campari Seltz or Negroni.
One becomes two. Dinner becomes later.
Milano da bere indeed.
Indulge your inner Italian racing driver
Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan in 1910, and its museum in nearby Arese celebrates more than a century of Italian automotive design.
Expect racing cars, prototypes and gorgeous vintage models. Italians apparently decided very early that there was absolutely no reason a car couldn’t also be sexy.
Allow longer if travelling with a man who says, “Just one more.”
Snoop around a very rich Milanese family’s house
is what happens when excellent taste meets an extremely healthy bank account.
Built in the 1930s, the spectacular modernist villa has original furnishings, art, gardens, a tennis court and a private swimming pool… quite the statement at the time.
It feels less like a museum and more like snooping around someone’s fabulous house while they’re away.
Go to La Scala… even if you don’t like opera
La Scala has been one of the world’s great opera houses since 1778. Verdi premiered works here, Toscanini conducted here and Maria Callas became a legend here.
See a performance for the full red velvet, gilded box, dress-up experience. If several hours of opera feels ambitious, tour the theatre and museum instead.
You can still dress properly.
This is Milan, after all.
Meet the other Leonardo
Everyone knows The Last Supper. Fewer visitors know Milan also holds Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician and pages from his extraordinary Codex Atlanticus at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
The Codex contains drawings and writings on everything from flying machines and engineering to mathematics and weapons.
The Last Supper gives you Leonardo the artist.
The Codex gives you Leonardo the genius who apparently never switched his brain off.