Milan, Italy

On my second solo trip I decided to travel to Italy for 10 days. I know it was too less but considering it was my first time in Europe I wanted to get a flavour of most of the cities to decide which one to spend more time when I next go there.

My trip started with a beautiful train journey from Zurich to Milan. I couldn't stop admiring the enormous and reliable train network that Europe has which has made travelling for backpackers like us much easier and affordable.

Sitting in my seat, sipping coffee and a pretzel, looking out the window at some of the most picturesque landscape with mountains and lakes. Ah a feeling I can never forget. Sitting here typing this article makes me realise how much I miss it. The train ride takes you through many a tunnel and passes by many a lakes. One can easily notice the change in terrain when you enter Italy. After a few hours of my beautiful train journey I finally reached Milan, the shoppers paradise.

Now am not a shopaholic so don’t have much to recommend on it but there are streets full of shops from mid-range brands to the more expensive ones.

A friend in the hostel told me there is a Prada showroom which has a gold café, but I didn’t go looking for it

Things to see in Milan:

I added Milan to my trip only for the 2 most iconic places – The last supper painting and Duomo Cathedral (3rd largest Gothic church in the world)

Last supper painting:

How could I miss the famous last supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci and let me tell you it was worth it. If you are a history buff as me, how could one not stand in front of this painting and just relish the thought of being in a place where Leonardo da Vinci once painted this beautiful wall. As it’s a fresco painting many restoration projects are undertaken to preserve it.

The opposite wall has another paining which is titled "The Crucification" painted in 1495 by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. It's believed that it was painted during the same period as Leonardo was painting last supper on the opposite wall. This painting shows the saints and blessed souls of the Dominican order with the city of Jerusalem in the background.

The group at the foot of the cross is composed of Mary Magdalene, St. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans on the left and St. Thomas Aquinas on the right (see image below)

If you are planning to visit it, make sure you buy your tickets months in advance and not leave it to the last minute like me (panic bell!!). I literally was spending every waking hour in the morning to book a ticket and I finally managed to buy one, yeeee!

The best site to purchase is: Milan attractions else there are many other sites such as viator.com

One gets only 30 mins to spend inside and the security is very strict about it. Make sure you reach there well before time to exchange your e-ticket for the actual ticket. They need an ID proof as a deposit if you have opted for the audio guide. There are lockers to store your belongings too.

Duomo Cathedral:

This was my first gothic church and standing in front of it I can only say it’s beautiful and majestic. Gothic churches are so called coz the architecture and the sculptures are so life like and each sculpture has a different expression as if the person is standing there himself. Gothic is a type of architecture that flourished in Europe during the Middle ages and saw its peak during the Renaissance era. The view from the top is breathless as you can see the entire Milan city.

Getting there

The easiest and quickest way to get to the cathedral would be to take metro. It's fairly easy to know your way thanks to google maps or you can ask anyone. My advice would be to buy tickets from any of the newspaper stand rather than the machine to avoid attention from pick pocketer. They have standard rates and 1 ticket lasts for 1 leg of the journey. And you can always ask a local for help : )

Getting inside

For a free visit – Get ready to stand in long queues unless you try and reach there at dawn. There are massive queues waiting to get entry for free.

Pre book tickets (with or without audio guide) – One can always pre book tickets, my goto site was: Milan attractions  I would highly recommend buying ticket, definitely worth it rather than standing in line. Once you have the ticket you need to enter from behind. The best way is to first go to the terrace as its less crowded and then enter inside the church via the staircase. Remember you can do that only if you took terrace ticket.

Guided tour – If you like to know your history when visiting a place then guided tours are the best way to visit a place.

Place to stay

As a budget traveller I stayed in a hostel called Ostello Bello Hostel. I would highly recommend this hostel as this has been by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in. Just imagine you only pay for your room and literally everything comes free with it. Dinner, towels, wi fi, breakfast literally everything except booze :D On checking in you also get a welcome drink. Now who can beat such hospitality. I generally book my hostels using hostelworld.com and again highly recommend this site for all budget travellers

Well this was my 1 day spent in Milan, hope you guys liked it. Shoot me a message if you have any questions and I shall try and respond to them at the earliest