When you’ve been traveling a lot you begin to look for experiences that get you closer to the local population, because who wants to sit at the hotel and have dinner when you could be out meeting people and getting some fun anecdotes to tell.
It may take some courage, but isn’t it the courageous decisions you never regret? So if you feel like a slightly different evening in the company of Italians, try a cooking course in Italian. Nothing beats “I learned how to make this sauce from a chef in Milan” when your friends come over.
Shopping at the market and cooking at a private home
You can choose the very personal experience with a course in English at a private home,Elena opens the doors to her home in the center of Milan and on market days she takes you to the local open air food market to pick the fresh seasonal products for your cooking class.
Aurora holds both morning and evening classes with a professional chef and she lves by the yellow metro line 4 stops from Duomo. If you can’t make it to her courses (or for some reason don’t feel like participating) you can still come and have dinner with the paticipants.
Both Clara and Aurora put emphasis on the fact that their courses aren’t just about cooking but also about socializing.
You can also try Casa Pastrocchi where Niccolò and Francesca give you a unique introduction to Italian food and wine. They offer an 3 1/2 hour cooking experience that starts with a classical aperitivo and includes wine tasting – they are certified sommeliers – check out on their website (English) here.
Cooking school at Teatro7
Another possibilty is the cooking school Teatro7(Find on map) where they teach in Italian but you can be certain that they will try anything with a combination of gestures and English to make you understand. And if Italians have bad English skills their gesturing is formidable.
You are guaranteed to have an entertaining evening and you will learn to make some great food. At Teatro7 you get the course including dinner from €75 to €150. Check out our Right now in Milan (in the menu) for courses.
Important instructions for booking a course online as the course calendar only exists in Italian: first click on the red Guarda il Menu button next to your course, on the next page click on “prenota il corso” at the top of the page (book) and then the rest of the instructions are in English, if you don’t receive a confirmation via email within 24 hours, send an email to iscrizioni@teatro7.com – you won’t be able to attend if you don’t have the email. The course calendar is here.
Every region and city in Italy has its own specialities and culinary traditions. In the north of Italy people generally use more butter and rice compared to the south of the country. We also have a post about the local wine here.
Who doesn’t love risotto? Italy is Europe largest producer of rice and it is grown mainly in the flat and marshy Po valley aka the rice bowl of Italy and the Milanese love rice as much as they love pasta, the Risotto alla Milanese is a delicious creamy dish with saffron, which gives it its characteristic yellow colour, it can be eaten on its own but is often accompanied by marrow bone or as it is called in Italian Osso Buco – literally bone with a hole.
Minestrone alla milanese
Minestrone – or vegetable soup – in itself is not a typical Italian dish, it is served all over the country but the Milanes twist is that is prepared with rice in stead of pasta
Cassoeula
This is a pork and cabbage stew that is mainly eaten during the cold months of the year and can be hard to find at other times – you also probably would not want to eat it during summer heat. It is often served with polenta – see the next item on the list
Polenta
Polenta is a kind of cornmeal porridge and it can be served with a variety of things; cassoeula (se above), cheese – e.g. gorgonzola, which is a Milanese cheese, and cream. Polenta is so typically Northern Italian that people form the south often use the derogatory term “Polentone” when speaking of their northern compatriots.
Trippa alla milanese – Busecca
Busecca is tripe, or cow’s stomach, in Milanese dialect and it has long been a staple in the socalled peasant cuisine, it is prepared with beans, vegetables and broth and is a well-loved dish here in the north.
Cotoletta alla milanese
The cotoletta alla milanese is a breaded veal cutlet fried in butter, if it is very big it is featured on the menu as orecchio d’elefante – elephant ear – there are many local arguments over whether it should be boneless or have a bone, be very flat – more akin to a schnitzel – or higher and juicy,.
Mondeghili
Milanese meatballs that are made with leftover meat from e.g. making broth, usually beef mixed with liver mortadelle, grated cheese and bread, sausage and eggs just like other polpette, the big difference is that the meat for Mondeghili is pre-cooked.
Michetta
The michetta is the typical white bread roll from Northern Italy, the rolls are puffed and therefore nearly hollow and often used for panini – sandwiches – Michetta rolls must be eaten fresh and only last for one day.
Panettone
The panettone is the popular traditional Milanese Christmas cake, it is a tall, round and naturally leavened cake with candied citrus and raisins, it is a welcome gift when you are invited to people’s homes and supermarkets and pastry shops are brimming over with them from November to December.
Coffee is really good her, Italy is the home of espresso and cappucino, but the prices are a mere fraction of what you see at e.g. Starbuck’s. You can get your coffe exactly as you like it, baristas here are used to special requests.
We have lots of suggestions for where to drink your coffee in the different areas in Milan here.
