In the spring of 2009 I visited Northern Italy with my mother. Italy is one of my favourite countries and it has been since my visit in Tuscany in 2005. The first stop of our trip was Milan. I don’t dare to give an opinion of my first impression of the city because it’s been 6 years and I changed a lot since that time. I liked things then that I don’t like now and the other way around. Back then, I didn’t like Milan because it lacks the Italian feeling you get in cities like Rome and Florence.  However, when I look at the photos now I would probably think differently about this city. Nevertheless, this article is about a trip I made 6 years ago, so it has to show my impressions from 6 years ago. It was not my favourite city in Italy.

Piazza Duomo

The sights were stunning though, especially Piazza Duomo which houses the Milan Cathedral and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Look at the amount of detail on the doors of the cathedral.

Even at night the two sights look beautiful.

(Side note: if you don’t have money to spare, don’t eat inside Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. My mother and I made the mistake and ended up paying ten euro for a coca-cola and much more for the food. And worst of all, it wasn’t even worth it!)

Close to Piazza Duomo is Museo Teatrale alla Scala. I have no clue why I insisted on visiting this museum. Even reading about it now I don’t see anything special I would’ve wanted to see there. I’m not really interested in theater or opera, so this must’ve been a guidebook must-see..

Navigli

A sight worth visiting, however, are the canals of Milan (Navigli). There is a little disclaimer here though because when I went a lot of the areas were dry. This may have changed, but it’s important to know so you don’t get disappointed with the visit.

Via Brera is a cute area to go in the evening for dinner. It reminded me a bit of Montmartre in Paris.

Sforza Castle

Last and certainly the best area to go in Milan is Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) which houses quite a lot of museums. This is by far my favourite place in Milan. If you’re bored of walking around the castle you can hang out on the grass in Parco Sempione.

After two days in Milan my mother and I took the train to Verona, to explore the city of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.