24 Hours in Milan, Italy

By Laura Vogel February 12, 2024

Ahh Milan... the heart of Vogelle.

Milan is frequently a stopover city for travelers who are on their ultimate Italian vacation. It can also be a layover spot for those jet setting around Europe.

Milan is often overlooked for its more popular neighbors like Rome, Florence, and Venice, but if you find yourself in this magnificent fashion capital, here's a how you can conquer it in a day.

Our founder has spent a lot of time in Milan since starting Vogelle. This is exactly how she would spend 24 hours in Milan. Enjoy!

Milan Central Train Station

If you're taking the trains around Italy, you will most likely arrive in Milan at the Milano Centrale train station.

If you flew into Milan, at either the Malpensa airport or the Bergamo airport, you will need to catch the train or bus into the city. Both of these options will almost always drop you off at the Milano Centrale train station.

From the Milano Centrale train station, you're ready to hit the city.

The Duomo

Like most European cities, taking the metro is the easiest way to get around Milan. You can access the metro directly below the train station. Keep following the big red "M"s.

Purchase either a Mi1 - Mi3 day pass for about 7 euros, or a Mi1 - Mi3 one-way ticket for about 2 euros. Everything in this guide is within the Mi1 - Mi3 zone.

Hop aboard the metro and take the yellow line (M3) from Centrale FS to Duomo and take in the sight of one of the most striking manmade structures in the world.

Of course, you can also call an Uber or get a taxi in Milan.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

This iconic landmark is located directly to the left of the Duomo of Milan. Unless you're planning on shopping in the designer flagship stores inside of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, this will be a quick stop.

Walk through this beautiful structure, enjoy the architecture, and you'll be ready to hit the next stop.

The Sforza Castle

From the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, you can either walk to the Sforza Castle, take an overground tram, or take the underground metro. We recommend walking since it's only about a 10-15 minute walk through the beautiful heart of Milan's historic district.

The Sforza Castle can either be a quick visit, or a longer visit, depending on what you want to see. There is a unique art museum inside of the castle that houses work from Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Both of these artists spent time working in this castle.

Michelangelo's last sculpture, Rondanini Pietà, is located inside of the Sforza Castle, but you must pay an entrance fee to see it. If you're a history lover, it's worth seeing.

The castle grounds are free to enter.

If you walk through the Sforza Castle grounds, you'll end up at Parco Sempione with the exact view as the photo above. For those spending more time in Milan, this park is a great place to read, go for a walk, or get a workout in. At the end of this park, you can see Arco della Pace.

As you take in the views from the edge of Sforza Castle, you might be starting to think about lunch...

Lunch in Milan

If you're tired of walking, you can take the Lanza metro stop to the Moscova metro stop, but it's probably just as many steps to walk to this restaurant from the Sforza Castle.

Pizzeria Porta Garibaldi has been serving some of the best pizza in Milan since 1956. Grab some wine and a few slices of pizza, and enjoy the buzz of this popular spot!

10 Corso Como

Fashion lovers, this is for you!

10 Corso Como in Milan is an iconic shopping concept that was founded by Carla Sozzani, the sister of the former Italian Vogue editor in chief, Franca Sozzani. This store started as just a fashion exhibition, but it has now expanded to a fashion and design store, a book store, roof garden, and a hotel and café.

Here, you'll find some of the most unique pieces here from the most well-known designers. These collections cycle through, so no matter how many times you come to 10 Corso Como, you'll always find something new and exciting.

After browsing the fashion section of 10 Corso Como, head upstairs to see the amazing book store. This bookstore is flooded with the most impressive fashion, culture, and history books. It also has a small art exhibition in the back.

During one of our founder's visits, they were hosting a temporary Karl Lagerfeld exhibition in the back of the book store section of 10 Corso Como. Stumbling upon this was a wonderful surprise.

Karl's original sketches were on display for free and she had this entire exhibit to herself. You truly never know what you might find in this fashion capital.

Navigli

After exploring 10 Corso Como, it's time to head south to the Navigli neighborhood. This area is one of the most exciting, and underrated parts of Milan.

If you find yourself here on a Sunday, we highly recommend heading down to Navigli even earlier in the day to see the flea markets.

The Sunday flea market on this canal is some of the best vintage shopping anywhere in the world. Shop everything from denim to handbags to jewelry to furniture, and more. These flea markets are open every Sunday from 8am to 6pm. Don't miss it!

If you're not in Milan on a Sunday, come down to Navigli before the sun goes down to watch the set over the canal. One of the best vintage shops that is open all week long is called Guendj and it's located on the grand canal. You'll find incredible vintage leather goods here.

To get to the Navigli canals, catch the metro to the Porta Genova stop and walk about 3 minutes to the canals.

There are shops lining the canals, and the streets come alive at night with the start of aperitivo. No matter your budget or cravings, you'll be to find a great dinner along the canal. The best restaurant in Navigli is called Naviglio 48 (photographed below).