Milan/West
Western Milan is the part of the city that encompasses its only UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes a famous painting. Other sights are a cemetery with - as the name reveals - monumental tombs, and the old fair centre where you might end up if you are visiting Milan on a business trip.
Get in
Map of Milan/West
Western Milan includes the key hub for the Trenord railway network, the 1 Milano Cadorna station.
The metropolitana is a convenient way to get to most points of interest in this area. Quite a few stops on the red line (Line 1) of the Metro are in Western Milan. Line 2 brings you to Cadorna, not far from Sempione Park and Santa Maria delle Grazie.
See
Museums
- 1 Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology (Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia), S.Vittore Street (reachable by bus or subway, Sant'Ambrogio M2 Station). Tu-F 09:30-17:00, Sa & holidays 09:30-18:30. As the name tells, it is a museum to learn more about science and technology. Hosted in a former monastery, San Vittore al Corpo. €10, concessions €7.50, disabled and children under 3 free. Guided tours €8 or €10 with reservation.
- 2 Triennale (Triennale di Milano), Alemagna St (bus 61; Cadorna-Triennale M2 Station; or by walking through Parco Sempione from Castello Sforzesco), ☏ +39 02 72434244. Tu-Su 10:30-20:30. Museum of Design and Architecture, always has 4-6 exhibits on the subject of design, photography or modern art, at least 1-2 of which are always free entry. Adult €10; student, under 26 or senior €8.50; child up to 16 free.
Churches and other buildings
- 3 Saint Mary of the Graces (Santa Maria delle Grazie) (trams 20-24-29-30; Cadorna M1 M2 Station, or Conciliazione M1 Station), ☏ +39 02 92800360. Houses the famous Last Supper ('Cenacolo Vinciano') by Leonardo da Vinci. It is best to reserve tickets a few weeks or months before the visit. Canceled reservations are sold from 08:15 every morning (if there are any, best to show up in person). The church and the painting are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you arrive without tickets, you can buy a pass to five DaVinci museums for €38 that will get you in to see the Last Supper. €10 (+ €2 advance booking fee) booking information.
- 4 Palazzo del Sole 24 ore, Via Monte Rosa 91. An office building hosting the business magazine Sole 24 Ore and an example of modern Italian architecture.
- 5 Deposito Tranviario Messina, Via Messina 39. The tram deposit is an example of early 20th-century Italian industrial architecture with an impressive iron gridded ceiling.
- 6 Villa Simonetta, Via Stilicone 36. A 15th-century Renaissance villa with a massive loggia. The villa has functioned as a candle factory, opera house and hospital, now hosting a music school.
Monuments
- 7 Cimitero Monumentale. Milan's old cemetery in Neoclassical style. It is filled with lavish sculptures, impressive mausoleums and monuments. Well worth a visit!
- 8 Arco della Pace (Porta Sempione) (northwestern corner of Parco Sempione). The triumphal arch of peace stands at the place at one of Milan's seven city gates. First the gate was known as Porta Giovia and was closer to the city center. Porta Sempione means "Gate towards Simplon", and once the road leading over the Simplon Pass to Paris went through this gate. The current gate was built in the early 19th century and at that time it was referred to as Arco della Pace.
Parks
- 9 Sempione Park (Parco Sempione). A big space of green land right behind the Sforzesco castle, and one of the most famous and popular in the city. Designed in like a neoclassical landscape garden, there are loads of features - such as a lake, the aforementioned arch of peace, a Roman-style sports' amphitheatre, a tower (which today hosts the Just Cavalli Hollywood), and several interesting features. It's a lovely leafy place to enjoy a walk at any time of the year. Reachable via Cairoli, Lanza, Cadorna or Moscova metro stations depending on what side of the park one refers to.
Streets, squares and areas
- 10 Corso Magenta. An elegant and aristocratic street in the north-western part of Milan. It contains sophisticated cafes and shops, and also some fine, mainly Baroque, palaces, notably the Palazzo Litta, one of the best examples of 18th century Milanese architecture, and also a place in which Napoleon I spent some time. Metro stations Conciliazione, Cadorna, Cairoli and Cordusio are the closest to the avenue. The famous Santa Maria delle Grazie church and convent, where Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper can be found, is very close to the Corso.
- 11 Chinatown (Sarpi). Not as big or famous as the ones in London or New York, Milan does also have a Chinatown, dating from the 1920s. Main street is the Via Paolo Sarpi, which is mainly a pedestrian street. Wide varieties of Chinese food is available. See Eat section for specific recommendations.
CityLife Area
This area will consist of residential and commercial buildings and skyscrapers and more than half of the area is devoted to parks. Part of this project will also be a Museum of Contemporary Art. A new metro stop (Tre Torri) on an extension of line M5 will connect this area to the city center.
- 12 Hadid Residences. Designed by Zaha Hadid and completed but not yet in use.
- 13 Libeskind Residences. Designed by Daniel Libeskind and constructions are completed.
- 14 Allianz Tower (Torre Isozaki) (The Straight One - Il Dritto). It is not accessible, but since it is 207 m high with 50 floors you can see it from far away. Designed by Arata Isozaki.
