Milan/North

• Milano CentraleThe massive, and undeniably impressive central station building is a terminus station with no less than 24 platforms. Construction of the station was a lengthy process of changing plans and ever-growing ambitions of Italian leaders from King Victor Emanuel to Benito Mussolini, but the result, finally achieved in 1931, became one of Milan's landmarks and certainly a sight to behold. Milano Centrale serves mostly long-distance trains, including the vast majority of international trains arriving to Milan, such as ones to Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Thello night train to Paris. It is also an important station in the Italian high-speed train network (though only Trenitalia trains use it, italotreni uses Porta Garibaldi solely), allowing connections to Turin, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples. Regular-speed domestic connections are provided from Milano Centrale to most other cities in Italy, including Bergamo, Genoa, Padua, Verona and Venice. Milano Centrale is also one of the stations served by the Malpensa Express trains that connect the city to the Malpensa international airport.

• Milano Porta GaribaldiThis is the main commuter hub in Milan, served by suburban commuter lines (S-lines), regional and national trains. Be aware that in fact there are two stations. The main one is the surface station, with 20 platforms used by regional and national trains but also commuter lines S7/S8/S11. Here you can also find NTV fast trains to Turin, Rome and Naples and also some connections to Milano Malpensa Airport. The other station (usually referred as Milano Porta Garibaldi Passante or Sotterranea) is placed underground below the main station, with two platforms used by suburban lines S1, S3, S5, and S6. You must use this station to get to the Rho fairgrounds. Both stations are also connected to metro lines and .

Museums

• Society for Fine Arts and Permanent Exhibition

  phone: +39 02 6551445
  address: Via Filippo Turati 34
  Changing exhibitions of contemporary art.

• Contemporary Arts Pavilion

  phone: +39 02 8844 6359
  address: Via Palestro 14
  A contemporary art space. In 1993 a bomb destroyed the building in a time when Italy was heavily committed in its fight against the Mafia.

• Modern Art Gallery

  phone: +39 02 8844 5947
  address: Via Palestro 16
  Mainly features 19th-century Italian art.

• Natural Science Museum

  address: 55, Corso Venezia

Squares and streets

Daniel Case

• Piazza Duca d'AostaA very big, relatively modern and busy square in the north-east of Milan, famous for hosting the city's majestic central station, and the Pirelli skyscraper. The Piazza is generally bustling with people, and is at the heart of Milan's economic and business district. It is where you'll end up if you need to go to the central station, but it is also a good place to go because it boasts some excellent examples of post-Second World War modern architecture, such as the Pirelli building, and some elegant hotels, such as the Hotel Excelsior Gallia.

• Piazza della RepubblicaA modern and very busy square north-west of Milan. It contains some of the most important office blocks and company buildings in the country, and boasts some good examples of 1950s and 60s Italian architecture. The square is an important one for transportation, and contains some grand hotels. It is also close to the Piazza Duca d'Aosta and the city Central station.

• Corso VeneziaConsidered one of the finest and most beautiful streets in the city. Right near the glitzy Montenapoleone area, it is flanked by a series of beautiful villas, museums and palazzi, from all eras. It also contains parts of the Giardini Pubblici, an old and leafy garden and park. On addition to being an aristocratic-aired place, today, several elegant boutiques have opened up here, so it's great for both sight-seeing and designer shopping. Best station to reach it is that of Palestro right in the middle, but San Babila and P.ta Venezia are within decent walking distance.

• Corso Buenos AiresOne of the longest shopping streets in Italy and Europe. It is a large avenue, who, at first, is quite old, but the buildings gradually become newer further along. Today, it contains loads, loads and loads of shops, such as Swarovsky, H&M, Milano House of Cashmere, Calzedonia, Outlet, United Colors of Benetton, Adidas, Nike, Calvin Klein, Zara, Luisa Spagnoli, and a good number more. Since the Corso Buenos Aires is so long, you have the P.ta Venezia and Loreto stations at either side, and the Lima one more or less in the middle.

Stefano Stabile

City gates

• Porta NuovaThe Napoleonic "new gate" is located next to the modern business district and is simpler built than the other city gates. You might pass through if walking from the central station to Duomo.

• Porta VeneziaKnown by its current name since 1862, this gate has origins that can be traced back to the Roman Empire. The current rather massive gate structure consists of two buildings and was completed in 1828.

• Porta GaribaldiYet another gate from the early 19th century that has lent its name to the district around it and to the nearby railway station.

Parks

• Giardini pubbliciAn 18th-century park complex in the Montenapoleone/Porta Venezia district, designed in an English Romantic garden style. Inside, you can find rockeries, water features, fountains, statues and monuments, and other interesting features. You also get a planetarium, a natural history museum, and on the other side of the Palestro street, you can also find an opulent Royal villa which today hosts a contemporary art collection within grand ornate halls. Reachable via P.ta Venezia, Turati or Palestro metro stations. The gardens are in an excellent position since they're quite near to the Duomo and Brera district, and extremely close to the Montenapoleone street and the glamorous shopping area around it.

