Milan in August
 

Hi, We are planning to go to Milan in the last week of August and I am concerned that most/some shops and restaurants will be closed. From some sources it looks like the city life is returning to normal levels and other sources say the city is dead in August. Can any one give advise whether the situation is livable or we should definatelly plan to go sometime later. Thanks.

Really, it depends on what you want to do in Milan. The usual tourist stops are open....Duomo, many museums, etc. But, some hotels and restaurants do close.It is not the time to try to attend the opera in LaScala and my guess is it may not be the best time for the high fashion scene. Without knowing what you want to accomplish in a mIlan stop, it is hard to say.

Thanks for the response. Actually we have been to Milan many times and seen the sites, but not in the August period. We are trying to learn whether the city will be deserted, unpleasant or normal activity will resume after the religious holiday at the middle of the month. By activity I mean availibilty of choice in restaurants, aperativo, designer and furniture (retail) in general.

August 15 is the middle, or sometimes even the beginning, of Milan's summer holiday, not the holiday itself. The "return" is typically the last week of August, though some restaurants will start reopening around August 22. But those that say "closed August" mean precisely that.

Hotels operate more or less fully, as does mass retailing. But unless things have changed in the past couple of years (and Italy's current recession might finally force the country to start running its economy properly, though there are few signs it's going to), niche retailing, the fashionable end of the hospitality industry and their beautiful customers stay in their holiday homes till the end of the month. So does a surprising proportion of neighbourhood grocery shops and trattorie.

You won't starve (when I've kept the office manned while everyone else was away, there's been a reasonable, but unexciting, life-support system) you can still window-shop, but it won't be the same as in October or November. And of course, many of the nearby boltholes, like the Lakes, awash with Milanese, seem to get both more crowded and pricier in August.

Most of it - though not of course La Scala - comes back to life by Sept 1.

Based on what you've said, if I had a choice to go later, I'd take that option. But, if I could only go the last week in August or not at all, I'd go, if only to get my "Italy fix!"