Milano Design Week/Fuorisalone – one week in spring, usually in April, in 2026 the dates are April 20th-26th. A week with very lively cosmopolitan atmosphere and cocktail parties, where Milan is turned upside-doown in occasion of the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, In the city you get the up-and-coming designers’ bid on what the future will look like. Just before Milano Design Week, Miartand Milano Art Week take place., it is an incredible month for contemporary and modern art and design. Read more about it here.
Piano City Milano – 3 days during the penultimate weekend of May, In 2026 the dates are May 15th-17th. There is piano music everywhere with lots of fantastic free concerts in the city’s parks, squares and several of Milan’s beautiful courtyards. The concerts go on 24 hours a day and the city teems with life and people. Read more about it here.
Summer
The Filarmonica della Scalaplays a free concerts on Piazza Duomo – the second Sunday of June with a speciel guest perfomance – this is a speciel and magical evening where thousands of Milanese of all ages fill up Piazza Duomo for a very speciel night.
Estate Sforzesca – from the beginning of June to the end of August there is entertainment almost every night in the central courtyard of Castello Sforzesco of theater, dance or music, a wonderful way to spend the summer evenings with the locals. Bear in mind that July and August are the hottest months in Milan and when we say hot we means sweltering; temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius and they don’t go down much at night
Triennale Estate – the summer season in Triennale Milano‘s garden – there are concerts, aperitivos, DJ sets lectures and much more from from mid May to mid September .
Sales in Milan – July/August for the exact dates check our shopping guide.
Autumn
MITO September Music – a festival which every year focuses on a theme and offers performances in both Milan and Turin for 20 days in the beginning of September.
Milan Fashion Week – September, the city is hectic during this week with cat walks, cocktail parties and many other things.
JazzMi – Milano jazz festival the first two weeks of November. Some of the world’s finest jazz musicians come to Milan to play..
Winter
Artigiani in Fiera – Enormous Christmas market at Milan’s fair during the first week of December, actually the atmosphere in Milan during the month of December is wonderful with lots of ice skating rinks and Christmas markets. Read more about them hereand here.
Opening Night at La Scala theater – the new season at Teatro della Scala starts with an opera on December 7th remember that if you want to experience this very speciel night, you have to book your tickets a long time in advance. Read all about getting tickets here.
Milan Fashion Week – February and September, the city is hectic during this week with cat walks, cocktail parties and many other things.
Sales in Milan – January/February for the exact dates check our shopping guide.
Events in red have yet to be confirmed, we are on it!
November 28th-December 1st
Fiera del Re Panettone / The King Panettone Fair
November 28th 4-8 pm, November 29th 10 am-8 pm and November 30th10 am-7 pm Milan’s traditional Christmas Cake is celebrated during this weekend at the Parco Esposizione Novegro (find on map) it is located an 11-minute walk from Linate airport metro stop (blue line).
Le Pulci Pettinate – The Combed Fleas
November 30th 10 am-8 pm Christmas Market at Salumeria del Design at 18, Via Stazio (find on map).
December 2nd-7th
Artigiano in Fiera – The Fair for Artisans
December 6th-14th from 10 am-10 pm we have the huge Fair for artisans – also get your free mandatory pass at this link – from all over Italy and the world, it is held at the Fair in Rho (find on map). You can get beautiful handmade Christmas gifts and taste culinary specialties from Italy and the rest of the world. In order to get a free ticket you must register on their website here, where you need to click on “Ottieni il tuo pass gratuiro” and enter your email address and choose a password, you then receice your pas which gives you access anytime during the fair.
Milan’s Christmas tree
December 7th-January 8th the traditional Milanese Christmas tree can be admired in Piazza Duomo (find on map) The lighting ceremony is on December 6th 5 pm. This year’s tree will be blue in honour of the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Fiera degli Obej Obej
December 7th-10th 8.30 am-9 pm in Piazza del Cannone (find on map) – behind Castello Sforzesco – there is the traditional market Fiera degli Obej Obej which dates all he way back to 1288 and is always held on the days around December 7th where the Milanese celebrate their patron saint Sant’Ambrogio – the day before the national holiday for the Immaculate Conception. The atmosphere is wonderful and there are lots of local specialties to taste like vin brulè (mulled wine) and chestnuts.The name Obej Obej originates according to tradition from the exclamations of the Milanese children “Obej, Obej” (dialect for oh belli,oh belli which means “How pretty!”) when they saw the gifts Pope Pio IV’s emissary brought to the city of Milan in 1510.
