People zip into Milan to see La Scala and The Last Supper and the cathedral and zip out again and say they didn't think much of it. Well, it didn't think much of you, either. So there.

We absolutely love Milan and have a favorite apartment there we plan to rent for at least a week every year for the rest of our lives.

Sure, give Milan a pass. More to love for us.

My grandparents came from southern Italy, and Dad always spoke of the disdain the prosperous northerners had for their poorer brethren in the south. We had been in and out of Milan several times on trains and planes. So, when we decided to spend a couple nights last year, we expected Milan to be an elegant place. And, we love everything (almost) Italian. Yes, we went to LaScala, the Duomo and its museum, and the Galleria, all worth seeing. We walked from the train station to the Duomo and found this key boulevard dirty, littered and unmanicured. As we often do in Europe, we walked many miles each of the two days we were there, even found a hipster area of quaint restaurants and bars and lots of young people. But even Pittsburgh or Cleveland have places like that today (no offense to those cities but just not high on my list to visit). We admit we didn’t see it all by a long stretch. Some places just make you want to leave and not come back. We are glad some people do go to Milan; that means fewer people at the 100 plus better places in Italy.

Are you able to provide info on areas away from the Duomo that you enjoy. Keep in mind we are reliant upon public transport

We have been to hundreds of other places in Italy as well. Italy is not that far away from where we live. We are in various parts of Italy several times a year. So it's not that we're not familiar with "the 100 plus better places in Italy," whatever that means. Perhaps we're not, though, because it doesn't mean anything. There are scores of places in Italy we love to visit. Milan is high on that list.

What do we love about Milan? Not the Galleria or the Duomo or its "elegance," but the Brera, Zona Tortona, Isola, Chinatown, the Eritrean bakeries and restaurants of Porta Venezia, the Museo del Risorgimento, the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia (probably our favorite museum in the world), some of the side streets of Navigli, Peck, the cafeteria in Milano Centrale, the street cafés that turn into tented sidewalk oases in winter to keep you warm and sheltered from wind and rain while sipping on something warm...

The key boulevard from the train station to the Duomo is probably the single ugliest stretch of Milano.

We of course are reliant on public transportation when visiting big cities like Milan. It would be foolish not to. We also walk miles every day - that's sort of a given.

There are parts of Milan that have an old-world atmosphere reminiscent of northern European cities. I don't know the names of particular neighborhoods, but one was near the Sforzesco castle.

I also love the Brera Gallery, the Grande Naviglio, and the Piazza del Duomo. The Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) in Piazza del Duomo usually has two or three art shows going on, usually well done and sometimes featuring lesser-known artists.

I have not been in Milan beyond the main train station for a few millennia but once when I stayed several days I wandered around and came by Sempione Park and was mesmerized by it - on weekends they had pop concerts - nice place to spend an afternoon.

https://www.google.com/search?q=semp...ih=625&dpr=1.5

I am not a fan of Milano but not going into the city when you are there seems pretty stupid to me. There are nice things.
Lsat I was there I was at the outskirts and frankly t looked like any suburb of a big european city. I found a delicious pizzeria and spent some time, not disliking it at all.

Anybody been to Lecco ? I'm there next week and have a grand 2 hours in the morning to 'visit' it.

Milan has some really neat areas but again if one a quick visit to Italy and never been before I'd spend time in Venice, Florence and Rome over Milan but Milan is a nice stop coming and going from Malpensa Airport.

St Cirq
Many thanks for your suggestions, will take a close look at those areas.

I am one of the people who thinks the Milan duomo IS worth a visit but to each their own.