Milan, Italy ()
One of the best parts of being stationed in Sigonella is definitely being able to hop to different cities for a long weekend. Milan, Italy is not a city that most people think to visit as it is not filled with historic sites like Rome, the rolling countryside in Tuscany or the beautiful colorful oceanside villages by Sorrento. Milan is a bustling European city filled with fashion and beautiful architecture. It is also a great city to use as a base to take day trips to the famous northern lakes of Italy.
For a quick itinerary and some travel inspiration for you – this is how I planned my short weekend to Milan, Italy.
My spouse and I took an evening flight into Milan on Friday where we took the Malpensa Express into the city center from the airport and got ourselves settled in for the night.
On Saturday, we woke up bright and early and made our way over to the bus station by the main train station. We booked a guided day trip from the Get Your Guide website to visit Lake Como, Bellagio and Varenna. This was definitely the highlight of our trip and Lake Como should be on everyone’s list to visit at least once.
My biggest tip is to take the worry out of it and spend the money on booking a guided tour! The charter bus took us into the city of Como where we had the option of staying with the tour group or venturing off to grab a quick snack before we continued on our journey. From Como we were bussed a bit further into the area where we got onto a private boat for our journey to the villages around the lake. This was such a fun addition! We spent about an hour and a half on the lake boating around.
The boat dropped us off in Varenna, where we walked aimlessly around the village until hunger overcame us and we fueled up on food so we could explore as much as possible in Bellagio. We grabbed pizzas and a drink at La Cambusa Varenna where it was served as quickly as we ate it.
View of Varenna from the boat (Anna Delange)
Knowing we had to be at the ferry to meet our group soon, we made our way to the dock and people watched while we waited. We took the public ferry to Bellagio with our group, and I quickly realized that these streets we were walking around were the same streets that are famously photographed.
I recommend stopping by Gelateria del Borgo if you are looking for a gelato shop while in Bellagio. Como is also known for their silk – so grab a fun souvenir that will remind you of your visit to Lake Como from the historic Azalea Silk Shop in Bellagio. Bellagio was our last stop on this tour, we caught our nice air-conditioned bus back to Milan. For dinner we had some tasty Argentinian food from El Paso De Los Toros.
Sunday morning we made our walk down to the center of the city, quickly looked at the Duomo. We kept moving and walked to the Starbucks Reserve, where we tried some of the local specialties at this location. This is a fun stop to add in; especially if you are missing iced coffee or cold brew. After walking around we went inside the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana to escape the heat, this museum houses some beautiful masterpieces! Afterwards, we made our way to the Duomo to scale the stairs and reach the rooftop for the iconic photos on top of the Milan Duomo.
Milan Duomo (Anna Delange)
Pro Tip – If you go to the Reserve and leave with a mug, you are not allowed to take it to the rooftop as ceramic is considered glass and it is not allowed! You will need to drop the mug off somewhere or save your trip to Starbucks for later. For another food recommendation, we later had dinner at Nara Sushi which is an all-you-can-eat sushi spot!
Monday was our last morning in Milan, and we spent it walking around the city until we caught the Malpensa Express back to the airport. In my opinion, you do not need a lot of days in Milan, but there are definitely things we missed on such a short trip. You can also walk around the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele right by the Duomo, where you can spin on the bull three times for good luck, or visit the Sforzesco Castle where you can see the Arch of Peace. Also, take a canal cruise down in the Navigli district or just walk around and enjoy the fun nightlife! Milan may be small but there is so much to see.