December 7th-8th 11.30 am-8.30 pm at Bagni Misteriosi at 18A, Via Carlo Botta (find on map). Entrance fee €5.
Portanuova Pop Xmas
December 7th-January 7th Portanuoava Pop Xmas in Piazza Gae Aulenti (find on map) with stands, a 15 metre tall Christmas tree and Warner Music Italy stands for the soundtrack. There is also an ice skating rink – it opens on November 29tth.
December 8th-14th
Artigiano in Fiera – The Fair for Artisans
December 5th-13th from 10 am-10 pm we have the huge Fair for artisans – also get your free mandatory pass at this link – from all over Italy and the world, it is held at the Fair in Rho (find on map). You can get beautiful handmade Christmas gifts and taste culinary specialties from Italy and the rest of the world. In order to get a free ticket you must register on their website here, where you need to click on “Ottieni il tuo pass gratuiro” and enter your email address and choose a password, you then receice your pas which gives you access anytime during the fair.
December 11th-12th 12-7 pm Christmas market with live gospel music in collaboration with Blue Note Milano and holiday workshops for adults and children at BiM, 10, Viale Piero and Alberto Pirelli (find on map)
Saturday in Lambrate
December 13th 10 am-7 pm Christmas market at REDROOM, 9, Via Conte Rosso (find on map)
Green Christmas
December 13th 10 am-8 pm and December 14th 10 am-7 pm Green Christmas eco Christmas market with jewellery,clothes amd things for your home at Fonderia Napoleonica di Milano at 21, Via Thaon de Revl (find on map).
December 14th 9 am-8 pm Christmas party at Cascina Cuccagna, 2-4, Via Privata Cuccagna (find on map) Christmas market and different workshops, there will be food and wine.
December 20th-21st, artisinal Christmas market at BASE Milano (find on map).
Antiques Market at the Naviglio Grande
December 21st 8 am-6 pm, this market normally takes place on the last Sunday of every month but they have moved their Christmas edition up to before Christmas.
November 30th-January 6th Christmas market on Piazza Duomo (find on map) with crafts and gastronomic specialties from all over Italy. The market is open every day from 11 am.-8 pm.
Il Villaggio delle Meraviglie
November 15th-January 6th 10 am-9 pm “Il villaggio delle meraviglie” in the Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli (find on map) for the youngest, there are rides, meetings with Santa (starting December 6th) and an Ice skating rink, where you can rent skates. Another popular feature is Christmas street food. There is an admissions fee, buy your tickets and book times for the skating rink here.
Christmas paintings
Free visit to Milan’s municipal Palace and paintings
December 3rd-January 11th 9.30 am-8 pm (last admission is at 7.30 pm) there is a free exhibit of The Crivelli Brothers’ painting “Monte San Martino Polyptych” at Palazzo Marino on Piazza della Scala (find on map)
Museo Diocesano’s Christmas Painting
October 28th 2025-February 1st 2026 you can see Lorenzo Lotto’s Nativity -from the 16th century, this is a Christmas event at Museo Diocesano (find on map)
Christmas Concerts
December 19th 8 pm Christmas Carol Show at the Auditorium La Verdi on Largo Gustavo Mahler (find on map), buy your ticket here.
December 12th 7.30 pm. free Christmas concert in Milan’s cathedral Duomo di Milano (find on map) admission to the concert is free but booking is oblgatory and you can do that here, from December 3rd at 5 pm – you need to be fast to get a seat.
January 6th 11.15 am this Procession of the Three Wise Men in costume from Piazza Duomo (find on map) to the church La Basilica di Sant*Eustorgio (find on map) is one of Milan’s oldest traditions.
