I do a lot of solo travel. It’s part of my job. Last December, I spent the month in Italy and France, driving from venue to venue chasing FIS Alpine World Cup Tour races. Between Madonna di Campiglio and Santa Caterina, I spent two nights in Milan, Italy. I was admittedly using most the time to sleep and decompress. Anyone who travels for work knows how exhausting it can get. However, you can’t travel the world for work and not take advantage of the potential to be a tourist.
When I travel to new places, it’s important to stay where the action is. I have found that the best way to see a new place is on foot, and on short stays like this one, I prefer not to have to drive to landmarks and deal with parking. On this occasion, I stayed at the NH Milano Touring, which was easy walking distance to places like the Duomo di Milano (pictured in the cover photo). They had great wi-fi, a solid hotel restaurant and bar, and a solid breakfast spread. The rooms were modern and clean, and I was able to find a great deal on Orbitz.
But you’re not really here to hear about the hotel room, right? So, here goes nothing.
Duomo Di Milano
Yes, this is a bit of tourist trap, but the Duomo di Milano is undeniably stunning and a must-see while you’re in town. Tickets are reasonably priced, so I went with Duomo Pass B. That gave me access to the cathedral, an archeological dig underneath the cathedral, and the top of the cathedral. Being a morning person, I tried to be one of the early birds to visit in an attempt to avoid some of the Christmas-time crowds, which backfired a bit. In the winter, the rooftop of the cathedral can freeze which causes them to delay the opening until it’s warm enough to melt off. After touring inside the cathedral, I had to to kill a couple hours waiting for the full terrace to open. Not the end of the world obviously. Just something to be aware of if you’re traveling there in the winter.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
In my opinion, you can not go to Milan without spending some time window shopping the high end stores. I’m not even going to pretend like I can afford anything designer, but their window displays at Christmas were gorgeous and worth a slow stroll by. It seemed like you could wander down any street to see those.
While you’re near the Duomo, it’s worth wandering into the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele. It’s the fanciest mall I’ve ever been into complete with a Swarovski crystal Christmas tree at the center. It’s the type of location that drew fashion bloggers to take winter-themed photos. If you’re interested in a shopping-centric trip, the Milan Tourism Office has some suggestions.
As an aside, I do wish I had some dressier and trendier clothes to wear around the city. People (like the woman in a fur coat pictured above) were very dressed up, and my ski trip clothing didn’t quite fit the scene.
Until next time, here goes nothing.
