Beautiful places near Milan

On By AppsolutelymilanoIn Transport in Milan

Here is our guide to the greatest places close enough to Milan for a day-trip :

Piazza Garbialdi, Como see from then water side with boat in foreground

Como

50 km north of Milan is Como by the beautiful Lake Como surrounded by mountains.It takes about 1 hour from Cadorna station to Como lake and a return ticket is a little under €10. It’s a cosy and very beautiful small town with antique town walls and a great shopping area in the historical center and actually also the place where our personal love affair with Italy began many years ago.

Como is famous for its silk and we recommend you visit the outlet INSETA shop located Portatorre, 3 Largo Miglio (find on map). They aklso have the outlet INCOMO outlet located at 43 Via Pasquale Paoli (find on map)

If you would like to learn more about the role Como played in the global silk trade and manufacturing, visit Como Silk Museum at 9, Via Castelnuovo (find on map).

When we were there last we had lunch at the super neat
Ristorante Sociale, 6, Via Rodari (find on map) – prices are reasonable and and the food is local and solid.

Another fantastic thing to do here is to take the ferry from Como (just by Piazza Cavour) for e.g.Bellagio or out to see the incredibly beautiful villas, located in the area.

You can go from Como with the funicular up to Brunate where on a clear day you get an amazing view of Lake Como and the Alps.

There are several antique markets in Como:
On the first Sunday every month 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on Piazza San Fedele (find on map)
Christmas market every year from the end of November until January 6th on Piazza Perretta (find on map)
On the third Sunday every month. 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (except January and August) in Viale Battisti (find on map)

Bergamo

Chruch in Bergamo Alta

Bergamo is located about 1 hour away by train from Milan. You can go from the stations of Stazione Centrale and Garibaldi

It is one of the few towns in Italy whose historical center is still located within the original town walls which have maintained their original aspect.

Bergamo is divided into two parts Bergamo Bassa (low Begamo) and Berrgamo Alta (high Begamo), Bergamo Alta  is the historical part of the town which you can get to either by the city funicular or by chhosing the 45-minute hike up.

There are monasteries, historical buildings and an ancient botanical garden.

The wonderful Accademia Carrara museum is located in Bergamo Bassa.

There is an antique market in Begamo Alta on the third Sunday of every month (except August) on Piazza della Cittadella (find on map)

Among the many lunch places in Bergamo:.
Antica Osteria del Vino Buono, 25, Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe (find on map)

Villagio Operaio Crespi d’Adda.

A villlage built by the Crespi family for the workers on their factory. It was very advanced for its time (late 1800s) with free education for the children of the employees, a free indoor swimming pool and the first village in Italy to have modern public lighting. In 1995 the village was entered nto the UNESCO World Heritage List. The directions on how to get there can be found here.

Isole Borromee and Stresa

Isole Borromee, Isola Madre

The Isole Borromee (the Borromean Islands) are located in the Maggiore Lake and can be reached from Stresa by boat, they are lovely at all times of the year but are paricularly stunning during springtime, They are famous for their amazing palaces and gardens. There are three islands: Isola Bella with the Borromean Palace and gardens, Isola Superiore (Fishmerman’s Island) a tiny island with a beautiful fishing village and Isola Madre with a botanical garden and Palace – note that there is an additional admission’s fee (€10-14 per person) to see the sights.

Stresa is quite close to Milan and can be reached from both the Central Station and the Garibaldi station, the trip takes about 90 minutes.

Stresa has a lot of great restaurants where you can have lunch, some examples:
Lo Stornello, 35, Via Cavour (find on map).
Trattoria La Botte, 8/10 Via Giuseppe Garibaldi (find on map)

But you can also eat on Fisherman’s Island (Isola Superiore), example
Belvedere (find on map).

San Pellegrino Spa

If you feel like pampering yourself go for a day to the San Pellegrino spa (terme) (find on map), you need a car to get up there. Prices and opening hours here. A small piece of advice; go on a weekday.

Lodi

Lodi is another town that is very near Milan, it takes about 35 minutes with the train going to Bologna, and you can catch it from both Stazione Centrale and Cadorna. Lodi is a lovely little town whose interesting archtecture dates all the way back to 1160.

There is an antique market in Lodi on the first Sunday of every month (except January and August) 8 a.m.7 p.m. on Piazza Castello (find on map)

A couple of good places to have lunch in Lodi are:
Genovese 2, 8, Via del Chiosino (find on map)
Il Pomodoro Pelato, Piazza Mercato (find on map)

Vigevano

And please don’t miss Vigevano in the province of Pavia. It takes about an hour to get there and we recommend taking the train from Porta Genova railway station (find on map)

Vigevano is an incredibly beautiful art town with an amazing renaissance square Piazza Ducale, considered one of Italy’s finest. There is also a castle, Vigevano’s own Castello Sforzesco which was transformed from a fortress to the residence of a prince in 1492-94 by Ludovio Sforza. Furthermore Vigevano is famous for making shoes and there is a shoe museum inside the Castello Sforzesco with no admission.

There’s an antique market in Vigevano on the third Saturday of every month (except August) in the area between Piazza Martiri della Liberazione, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Via S. Croce (find on map).

Piazzale Ducale, Vigevanò, renaissance square

Good places to have lunch in Vigevano:
Lievito Madre, 18, Via XX Settembre (find on map)
Cafe del Mar, 34, Via Leonardo da Vinci (find on map)

Hiking

There are countless possibilities for beatiful hikes in Lombardy especially up in the hills and mountains near the lakes, here is an article with some of the most spectacular shorter ones but if you like long hikes you should definitely check out the Path of Celts and Ligurians – a 222 km long trail from Milan all the way to Sestri Levante in Liguria in 10 legs, there is a website, unfortunately only in Italian, that outlines the different stages with an interactive map here.

Wine and Food

If you love wine and great food there are some areas we recommend you visit and you could spend the night in one of the many agrotourisms. Some great areas are Franciacorta, Asti and Langhe (where, among other towns, Alba is located).

There are many food and wine festivals in both Piedmont and Lombardia. These festivals are great for getting an insight into small communities and their seasonal products (wine, truffles, cheeses, chestnuts, mushrooms, pumpkins etc.)

Star-studded restaurants outside Milan

If you came to Milan by car there are lots of great restaurants in Lombardy. We want to mention:

D’O  Davide Oldani’s wonderful restaurant with 1 Michelin star, located in San Pietro all’Olmo, Cornaredo (find on map). Davide Oldani is the chef who invented the concept Pop Cuisine (Cucina Pop). Remember to book well in advance.

Cannavacciuolo Bistrot. 1, Piazza Martiri della Libertà in Novara (find on map) which belongs to Antonino Cannavacciulo, one of the new judges in the Italian edition of Masterchef.

Antonino Cannavacciuolo also runs the restaurant (with 2 Michelin stars) and hotel Villa Crespi at the beautiful Lago d’Orta.

You can find the Michelin guide’s other suggestions here.