Do
- 1 Torre Branca (Branca tower) (Camoens street, near Triennale, inside Sempione Park). The tower is 108 m high built in 1933 and designed by architect Giò Ponti. From here you can get good views over Milan.
Buy
1 Corso Vercelli (Pagano M1 , Conciliazione M1 subway stations) is the place in Western Milan to go to for fashion shopping.
Eat
Budget
- 1 Pizzeria Da Giuliano, Via Paolo Sarpi 60 (In westmost part of the street), ☏ +39 02 341 630. Nice and cozy pizzeria with great, quite thick and large pizza slices. You can choose your toppings and after a few minutes you'll get your slice. Wood burning oven and loads of Mozzarella.
- 2 La Ravioleria Sarpi, Via Paolo Sarpi, 27, ☏ +39 331 887 0596. 10:00-15:00,16:00-21:30. Maybe the best place to have Chinese dumplings in Italy. Many selections available (pork, beef or vegetarian). They also sell a Chinese version of crêpes. Only takeaway. €3 for 4 dumplings, €5 for Chinese crêpes.
- 3 [formerly dead link] Ciripizza, Via Paolo Sarpi, 63, ☏ +39 02 3656 1221. M-Su 12:00-24:00. Another very yummy pizza restaurant with reasonable prices. Eat in or takeaway. English menu available. €8-12 per pizza.
Mid-range
In Western Milan you can find a dense concentration of mid range restaurants at 4 Via Ravizza. In a stretch of 200 m there are over 30 different restaurants (Italian, South American, Chinese, Fusion and others) as well as pizzerias and take away places. The locals call the street Via Rapizza for this reason.
5 Via Marghera, at the end of Corso Vercelli hosts several good pizzerias.
Splurge
- 6 Just Cavalli, Via Luigi Camoens (inside the Torre Branca, Parco Sempione) (Metro: Cadorna (Lanza is relatively close too)), ☏ +39 02 311817. 19:30-05:00. Found inside the Torre Branca in the big, leafy Sempione park, the Just Cavalli Hollywood was the brainchild of Roberto Cavalli, the fashion designer. It was recently renovated in 2009-10. For beginners, one can find cheese, tuna tartar, Parma ham, and caviar, and for the main course, you can eat dishes of spaghetti, risotto, small gnocchi with crab, different forms of seafood, veal, steak, and different forms of salads. It also contains some dance floors and three bars.
- 7 Trattoria da Armando, Via Marghera, 34, ☏ +39 024813482.
Drink
A good concentration of nightclubs and bars in this part of Milan is the pedestrian part of Corso Sempione near the 1 Peace Arch (Arco della Pace).
- 2 Bar Bianco, Viale Enrico Ibsen (inside the Sempione Park), ☏ +39 33 3632 3027. It's cash only at this bar, but with Gucci-clad clubbers and their well-suited companions, money seems easy to come by. The life of a party can always be detected in here.
- 3 Frescobar, Via Bramante 9 (Chinatown area).
- 4 Il Saloon, Via Niccolini 24 (Chinatown area).
- 5 Honky Tonks, Via Fratelli Induno, 10 Fiera (near Sempione Avenue), ☏ +39 02 3452562. M-Sa 18:00-02:00. Not exactly a country cowboy bar as the name might imply, a more accurate description would include the smoky lounge feel and the jazz music being played. The drinks are well made and they also serve Tex-Mex style food.
- 6 Roialto, Via Piero della Francesca 55, ☏ +39 02 3493 6616. It's bland façade conceals a real gem of a cocktail bar/restaurant. It is a very popular spot for after-work drinks, or perhaps a pre-club drink if you're going dancing somewhere like the Gattopardo.
Sleep
Budget
- 1 Hotel Panizza, Via B. Panizza, 5, ☏ +39 02 4690604, fax: +39 02 43400460, info@hotelpanizza.it. 3-star hotel in central Milan Magenta district, offers 22 rooms at affordable rates.
Mid-range
- 2 Hotel Wagner, Via Michelangelo Buonarroti, 13, ☏ +39 02 463151, fax: +39 02 48020948, info@hotelwagnermilano.it.
- 3 Admiral Hotel, Via Domodossola, 16 (3 km northwest of Duomo, in front of Fiera Milano City exhibition centre.), ☏ +39 02 3492151, fax: +39 02 33106660. Singles from €130. Doubles from €180.
- 4 Hotel Roma, Via Poliziano, 2 (corner of Via Roma), ☏ +39 02 4581805, fax: +39 02 4500473, info@hotelromamilano.it.
- 5 Hotel Losanna, Via Piero della Francesca 39, ☏ +39 02 316272, fax: +39 02 3315146, info@hotellosanna.com.
Splurge
- 6 Hotel Capitol, Via Cimarosa, 6, ☏ +39 02 438591, fax: +39 02 43859700, info@capitolmilano.com. A 66-room 4-star hotel near the Exhibition centre, the Financial district, the airport shuttle terminal, and the underground station.