Different prices
Most other places a cup of coffee costs the same whether you enjoy it standing up at the bar, sitting down inside or taking it outside at the tables in front of the café. It doesn’t work that way in the south of Europe.
The cheapest version of coffee is enjoyed at the bar standing up, but it can become quite costly if you would like to sit down and want it served at a table.
What to order
There are countless variations of coffee; an espresso can be lungo (long), ristretto (concentrated), macchiato (stained- with a drop of milk) macchiato caldo o freddo (with warm or cold milk), cappuccino with eiter cow milk, soy milk , oat milk, almond milk or rice milk. or would you like a cortado? Just ask for a marrocchino. Furhtermore there is the caffè corretto which is an espresso with a shot of grappa or liqueur in it.
You can also get a Latte macchiato, which is the closest you can get to a latte
During summer it is nice and refreshing to get an ice coffee or “caffè shakerato” (shaked coffee) instead of the traditional espresso. Prices depend on where you drink it and whether you stand or sit outdoors .
There is also Affogato (drowned) coffee, a coffe based dessert with a scoop of vanilla or tartufo ice cream “drowned” by a shot of espresso coffee.
Hot chocolate like you’ve never seen it before
Then there is Cioccolata calda con panna – hot chocolate with whipped cream, which is a very different drink from the one you are used to, in Italy it is a very dense drink, more like a hot chocolate mousse, it’s delicious but be prepared for the difference.
Oh, and by the way Barista is just Italian for bartender 🙂
The metro lines, buses, trams and the railway link
Milan has 5 metro lines plus a lot of buses and trams.
The metro lines that connect the rest of the city to and from Milan’s different stations and Linate airport are:
Central Station (Milano Centrale) – the green and yellow lines (M2 and M3)
Stazione Cadorna – the red and green lines (M1 and M2)
Stazione Garibaldi – the green and purple lines (M2 and M5)
Linate airport – the blue line (M4)
The map also shows where to change between the different lines.
Furthermore Milan has the Passante Railway, an underground railway which runs through Milan and connects to the metro lines at the stops Porta Garibaldi (M2 and M5),Repubblica (M3), Rogoredo (M3) and Porta Venezia (M1).
Tickets and payment
As of May 7th 2024 paper tickets are no longer available for purchase, instead you have to get the rechargeable plastic card RicaricaMi at metro stations either at the newsstands or at the automatic checkouts in the metro, the card is nonnominal, and you can upload up to 30 tickets for the same area, one 24-hour ticket, one 72-hour ticket or 5 carnets to it at a time – if you want to upload tickets for other areas you must either first finish all the tickets on your card or get another one. Each person over 14 years of age need their own card.
1 ticket is valid for 90 minutes inside Area 1 (white on the drawing above), which consists of 21 municpalities and has the codes Mi1-Mi3, on all means of transport including trains. If you wish to go beyond this area, the price increases area from Mi4 to Mi9. You can also buy a carnet with 10 tickets and get a small discount on the price for each ticket. Children under 14 travel for free. You can also get a 24-hour ticket and a 72-hour ticket.
Furthermore you can use your creditcard or your phone app to buy tickets both in the metro, directly at the turnstile, and on buses and trams , if you use the same card more than 3 times in a day your ticket is automatically converted into a 24-hour ticket, thus making it cheaper. Remember to use the same card you used to check in to check out again.
The public transport app
Get the official app for Milan’s public transport (ATM Milano Official App) – read more about it and find the link to download here.
If you’re in Milan for 72 hours or less and want to visit a lot of museums while here it is a good idea to buy the Milan city pass MilanoCard which allows you to use all public transport for free and gives a lot of discounts to museums and restaurants. You must order it online hereand then you can choose whether you want to receive as an email attacment or download the Milano Card app and activate it here, the links for download of the app are here.
To and from the airports – metro and train
If you’ve come to Milan by plane you’ve landed in either Linate, Malpensa or Orio al Serio. There are good connections with public transport from all three.
Linate is the airport closest to the city. Metro line 4 connects it to the city centre to metro stop San Babila where you can change to metro line 1.
Malpensa airport is about a 1-hour drive from Milan. You can either take the train (Malpensa Express) which goes to Cadorna in the center of Milan, a return ticket is cheaper than 2 one-way tickets, if you purchase it online, or you can take the Malpensa Shuttle, which brings you to the central station (Milano Centrale) here you also get a discount if you purchase a return ticket. We recommend that you take the shuttle at the weekend but the train during the week, because you risk getting stuck in traffic jams with the bus.
