Milan in January
 

My husband, daughter and I arrive in Malpensa airport on Thur, Jan 11 and my husband and I depart from there on Monday, Jan 15. My daughter will stay for a semester in Milan. Other than shopping what should we do for 4 days? Is it better to stay somewhere else (e.g.Switzerland or Venice) and just return to leave her in Milan? Should we stay in Milan and take day trips out? What is an excellent, well situated hotel?

I assume you also meant to write “other than seeing the Last Supper and shopping...”
Switzerland is certainly beautiful in January and Venice is always interesting, but I think Milan in the winter for 4 days would be great, there are excellent restaurants, great little boutiques (and places like the huge Armani store), several good museums, and La Scala is open for the season. I think it is such a wonderful town for a short break in winter and will be much less crowded than in the summer.

If you are interested in La Scala, go to /www.teatroallascala.org right now and see if there are tickets left for anything, as it is quite late for booking.

You need to make a reservation for the Last Supper. To book, phone: 39-02-894-21146 (Mondays-Fridays 9.00am-6.00 pm, Saturdays 9.00am-2.00 pm, Milan is 6 hours ahead of EST) The English-speaking operator will give you a code number for the time and date of your visit. You can then collect and pay for tickets on the day of your visit, at least half an hour before the scheduled time. Your hotel can also make a reservation for you. You might also go to http://www.hellomilano.it and then click on Last Supper for information on booking and the location of the convent in which the fresco is located., Hellomilano has lots of other helpful information on Milan and sightseeing.

The Duomo should certainly be on your list. There is also a museum in the Duomo that is worth a stop, and certainly go up to the roof and take in the great views. The little streets around the Duomo and the Bulgari Hotel are full are little designer boutiques. (Note that some of these may be closed on Monday morning, but will be open by the afternoon.) I always think when I am in one of these little shops that in 10 years one of these people will be the next Versace and I will have a little piece of history.... The fantastic Peck's Deli, minutes from the Duomo should certainly be on your list. The S’forza Castle Museum is very interesting as is the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana museum which has the famous Unidentified Musician also by da Vinci, really beautiful, just not nearly as hyped as the Last Supper. It also has some wonderful Caravaggio’s and other beautiful paintings. Go to http://www.ambrosiana.it/ita/index.asp. The Cenacolo Vinciano also has several da Vinci works. Some of these are closed on Mondays or Sundays, check the websites or guidebooks.

Note that many shops are closed on Sundays and some things are closed on Mondays. However the main Armani store is actually open on Sunday and would be worth a visit even if you don't buy anything, and you might luck out and find something on sale. It is open from 2:30 to 7:30 pm. There are several different boutiques inside, including a jeans, house wares, cosmetics and accessories as well as a cafe. It is at Via Manzoni 31, not far from the Duomo.

I would also recco the Brea district, full of antique shops and boutiques and the lovely San Marco church is worth a visit and I believe there is a flea market in the area on Monday mornings, and this area is good for just walking around and is not very well touristed, esp compared to the Duomo area.

An excellent, well-situated hotel would be the Milan Bulgari. If that is not within your budget, several others to try would be below as well:

Milan Bvlgari
Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7B
Bulgari.com

Great rooms, great staff, great location, great people-watching, prices to match it all.

Grand Hotel et De Milan
29 Via Manzoni
Milan 20121
Tel 39-02723141
Fax: 39-0286460861
http://www.grandhoteletdemilan.it/

A lovely hotel in more typical charming Italian style. Quite famous. Verdi lived here at one point. Walkable to Duomo, etc. Great staff.

The Gray Hotel
Via San Raffaele
20121 Milano
Tel. 39-027208951
Fax. 39-02866526
www.hotelthegray.com

Fashion-forward hotel about 50 feet from the Duomo. Small but very cool bar, small and good restaurant. Rooms have flat screen TVS and other modern techno stuff. My room had its own small gym. Room size varies a lot. It is part of Design Hotels.

Spadari al Duomo
Via Spadari, 11
Milan 20123
tel.: +39-0272002371
ax: +39- 02-861-184
http://www.spadarihotel.com

This hotel gets great reccos on tripadvisor.com. Next door to Peck's Deli, which is worth a trip in itself. Near Duomo. Note that there are some comments on tripadvisor.com about "older" rooms.

Antica Locando Leonardo
78 Corso Magenta,20123
Tel: 39-02-463317
Fax: .39-02-48019012
http://www.leoloc.com/indexen.htm

Good review on Frommers.com. This is near Last Supper and short walk to Duomo.


Peck's Deli
7-9 Via Spadari

This is the main deli and more casual bistro type restaurant, it is just off via Spadari, literally two minutes from the Duomo.


Cracco-Peck
Via Victor Hugo 4
Milan
39.02.876774

This is their Michelin 2-star restaurant, which I have not tried, you might want to read reviews first. It is around the corner from the deli.

And if all these great suggestions don't keep you busy enough, hop on trains and go see any of a number of nearby towns that are very worthwhile targets: Torino, Cremona, Piacenza, Pavia, Novara, Monza (not just for the car racing history), Bergamo, Lugano (just across the Swiss border), and many more. Google them and see why.

Mar2- click on your screen name, and see the answers on your earlier post.

Hi

My wife and I went to Milan a couple of years back. The highlight for me was the Duomo (the view from the roof top terrace is great), Las Supper and the great ice cream :d I have written about our trip to Milan in this trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_milan.htm . Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I happen to like Milan as well. But be advised, it can be COLD in January. I was there last January during a cold snap and brrr...
FYI, the general (i.e., unreliable) long-term forecast for that part of Europe is to have a fairly mild Christmas, but to have some *very* cold spells in January (perhaps much colder than the norm) accompanied by possibly heavy snow. Apparently a mix of whatever's brewing up in Siberia and an El Nino effect.

As Girlspytravel said; if you click on your screen name you will find your other post and the replies to that one.

Wow! What a lot of very useful information. I will start looking into hotels right away. We are looking forward to trying as many of your recommendations as we can fit in, weather permitting. We live in Texas and are totally unprepared for really cold weather so I have to start shopping for at least a warm coat and boots. Hopefully we can pick up other stuff in Milan at a reasonable price.

Yes, well it’s winter in January so the cold shouldn’t be a surprise. Take a look at weatherbase.com for temps and precip info. I don’t know why people are surprised that Europe is cold in January, most of it is further north than the US; Rome is on the same latitude as New York and Milan is about on the same latitude as Boston. It’s just the shallow and relatively warm Mediterranean that keeps Italy from being really freezing in the winter, but it is cold (and of course it is freezing in the higher elevation in the Alps). But the cold temps keep the crowds away, and IMO the bare trees and wet cobblestone streets are beautiful. If you are prepared for the weather, it’s fine. Boots and gloves are a good idea. A lined raincoat is another, may be better than a wool coat in case you get rain or wet snow.

Yes, January is very cold and humid in Milan. Particularly a lot of fog.
A tip: if you need something to warm you up, go to a bar and order a punch (the Italians pronounce it "poonch"). An Italian punch is a steamy hot, very potent orange liqueur served with lemon rind in a small glass cup. It's so potent, the fumes hurt your eyes when you go to drink it, but no doubt it'll warm you up!

"... pick up other stuff in Milan at a reasonable price...."

Don't count on it, with the dollar in the tank and the standard of living way higher in Europe anyway, anything of quality will cost at least double what you might think it would cost.