Planning a trip to Milan but you are not sure where to start? How about good shopping locations, tips for learning Italian, and where to find some beautiful city parks to spend an afternoon relaxing around? Follow the links below for more tips about where to go and what to do in Milan.
Giardini Pubblici. Milan’s prettiest park, it was designed by the same 18th-century architect who did La Scala. Today, it’s a lovely green space with avenues and a small lake. It’s also perfect for kids: There’s a planetarium and the Museum of Natural History. And across the road, the Giardini della Villa Reale, with their swings and small pond, are such a haven for kids, the only people allowed in are children under 13 accompanied by adults.
One of Italy's best city parks in Milano
Parco Sempione. Right in the center of Milan, Parco Sempione boasts not just lots of green space and opportunity for people-watching, but some top sights, including the Triennale and the Torre Branca. (The Torre Branca is where to find one of the best views of Milan around!). Corners of it can sometimes feel a little sleazy, though, so come on weekends, when the locals do. More Parks of Italy
Do you want to learn Italian, or do you want to spend your time coming up with excuses for why you can't learn Italian? Like other self-improvement activities (dieting, working out, and sticking to a budget come to mind) you can convince yourself with a multitude of excuses why you can't pronounce Italian words or conjugate Italian verbs - or you can use that time and energy to learn la bella lingua.
Myth: Italian is more difficult than English
Reality: In fact, research shows that it's easier to learn Italian. Beyond the scientific reasons, though, as a child no one knows any better when learning to speak their native tongue. One way around the frustration when learning Italian is to remember that everyone was a beginner at one time. Children laugh and enjoy speaking and singing nonsense words for the sheer joy of hearing themselves. As the Italian proverb says, "Sbagliando s'impara" - by making mistakes one learns. More myths about learning Italian
Shopping in Milan isn’t cheap and can be stratospherically expensive. However - if you are serious about your craft and are prepared to slog the streets, search the stalls and exhibit all the addicted symptoms of the confirmed shopaholic, it needn’t be quite as bad as all that. And even if you do end up having done more window-shopping than shopping – or end up with a seriously compromised credit card – you’ll have had fun along the way.
Useful information
Only the largest stores shops stay open all day. Most shops close for a long lunch, their opening hours from 9.30am-1pm and 3.30pm-7.30pm. Most shops shut on Sundays and many non-food shops also close on Monday mornings. Food shops open on Monday mornings, then close again on Monday afternoons. So if you are planning a shopping weekend, it would be worth considering Thursday–Sunday. Many shops also shut for their annual holiday in August. More About Shopping in Milan