Departures from Milano Cadorna: first departing train 4.27 am, last departing train 23.27 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes Departures from Malpensa Terminal 2 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.27 am last departing train 0.20 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes Departures from Malpensa Terminal 1 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.43 am, last departing train 0.26 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes
If it’s summer, or really any time of the year, and you want a really great chocolate ice cream there is a great place very close to Cadorna station Chocolat Milano at 9, Via Bocaccio (find on map).
Departures from Milano Centrale are once an hour and run between Milano Centrale, Milano Porta Garibaldi, Milano Bovisa and Terminals 1 and 2at Malpensa, The first departing train from Milano Centrale is 5.35 am, last departing train 11.25 pm. The first departing train from Malpensa direction Centrale is 5.43 am, last departing train is 10.43 pm.
Orio al Serio is actually closer to Bergamo than Milan and it’ll take you about 50 minutes to get to Milan. There is a shuttle service which goes to Milan’s central station (Milano centrale). You can also take a the public transport bus (ATB) , which gets you to Bergamo central station in about 10 minutes and here you can get the train to Milan. The trip takes about 40 minutes. Take into account that it’s a better idea to take the train during the week, because of possible traffic jams.
If you want to book train tickets from home you do that here
As in every big city in the world you must keep an eye on backpacks and bags when in the metro, there are many pickpockets that operate there, taking advantage of the fact that it’s crowded. Don’t keep your backpack on your back. Hold it in front of you.
The Central station is another place to be extra vigilant; lots of pickpockets take advantage of visitors’ distraction; one trick, they often use, is to ask if you need help when buying tickets. Refuse politely, but firmly
Taxis to and from the airport
Taxis with fixed fares Of course you could also take a taxi.There are fixed fares from the airports
IMPORTANT: Watch out for illegal taxis – the legal ones are white and have the Comune di Milano coat of arms on their front doors.
If you need to call for a taxi and don’t speak Italian the easiest thing is to use the official app FreeNow. Read more about it and find the link for downloading it here.
If you speak Italian, the phone number is: +39024040
GoOpti Airport Transfer
If your plane lands or departs at an ungodly hour (you’re the judge of that) there is an alternative to public transport and taxis; the company GoOpti offers cheap rides between airiports or from your door step to the airport and vice versa. You can book either shared or private rides. The sooner you book the cheaper it is. Book here.
Car sharing to and from Malpensa airport
Another option to go to and from Malpensa airport are two of the car sharing companies; Free2move and Enjoy, you must get and park these cars at the specially designated areas in the parking lots Read more about them and get the link for downloads here.
Milan’s municipality offers free outdoor WiFi to residents and visitors – It is continually evolving and the areas that are covered (hotspots) are getting larger and larger.
There are no limits to how much data you can use per day when you are within reach of Milan’s excellente OpenWiFi.
You can log in with your email address and a password you create yourself. Read more here
The app WiFi Map tracks when you are within range of a WiFi hotspot.
Events witten in red have not yet been confirmed /or it’s not the season, either way we are on it!
Bagni Misteriosi
The season in Bagni Misteriosi, 18/A, Via Carlo Botta (find on map) starts on December 7th with a Christmas market and the beautiful floating ice skating rink. Between December 7th and 22nd opening hours are 10.30 am-8.30 pm only on the weekends + December 8th, which is a holiday, After Christmas the rink is open every day with the same opening hours as above.
Porta Venezia
Il Villaggio delle Meraviglie
Until January 6th at the Christmas village Il Villaggio delle Meraviglie inside the park Giardini pubblici Indro Montnelli (find on map) there is an ice skating rink open every day 10 am-9 pm, the price for skating includes rent of skates.
Piazza Città di Lombardia
02Ice
November 23rd-January 18th Milan’s largest indoor skating rink in Piazza Città di Lombardia (find on map). Opening hours can be found (in Italian) here.
Portanuova Pop Xmas – Let it Glow
November 29th-January 11th The Ice skating rink in Piazza Gae Aulenti (find on map) is back!
Milan’s traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks display takes place on Piazza Castello (find on map) at midnight.
The evengt ends shortly after midnight once we’ve wished each other a happy new year.
Night clubs
Additionally there are the many clubs in Milan, which organize New Year’s Eve events, remember to book asap, tickets quickly sell out. You can read about them and get the links to their Instagram accounts here, as this is where you most often need to book your tickets.
Giardino dei Visionari (Garden of visionaries) – The magic forest
A big New Year’s party on December 31st 11 pm-5 am with DJ sets, a cosmic room and much more, read more about this event on their website where you also buy your ticket here. The event is held at Gate Milano at 21, Via Valtellina (find on map).
New Years with Gospel
Jazz club and restaurant Blue Note, at 37, Via Borsieri (find on map) features a gospel concert with the Harlem Gospel Choir and New Year’s Dinner here.
Package deals
You can also choose a package with hotel, restaurant and party here.
