Welcome back to “When Wine Calls” as we set off on our “2025 Wine Afficionados Tour”.
As mentioned in our Prologue this was our first time visiting Milan, so we were quite excited on arriving to spend a few days in this fascinating city. We arrived early morning into Malensa Airport affectionally known as MXP and after collecting our bags headed for train station in the airport to catch the Malensa Express into the city. The train trip is around 40 minutes with several stops on route, but you arrive at this simply stunning old building called Milano Centrale.
Our hotel was a short walk from Milano Centrale and the first thing you encounter is multiple tram tracks heading in each direction with old, new and painted trams traversing around the station in all directions. The older trams are the iconic and quaint 1500 series tram that date back to 1928. Pauline’s favourite was an all-pink painted Chanel tram that despite the network extending over 157 Kms seemed to pop up wherever we went over the few days we were there.
On arrival at the hotel our room was not ready, so we secured our bags and headed off exploring for the day. Milan does not have an old town like many other Italian cities so to get our bearings we hopped onto a sightseeing bus that traversed the city on a route passing the major landmarks on a 2-hour loop. This proved a great way to decide our itinerary for the coming days. If you are unfamiliar when arriving in a large sprawling city this is a great way to decide what you want to see in more detail compared to a walking tour which concentrates on only a small area such is the case in cities with Old Towns.
In the early evening, we had booked in for a Street Food Tour but when we looked up the meeting point, we found it was on the opposite side of the city with the best option being to catch the Metro. We headed back to the hotel, checked into our room and then back to the train station across the road where the metro was in the basement of Milano Centrale. Fortuitously, the Metro allows you to use travel cards at the station turnstiles which makes is easy to travel around Milan using the extensive Metro network. Over the next 2 days we travelled across Milan extensively via the Metro which had a similar feel to the Underground in London, albeit smaller.
The Street Food Tour was different from others we had been on with only one other couple turning up at the meeting point but the area we visited was a superb dining neighbourhood stretching both sides of the Naviglio Grande canal – one of the few remaining canals from ancient days when Milan was linked with canals like Venice. Interestingly, a gondola was on the canal that you could hire for a tour, but it was certainly not the same as being on the Grand Canal in Venice.
One of our stops on the tour was a great little wine shop/bar where they stocked wines from all over the world allowing you to taste several around a wine barrel – it was hard to move on from this stopping point but other local food places and more importantly a gelato shop to finish awaited. It was great to discover the Navigli neighbourhood and we returned there again for dinner on our last night.
A short distance along the Naviglio Grande Canal was one of the original stone arch bridges and it was great to see love locks had been attached to the metal side panels which reminded so much of Paris.
The next morning, we discovered a local café for breakfast and a cappuccino (minus the chocolate on top). Warning for cappuccino lovers, you need to get use to this when travelling through Italy.
It was then back onto the Metro to head over for our tour of the famous Duomo di Milano. Duomo Cathedral is the third largest cathedral in the world and second largest in Europe. Construction started in 1386 and completed in 1965 more than 5 centuries later including surviving bombing in Milan in August 1943 during WWII.
While we waited for our timeslot, we headed over to the nearby Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle which is an incredible glass dome building in the shape of a cross that houses all the big labels – a magnificent looking building.
We had decided rather than just visiting inside the Cathedral we would take the incredible opportunity of being able to walk around the Terrazze del Duomo (Rooftop Terraces) and we were so glad we did. The external architecture of the Cathedral is unimaginable with 135 spires, over 3400 statues and the majestic Madonna all on display close-up as well as a magnificent view of the city in all directions.
At the end of the tour, you descend via a steep winding internal stone staircase which comes out inside the Cathedral itself – just a mind-blowing experience and one should you travel to Milan is a must do.
After touring the Duomo, we had just enough time for an Aperol and a Charcuterie Board in an outdoor café sitting in the sun watching the tourists and locals alike rushing around this amazing city.
It was then off exploring on foot as we walked over to Castello Storezco (a medieval fortification built in the 15th century),
then through the incredibly large Park Sempione to the other side to Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) which looks like the Arc di Triomphe in Paris and built at the request of Napoleon in the 19th Century.
Milan was proving to be a very inviting and relaxing city that you could easily embrace for more than the two days we had available although everywhere you walked beautification of the streets was underway in preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics. When complete with all the new paving and flower beds being installed this walkable and attractive city will be even more so.
After over 13,000 steps completed for the day Pauline located a quaint family run Italian restaurant not far from our hotel. We enjoyed a great dinner complete with pumpkin flowers to start and a great dessert and limoncello to finish off a big day in Milan.
On our last day in Milan we had organised tours in the afternoon of the world-famous Teatro alla Scala Theatre and to view The Last Supper leaving us the morning to leisurely stroll around the city.
However, with so much to see it did not work out that way as we walked all over the city taking in the architecture including the unique Santa Maria delle Grazie,
the Basilica di Sant’ Ambrogio,
and the Colonne di San Lorenzo (ancient roman ruins) to name just some of the places we visited.
We had a brief stop for lunch at a very locals only Greek seafood restaurant near the Colonne and, of course, rehydrated with an Aperol,
then headed over to the Teatro alla Scala Theatre, one of the leading opera and ballet theatres in the World. The building dates back to 1778 and also houses the Museo Teatrale alla Scala with its amazing artifacts from the history of opera and music at the theatre including the original pianos used by some of the greatest composers and musicians in history e.g Liszt and Verdi. While the outside of the building is unassuming somewhat the interior is magnificent with patron boxes adorning the walls facing the stage across multiple levels. My first impression was that it was like the Teatro La Fenice in Venice that we visited in 2023 during our “The Summer Vintage Tour” – it was well worth the visit to absorb this amazing theatre.
Our final stop was to Leonardo’s Last Supper Museum to view the famous The Last Supper. The Last Supper occupies the north wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie which was the chamber where the friars met to eat, pray and mediate during their meals. While The Last Supper has faded from when it’s was originally painted it is still unforgettable to view even though you are only provided a short 15 minutes in the refectory these days.
By the time we had walked back down to the Navigli Grande for dinner and caught the Metro back to the hotel we were absolutely exhausted after completing nearly 25,000 steps but it had been a wonderful and memorable day.
Tomorrow it is time to leave wonderful Milan and onto the next stop on our “2025 Wine Aficionados Tour “– the dramatic landscape of Iceland.
Until then, take care.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
Leave a comment