Towers

• Torre UnicreditThe tallest building in Italy by virtue of its 84-metre spire on top of 146 metres of office floors, completed in 2011 to serve as the headquarters of the Unicredit bank.

• Palazzo LombardiaThe government of the region of Lombardy spared little expense to relocate itself to what became Italy's tallest building when completed in 2010. It ceded this title to Torre Unicredit one year later, but has an upper hand in terms of the highest usable floor at 160 metres. The building is open for visit every Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00. During visit time, you can climb to the "belvedere" glass wall on the 39th floor

• Torre SolariaThe tallest residential building in Italy. The unmistakable Jenga-like visage of the tower is achieved by alternating balconies to offer better views and privacy.

• Torre Diamante

• Pirelli TowerCompleted in 1956, the Pirelli Tower became a turning point in the history of global architecture, even though its looks may pale now in comparison to the newer postmodern-era towers, as well as a symbol of the rebound of Milan and the Italian economy following the Second World War. It was built by the Pirelli company known for tire manufacturing, and was the seat of government the Region of Lombardy until it moved to Palazzo Lombardia.

• Torre Breda

• Bosco VerticaleThe residential twin tower's name should be interpreted literally, as it stems from the fact that the buildings' intricate facades contain actual living trees on various levels, which serve a variety of purposes beneficial to the residents. The total amount of vegetation growing on the facades is equivalent to a hectare of an actual forest.

• Torre GalfaThe name "Galfa" is a portmanteau derived from the names of the two streets where the tower has its facades, Via Galvani and Via Fara.

Buildings

• Villa Necchi Campiglio

  phone: +39 02 76340121
  address: Via Mozart 14
  The building was built in the 1920s and it has a beautiful garden.

• Conservatorio di musica Giuseppe Verdi

  phone: +39 02 762 1101
  address: Via Conservatorio, 12
  It is an university for the musicians of the future and concerts by them are held in the Verdi (about 1000 seats) and Puccini halls.

• Corso Buenos AiresConnects Porta Venezia to Piazzale Loreto, and is the place to go for fashion shopping: here you can find Calzedonia, Alex Fashion, Luisa Spagnoli, Furla, Brian & Barry and Nara Camice.

• 10 Corso Como

  phone: +39 02-2901-3581
  address: Corso Como 10
  Found in the early 1990s, this sort of "multi-functional" shopping complex is found in the same place as its name. Considered a lifestyle emporium and 13,000 square feet big, it contains some fashion shops, design, photography and art gallery, luxury goods, a bookshop, accessories, a cafe and a restaurant. Situated in the Garibaldi district, near the Centro Direzionale (Milan's business district), it has a courtyard, and a European/Oriental inspired interior design.

• Eataly Milan Smeraldo

  address: Piazza XXV Aprile, 10
  Eataly is a gourmet grocery store associated with Slow movement. It styles itself as a place to "savor high quality traditional Italian food products and beverages along with local produce and artisanal products." Many different products are for sale, including not only produce but cheese, wine, olive oil, and sweets, and there are also several places to eat hot food. Anyone who enjoys shopping or window-shopping for food-related products is likely to enjoy walking through.

Budget

• Pianeta Luna

  phone: +39 02 6671 0367
  address: Via Antonio da Recanate 1
  A self service restaurant near the Central Railway Station, with pizza, pasta and other classic Italian dishes and English speaking staff. Very reasonable prices and good food combined with a wide variety of wines - this is not a tourist trap.

• Pizzeria Fashion 2

  address: Via Napo Torriani 30
  Pizza Fashion near the Centrale train station is good choice and they also do takeaway dessert if you're running to catch your train.

• Pizzeria Spontini

  phone: +39 02 2047 444
  address: Via Gaspare Spontini, 4
  Nice pizza in a small restaurant with very economical prices.

• Caffé Panzera

  address: Piazza Duca d'Aosta
  A lively Italian restaurant with decent ossobuco, pizza and other dishes at about €15 and delicious desserts.

Mid-range

• Trattoria Siciliana da Salvatore

  phone: +39 02 669 7284
  address: Viale Brianza 35
  Dishes from Sicily, mostly fish and seafood. Try the swordfish!

• Il Canarino

  address: Via Mauro Macchi 69
  Expect to find typical local dishes on the menu like risotto alla milanese and ossobuco. They have a five courses menu that is a bit expensive but worth the money.

• Al Matarel

  phone: +39 02 654 204
  address: Via Mantegazza 2
  Specializing in Paduan cuisine with dishes like ossobuco con risotto.

Splurge

• La Terrazza

  phone: +39 02 7600 2277
  address: Via Palestro 2
  For a Mediterranean take on Japanese cuisine, head to La Terraza which serves fusion food among a contemporary decor. During the summer months, everyone heads to the terrace, where you can see the treetops of the nearby Giardini Pubblici. There's a "happy hour" every day except Sunday; on Sunday, brunch is served.

