The Perfect 3 Days in Milan — Destination Dreamer Diaries

Milan… we liked you. When I say we, I mean my mom and I, and my mom is a New Yorker… meaning she is a tough cookie to crack.

Milan is most definitely your typical European city… except, it’s Italy.

It’s exactly what you’d expect: pizza, pasta, and high end fashion… over Paris, London, or New York. My mom and I did some serious window shopping here.

It’s clean, it’s public transportation is excellent, but most of all: it’s a beautiful & functional place to live.

Let me break down what our three days there looked like:

Day 1:

My mom and I took a train from Lucerne into Italy, and it resulted in a train ride that looked something like this…

Views of the Swiss country side as we approach the Swiss-Italian Border; July 2018

… for the entire time. We even passed Lake Como. One of the Europeans on the train closed the curtains on the windows, as it was July, midday, and sunny… but he opened them back up after he saw how encapsulated I was by the European country side. I mean, come on…

… how could you not be?!

Once we arrived, we headed straight for the Duomo. Just like most European cities, the minute you pop out of the metro… there it is, bold and commanding before your eyes.

We then made our way to Sforza Castle.

My mom and I compromised: she stopped at all of the spots to read on the history on the castle, and then we took a pause to enjoy the European park while we could.

Sempione Park in Milan, Italy. Taken July 2018.

Afterwards, we took advantage of the fridge in our hotel room and went grocery shopping. Let me tell you, if you are chill with eating salads and getting creative with cooking while travelling… do it in Italy. Groceries are incredibly cheap there. My mom and I would buy lemon juice, salad mixes, tofu, and some bread and be good to go.

We even bought dumplings and cooked them in the hot water machine from our room… but you don’t have to be as ridiculous as we were; that part is optional.

Not to mention, wine is literally cheaper than water nearly everywhere in Italy.

Wine for €1,49 for a carton… this, is Italy. — Wine for €1,49 for a carton… *this,* is Italy.

I mean, €1,49 for a carton… how could you not take advantage?

Day 2:

I knew I wanted to climb up the Duomo for a city view, as it’s one of my favorite things to do when I travel, so it was the first things on our list that morning.

Beware: you need to have your legs & shoulders covered to be able to go inside. Having previously traveled Europe in the winter and going into churches in jeans & a jacket… I blanked that wearing my too-short-for-Europeans-American-styled-short-shorts wouldn’t cut it as an acceptable entry fee.

My mom, in her true New Yorker essence, bargained with the guys surrounded the Duomo for a deal on the cloaks. I now keep mine in my suitcase in the event that I’ll need it somewhere around the world while sightseeing…

… but I advise that you don’t be us and buy a €7 cloak when you don’t need to. Bring it with you before if you intend to travel Italy in the summer.

The views from the top of the Duomo are okay… nothing special in comparison to other views-from-the-top that I’ve seen.

View from the top of the Duomo in Milan; July 2018

Still, it was cool to be submersed in the Duomo itself.

Then we were off to the Navigili Canals, which were recommended to us by my mom’s college friend who studied abroad. It’s a charming area that gives you a breather from the touristy areas, as well as several gelato opportunities.

Navigili Canals in Milano; Taken July 2018

Don’t eat dairy?

It’s honestly not a problem, in Italy.

Everywhere you go, they most likely will point out the dairy-free options if you just ask. They’re usually a fruity flavor or dark chocolate… I would just default to strawberry and dark chocolate each time. Absolutely no complaints… it’s a match made in taste-bud-heaven.

My Strawberry & Dark Chocolate Dairy-Free Gelato at the Navigili Canals in Milan, Italy: July 2018.

We then ventured to go see Leonardo’s Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie. If you want to do this, again… buy your tickets online ahead of time. My mom & I were hoping to go in together, but there was only one ticket left.

I can’t believe I was lucky enough (and that my mom, an architect and artist at heart, willing to let me go inside instead of her), to get to snap a picture and see it in person. It is fading… but it’s still worth seeing.

My mom enjoyed a cannoli while I was in there (the tours of Leonardo’s last supper are timed; you can’t go in just to see the painting), so I suppose we were both winners that day!

She said it tasted incredible, and by the looks of how that cream is seeping out the cannoli in this picture: we have no reason to not believe her.

An authentic Italian canonoli that my mom thoroughly enjoyed.

We then strolled through the shops surrounding the Duomo (there are lots of things there that everyone knows of, like Lush, the Lego Store, etc…) and then went back to our room for a quick rest before our first Italian feast.

What makes eating pasta in Italy different than how we make it in the U.S. is the duration of how long they cook it for. We tend to overcook our pasta; when it’s actually meant to be eaten al dente.

I had never had pasta the “right” way before my first Milanese dining experience… and I loved it.

My first Italian spaghetti tasting in Milan; July 2018

Again: wine is cheaper than ordering water for the table… so take advantage of that, like my mom did.

Day 3:

We slept in this day after going at it non-stop for the past 36 hours. After breakfast, we walked to the famous 10 Corso Como.

It’s a typical, charm-filled street with cafes, pizzerias, and tiny expensive, but exquisite, stores.

Isn’t this bag just the cutest?! — Isn’t this bag just *the cutest?!*

We then decided to get lost, and find the local shopping the was just past the 10 Corso Como.

We came across what appeared to be an outdoor shopping mall, and perused that before getting lost inside an Esselunga, an Italian grocery store. When travelling, I advise you always pop into local supermarket, even if you don’t need something… just to see how, “the other half” lives.

Gnocchi in a local grocery store in Milan.

This day, I actually needed more leave-in-conditioner: something that’s not easy to travel with… I have a small habit of trying a new one every time I leave the country. It seems trivial, but it’s the little things like this, buying something that you need and seeing the options available to other people on a day-to-day basis, that make travelling so much fun.

Because it brings new to what’s usually ordinary and routine to you.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Quadrilatero della moda.

The whole Quadrilatero della Moda area definitely makes you feel like your on the inside of a high-end fashion magazine.

We marveled in all of the expensive shoes…

The way they present fashion in Milan is truly unique.

… and I do mean all of them.

We were low-key mad that we couldn’t afford any of those shoes.

We then made our way back to the Duomo area, where my mom had a legit tiramisu, and I had a vegan chocolate croissant (they’re so good and so cheap all over Italy. Just say, ‘soy vegano’ and they’ll know what you’re talking about).

In Italy, Tiramisu is actually a pudding, not coffee cake. — In Italy, Tiramisu is actually a pudding, *not coffee cake.*

We popped into Gallerie d'italia for a brief moment to take a peek at all of the modern art inside.

We went into Galleria Vittorio Emanuele briefly on the first day, but went back inside the last day for a better feel. There’s a lot of shopping in there, too.

Basically, Milan is about shopping.

My mom cracked a joke that she thought Ceaser’s Palace in Las Vegas was beautiful, until she saw inside Galleria Vittorio Emanuele…

Inside Galleria Vittorio Emanuele; July 2018.

It was a jam-packed day. We were going to hop onto the metro, but it was closed. After a two mile (around 3.3 kilometer) walk back to our room, we finished off our salad mixes and our leftover pizza from the night before as we were off to Rome the next day.

Our leftover Milanese feast on our last night.

I hope this gave you an idea of how you want to spend your time in Milan! If you’re looking for other things to do in Italy, click here.