Holidays in Milan: Free things to do

As the financial and fashion capital of Italy, Milan offers plenty of things to do for its inhabitants and for those who come to visit the city for longer or shorter periods. However, Milan can be quite pricey (if you don’t know your way around) and some of the main sights can still cost money. We at Hostelworld know that when travelling there are times to spoil yourself and times to save money and visiting a city means both! And who said that all things worth seeing have to be paid for? For example, there are plenty of things to do in Milan without spending a euro. Don’t believe us?

• Museums

Let’s start with the museums. We are for getting to know the city beyond the tourist brochure. When we travel, we like to immerse ourselves in the culture of the city and get to know its vices and virtues, traditions and modernity, new trends and history. And what better places to learn about history than museums?
Milan is full of free museums: we told you about the Fondazione Prada, the Hangar Bicocca and the Castello Sforzesco (all free of charge) in our article on what to see in Milan, but there are at least two other completely free museums that you cannot miss. The Boschi di Stefano house-museum, a stone’s throw from Corso Buenos Aires (Via Giorgio Jan, 15), houses many works of art by Morandi, Carrà and Fornata to name but a few. Another museum worth visiting is the Museo della Macchina da Scrivere (Via Menabrea, 10): do you know the keyboard on your smartphone? It comes from there.

• Graffiti

But Milan is not only museums. On the contrary, it is above all life on the street, out in the open, gathering opportunities, and the Milanese (and not only) have made no bones about embellishing their streets with real works of art! Many of these are right in the centre in the Isola neighbourhood, the area near Porta Ticinese and the area around Via Watteau (near the central station). A tip: pass by when the shops close because many works are right on the shutters!

• Navigli

After all this wandering around, it will be evening, so take the opportunity to stroll along the Navigli with your friends or at sunset if you are in sweet company! You will be pleasantly surprised by the number of artisans’ workshops that still exist in this area, which has been one of the main points of Milanese nightlife for years.

• Window Shopping

Milan, as we said at the beginning, is world famous for fashion and its centre is full of boutiques, showrooms and jewellers. Many of these are concentrated in the area of the centre that has come to be known as the ‘Quadrilatero della moda’ as it is enclosed by the streets of Montenapoleone, Via Manzoni, Via della Spiga and Corso Venezia. We have never bought anything around here, but what is the harm in taking a stroll among the shop windows?

• Monumental cemetery

The final resting place of many Milanese is, paradoxically, one of the most beautiful places in the city. Here you can find the graves of Manzoni, Gaber and Cattaneo among others.

• Brera vs Piazza Gae Aulenti

These two areas are very different even though they are only a 20-minute (or even less) walk apart: the Brera area (the real one) retains an art nouveau feel with its narrow streets and colourful buildings and, here, you can find numerous clubs as well as the Pinacoteca and the Accademia delle Belle Arti! In contrast, Piazza Gae Aulenti has recently been rebuilt with a modern character: suffice it to say that the tallest skyscraper in Italy and a vertical garden stand here!

• Markets

The Fiera di Sinigaglia is certainly the most famous and oldest market in Milan, but there is more to it than that! In fact, Milan is full of flea markets! The city’s most famous flea market is certainly the Festival Park (Via Sacile), which takes place every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here you can find real bargains (if you have a nose…) or nasty surprises (if you don’t have a nose for bargains…)! Let the game begin!
Another very famous market in the city is the Ortomercato (Via Lombroso, 54) which is Italy’s largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market with a total area of 445,000 square metres. Not bad is it? Everything is sold wholesale here but if you go towards the end of the day you can take away whole crates for pennies. Maybe to share in the hostel?
Finally, for those who like to eat (who doesn’t?), we recommend a trip to the Mercato Metropolitano (Via Valenza 2) which opened at the same time as the EXPO. Just one piece of information: it is the temple of street food in the city. No need to say more, right?
Otherwise have a read of the article with the best tips on Where to eat in Milan.

• Parks

The city is full of beautiful parks scattered almost everywhere. One of the most famous is certainly Sempione Park (we could call it the Castello Sforzesco park) bordered by the Arena, the Arco della Pace and the Acquario Civico.
The city’s other green lung, without a shadow of a doubt, is what was once known as the Giardini Pubblici di Porta Venezia (Public Gardens of Porta Venezia), which were later dedicated to Indro Montanelli. These are ‘slightly’ less frequented by tourists than the former and perfect for relaxing for a few minutes after a day walking around the city!

• The Loggia dei Mercanti

The Loggia dei Mercanti is certainly one of the most beautiful buildings in Milan, but it is also one of the most peculiar! In fact, thanks to a clever construction, if you approach a column and try to speak, your message will be delivered to the person standing at the column opposite yours through the building’s arches! This medieval palace housed the six sestieri of the city.

• Lake Como

The ticket will cost you a few euros but if you are tired of the pace of the city, Lake Como is certainly THE place to recover! In summer, take advantage of it for a nice relaxing swim and some sunbathing… we are for getting to know the world, but a bit of relaxation every now and then is needed!
Many thanks to Filippo Salamone, Gaetano Virgallito, Davide Oliva and Gian Luca Ponti for the fantastic photos on Flickr!