• Giannino

  phone: +39 02 6698 6698
  address: Via Vittor Pisani 6
  A refined restaurant from 1899 serving meals such as mozzarella, Parma ham, mussels, salad, Milanese-style risotto, spaghetti, soup, beef, chicken, scampi.

• Fashion Café

  address: Piazza San Marco
  Fashionable Armani-style place for aperitivo and drinks.

• Dom Cafè

  address: Corso Como

• b:free cocktail bar

  phone: +39 02 36707972
  address: Via Lecco, 21
  If you want to visit a real Aperitivo bar in true Italian fashion, this is a worthy hot spot.

• Brasserie Bruxelles

  phone: +39 2 2941 9148
  address: Viale Abruzzi,33
  A bar specialising in beer from Belgium. 5 beer on draught and 50 in the bottle.

Gay and lesbian clubs

• L'Elephant

  address: Via Melzo 22
  Wednesday and Thursday nights hosts a gay crowd at L'elephant

• Metro

  address: via Schiaparelli

Budget

• Boston Hotel Milan

  phone: +39 02 6692636
  address: Via Roberto Lepetit, 7
  Elegant two-star hotel with 25 single, double and triple bedrooms with private bath, shower, Wi-Fi connection and air conditioning.

• Dover Hotel Milan

  phone: +39 02 7601 2789
  address: Via Pasquale Sottocorno, 8
  Thirteen single, double/twin and triple accommodations with en-suites services, internet connections, TV and telephone.

• Hotel Delle Nazioni

  phone: +39 0266981221
  address: Via Cappellini, 18
  3-star hotel 400 metres from the main railway station.

• Hotel Garda

  phone: +39 02 66982626
  address: Via Napo Torriani, 21

Mid-range

• NH Milano Touring

  address: Via Ugo Tarchetti, 2
  This 4-star hotel, surrounded by many famous monuments, has 282 rooms, a restaurant, parking, Wi-Fi and a bar.

• Hotel Club Milano

  phone: +39 02 67072221
  address: Via Copernico 18

• Hotel Albert

  phone: +39 02 66985446
  address: Via Tonale 2

• Berna Swiss Quality Hotel

  address: Via Napo Torriani 18
  Four-star hotel 100 m away from the station.

• Hotel Amadeus

  phone: +39 02 6692141
  address: Via Vitruvio, 48
  Really close to the Centrale station.

• Hotel Auriga Milan

  phone: +39 02 66985851
  address: Via Pirelli 7
  The Auriga is a four-star hotel right in front of the central train station of Milan. It has 52 bedrooms, all with private bath, shower, TV and internet connection.

• Hotel Bernina

  phone: +39 02 66988022
  address: Via Napo Torriani 27

• Hotel Canova

  phone: +39 02 66988181
  address: Via Napo Torriani 15
  Cheapest booked via an intermediary, more expensive direct. Parking €20 per night, or use cheaper local garage. Excellent location near Stazione Centrale.

• Hotel Casa Mia

  phone: +39 02 6575249
  address: Viale Vittorio Veneto, 30
  15 minutes' walk to the Duomo and 10 minutes to Via Montenapoleone, small and attentive.

• Hotel Fenice

  phone: +39 02 29525541
  address: Corso Buenos Aires, 2

• Hotel Galles

  phone: +39 02 204841
  address: Piazza Lima, 2

• Residence de la Gare

  phone: +39 02 6690868
  address: Via Mauro Macchi, 49

• Hotel Bagliori

  phone: +39 02 29526884
  address: Via Boscovich, 43

Splurge

• UNA Tocq Boutique Hotel

  phone: +39 02 62 071
  address: Via A. De Tocqueville 7/D
  Offers 109 rooms and 13 apartments right in the heart of Corso Como. The hotel also features a restaurant and bar, a fitness center with indoor swimming pool, and a garage nearby the hotel.

• Best Western Hotel Felice Casati

  phone: +39 02 29404208
  address: Via Felice Casati, 18
  4-star hotel.

• Crowne Plaza Milan City

  phone: +39 02 66717715
  address: Via Melchiorre Gioia, 73
  4-star hotel offers 99 rooms plus a wellness and fitness center, restaurant, bar, meeting rooms, suites and family rooms.

• Hotel Andreola Central

  phone: +39 02 6709141
  address: Via Domenico Scarlatti, 24
  Four-star hotel 200 m from the central train station.

• Hotel Baviera

  phone: +39 02 6590551
  address: Via Panfilo Castaldi, 7
  Classic 4-star hotel.

• Hotel Cristoforo Colombo Milano

  phone: +39 02 29406214
  address: Corso Buenos Aires, 3

• Hotel Vittoria

  phone: +39 02 5456520
  address: Via Pietro Calvi, 32

• Sheraton Diana Majestic, Milan

  phone: +39 02 20581
  address: Viale Piave, 42