Planning a weekend trip in Europe? Check out our 3-day, 2-night travel guide to Milan, Italy. Want to know the best places to eat and which museums to see? This blog has got you covered!

London to Milan

We flew with Ryanair from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo. Although Bergamo airport is farther from the city centre than Linate, there are many airport buses, so getting to Milan city centre is quite easy.

Airport buses

I previously wrote about buying National Express coach tickets with Ryanair. Ryanair still offers this, but prices aren’t as good as before. This time, we bought our London to Stansted coach tickets directly from National Express.

We used Terravision to travel between Bergamo airport and Milan city centre. You can buy tickets at the airport, but we booked our return tickets online to save time and get a small discount (€9 each way instead of €10). The trip took about an hour. The bus picks up and drops off at Milan central station.

Mercato Centrale Milano

This food court is right next to the central station, almost attached, so it’s worth a quick visit if you’re arriving or leaving from there. They offer a variety of artisan dishes, from bao buns to pizza. The vibe is lively and fun, but we thought the prices were quite high. The espresso at the bar was €1.50, which was reasonable and, most importantly, really tasty.

Getting around

We arrived at Central Station around 3 pm. After enjoying our first espresso, or should I say ‘caffè’, in Milan, we headed to the metro station to buy our tickets.

Milan transport tickets work for different types of transport. A single ticket costs €2.20 and is valid for 90 minutes. We chose a 24-hour ticket for €7.60. Busy metro stations like Central or Duomo can have long lines at the ticket machines. We bought our tickets at the kiosk next to the machines and didn’t have to wait.

At the ticket gate, just hold your ticket against the POS symbol to go through. There’s no stamp on the ticket to show the validation time, so it’s a good idea to remember when your ticket expires.

When in Milan…

We got off the metro at Duomo and checked out some must-see spots in Milan, like admiring the Duomo, spinning on the famous ‘Dancing Bull,’ and trying panzerotti at Luini.

Panzerotti is a dough turnover that looks like a calzone, filled with things like tomato and cheese, and fried like a donut. If you’ve done any food research on Milan, you’ve probably heard tons about Luini—it’s hard to miss!

To sum it up, they were delicious! They were still warm, the filling tasted fresh, and the dough had great flavour and texture. We tried the classic tomato and mozzarella (our favourite) and ricotta with spinach. Each was about 3 €. Even though it’s right in the middle of a touristy area, the vibe was awesome—lots of locals buying big bags of panzerotti and groups of teens grabbing snacks.

After that, we took a little stroll around, waited about 10 minutes for a tram, and headed to a restaurant we had booked.

Restaurant Risus 

Trying Risotto alla Milanese with beef bone marrow was on C’s Milan food list, so we booked a table at Risus, a restaurant specialising in risotto. We ordered Risotto alla Milanese and porcini mushroom risotto (€22 each), plus two glasses of wine (€6 each). €22 for risotto was a bit more than our usual budget, but Milanese risotto can be over €30 elsewhere. Thanks to TheFork app, we got 20% off food. Both risottos were delicious, and the wines were excellent. Service was good, and the staff tried their best to speak English. We were happy we chose Risus.

Next Day

The Last Supper 

The Last Supper needs no introduction. It’s a famous mural painted by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Tickets are super hard to get, and here are some important things to know:
– Only 35 people can see it at a time, and you have just 15 minutes to view it.
– Guided tours are pricey but are often the best way to get in if regular tickets are sold out.
– Always buy tickets from a trusted website or company.

We were lucky to get two regular tickets. We arrived at Santa Maria delle Grazie 30 minutes early as told. We validated our tickets at the office and could enter the building 10 minutes before our time. The door to the room with the painting only opens right at the viewing time. No liquids are allowed, no matter how small, and there’s a free locker at the ticket office.

After our 15 minutes, C and I just sat on a bench, amazed and a bit in shock. Even though much of the original paint has faded, the way the scene is set up, the depth, and the human emotions shown are still stunning. We felt really lucky to be at such a historic and cultural place. Yes, 15 minutes felt short, but being that close to such an amazing piece of art was unforgettable.

While you’re there, don’t miss visiting Santa Maria delle Grazie!

All you can eat sushi

We heard that all-you-can-eat sushi is popular in Milan, so we decided to try it. Toyama is a sushi buffet restaurant located conveniently between Santa Maria delle Grazie and our next stop, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. We arrived around 12:30 on Sunday, and the place quickly got full. The food was mostly okay for the price. The sushi rice didn’t taste quite right, both in flavour and texture. My favourite was the fried rice noodles. Overall, it was a fun experience. Lunch cost 18.90 €.

The crypt of San Sepolcro

The crypt lets visitors see some of the oldest parts of the city’s history. The floor is made of large white ‘Verona’ stone slabs, which actually come from the ancient Roman forum’s pavement dating back to the 4th century. This forum was the main public area where important civil and religious events took place.

After being closed for 50 years, the crypt reopened to visitors in 2016. Between 2018 and 2019, more restoration work was done to bring back the decorated surfaces and update the technical systems. It opened again to the public in 2019.

Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana was founded in 1618. Here, you can see some amazing masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Musico and Codex Atlanticus, Caravaggio’s Fruit Basket, Raphael’s preparatory cartoon for the School of Athens, and Jan Brueghel’s Flower Vases.

You can’t bring water or bags inside the museum. They’ll store your luggage for free at the entrance. Just keep in mind, the exit is at the opposite end of the building, so you’ll need to walk back to the main entrance in order to retrieve your bags. On the plus side, the exit leads directly to the crypt entrance (there’s a combo ticket available), which is handy if you plan to visit the crypt after the museum.

Duomo

Next up was the Duomo, but first, let’s talk about tickets. There are currently 10 different ticket options—lift access, stairs only, fast track, and more. Some tickets even include entry to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, so check prices based on your plans. We picked the ‘terrace by lift’ and ‘culture pass’ tickets.

We went up to the terrace around 4 pm. The view was beautiful, and it was exciting to see the stunning architecture and soaring arches up close. But the huge crowd and lots of people taking selfies, posing, and blocking the paths made it less enjoyable. If you don’t like being surrounded by lots of posing tourists, you might want to skip the terrace ticket (which costs around 16-18 €) and just visit the cathedral or museum instead.

Navigli district

We then visited the Navigli district to check out the canal. The area was quite touristy, with lots of bars and restaurants offering happy hour drinks. Most places seemed pretty busy, and there were plenty of people around, so they must be at least ‘okay’, right?

The final day

Bar Luce

We stayed at a lovely Airbnb near Gelsomini metro station (M4). We checked out at 10am and headed to Fondazione Prada, which was in a bit of an odd location. It gave us a chance to try out a streetcar and a bus, so no complaints there. We went to Bar Luce, also known as the Wes Anderson Cafe, designed by the director himself in 2015.

The cafe is cute, but honestly, it didn’t feel very “Wes Anderson” to us. We love his films for the dialogue, stories, and the way every shot is immaculately framed with his unique style and humor—something you just can’t get by sitting in a cafe he designed. I checked the menu—an espresso was €3.40. No thanks.

Our verdict? It’s a big tourist trap and really not worth the visit.

Next up was lunch. We thought we were early since we didn’t stay long at the cafe, but thanks to Milan’s slow trams, it was already lunchtime by the time we got to the restaurant!

Il Brutto Anatroccolo

This local spot offers a real traditional trattoria experience. The handwritten menu is only in Italian, so have your translation app ready. The service was fantastic—friendly and helpful with no “go away tourist” vibe. In fact, they were so welcoming to us non-Italian speakers. Milan didn’t feel very warm or hospitable overall, so it was great to enjoy this lively neighborhood restaurant and soak up the good atmosphere on our last day.

The food was simple, homemade style, and very comforting. Don’t miss the tiramisu (€5), which was amazing. We also had risotto (€7), spaghetti with tomato sauce (€6), and a small salad (around €3). Espresso was €1.

They add a €1 service charge per person, and make sure to check your bill carefully—ours had a small mistake.

A few things to know…

Milan (I can’t speak for all of Italy) restaurants do not serve tap water. Even in Germany, where asking for tap water is a bit of a cultural no-no, they’ll still bring it if you ask. But in Milan, it’s a firm no. Even if you beg, they probably won’t give it to you.

There’s also a rule about no cappuccinos after 11 a.m. in Italy. It’s something about milk being hard to digest, and locals might give you a disapproving look. Well, my digestion is my business, and I don’t need Italy’s approval, thank you very much. That said, I didn’t get to test this much because their espresso was so delicious that I didn’t feel like having a cappuccino during our stay in Milan!

I found Milan’s trams and streetcars too infrequent and confusing. After lunch on our last day, we wasted a good hour due to a tram diversion and poor information about it. The metro usually comes every 3 minutes or so, so I’d stick with that if you have limited time in Milan.

Duomo (we are back!)

We went back to the Duomo to go inside this time. Some combo tickets for the Duomo are valid for 2 days. Since we had the Culture Pass, we visited both the cathedral and the archaeological area accessible from inside the cathedral. The interior of the Duomo is impressive and, personally, a much more worthwhile experience than the terrace. The ceiling, which is 45 meters high, really inspires awe. The light pouring through the stained glass windows is beautiful, as are the artworks on the windows themselves.

Because of the lost hour, we couldn’t visit the Duomo museum, which was also included in our Culture Pass.

Flying back to London

We took the metro to Central Station, safely caught our Terravision airport bus that left right on time at 4:40 p.m., and flew back to London!

By the way, when we came out of the central station, we expected to see the Terravision airport bus right outside, but it wasn’t there! Our bus was parked behind all the other buses, almost on the next street, which made it a bit tricky to find. So, make sure to get there early and give yourself plenty of time to locate your airport bus.

So, that was our 48 hours in Milan. Would we go again? Probably not too soon, but we’re grateful to Milan for its breathtaking art by some of the great masters, a wonderful Airbnb, and consistently good coffee!