24 hours in Milan

In the past, Milan has always been a place to pass through for us. Flying from Minneapolis, this is often a nonstop or one stop flight to get us to Italy. We hop off our flight and catch a train to only see the airport or the Milano Centrale train station - which is beautiful by the way. But this time our schedule just so lined up where we had 24 hours to spin through the city and see its charm.

Getting Here

Our flight was scheduled to land right at 6 a.m. from our stopover in Boston, and we had over 14 hours to stay awake and cure some jet lag as you can see from the photo below. After getting our bags and clearing customs, we took the train from MXP to Milano Centrale - less than an hour train ride for less than $20 per person.

Stay

Since we were departing early the next morning from Milano Centrale, we decided to stay at The Westin Palace, Milan, which is less than five minutes from taxi to the train station. We experienced friendly & helpful hospitality, clean, spacious rooms and a cozy bed after a long day of travel.

Where to Eat

Orsonero Coffee - was a recommendation from Petite Passport. Their line was out the door and the barista was wearing a MN Timberwolves shirt. Cool place, great coffee, local neighborhood feel. @orsonerocoffee

Semprebio - partner ecosistema Naturasì - down the block is an organic market with amazing foccacia by the slice.

Colibri Cafe - we wandered past a square with lots of people enjoying a beer on a hot day - so we decided to join them. This was a fun place sit and watch the world go by.

Yapa - was another recommendation from Petite Passport. We didn't have reservations, but were at the right place at the right time. Their menu is varied from wontons to guacamole, duck fried rice to cardamom ice-cream. I'm not quite sure how to describe the flavors other than uniquely delicious. The service was very attentive and so kind.

@yapa_restaurant

What to See and Do

To be honest, we wandered from the coffee shop to a park to the Duomo to a drink to dinner to the hotel, so we didn't see nearly enough, but we did make it to the following two landmark sites of Milan.

Duomo di Milano - amazing people watching and loads of tourists, but a beautiful square to walk through. We saw an influencer filming take 1, 2, 3 and people feeding the birds in utter delight.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - adjacent to the Duomo di Milano is this beautiful indoor luxury shopping area with high glass ceilings and marble floors. And true to its reputation, Milan is a shopper's paradise.

By the time we finished dinner, we were weary travelers and made our way back to our hotel; but, our interest in Milan is definitely piqued to go back. Should you find yourself en route to Florence, Milan is a pretty beautiful place to stopover.