We started our world tour with an overnight direct flight that was about 10 hours. We landed in Milan on a Saturday morning around 9 a.m. and were so excited to get there! Check out our perfect Milan itinerary below and what to do in Milan for 3 days.
Travel Diary: What To Do in Milan for 3 Days
Day 1
The first thing you need to know is transportation from the airport. A taxi ride ranges from 60-120 euros from the airport to Milan. We decided we didn’t want to pay that much and took a train from the airport to Milano Centrale, the train station in Milan. There we took a subway from Milano Centrale to the Duomo stop, where our hotel The Straf was located, our home for the next 3 days!
The Staf is located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. It was a beautiful place with lots of shopping, restaurants, and culture. Something you must see in person!
We checked in and got settled. We always take a 1 to 2-hour nap when we land in a city and then get up and go about the day. You don’t want to sleep all day and fuel jet lag so take a quick nap, get a shot of espresso, and go explore! Most of Saturday was spent walking around different parts of the city. We took mental notes of where we wanted to go in and looked at what time the places opened and how many tickets were.
We also ate at the yummiest pizza place called Piz. The pizza was absolutely amazing and worth the 45 minutes we waited. Also, it’s better to split a pizza. Most of the pizzas are huge and I never finished one by myself!
Quick sidebar. A lot of places take reservations and if the restaurant is full, they’ll tell you to come back later. Most of the places we went didn’t take down names so it’s first come first serve if you don’t have a reservation or book in advance.
Another thing to keep in mind is in popular tourist areas, there are pushy street vendors. If someone walks up to you with a rose or offers to take a photo of you, they expect money in return. Also, there are men who walk around who try to tie a bracelet around your wrist and you have to jerk your arm away from them. They put the bracelet on you and then scream at you for taking something of theirs and not paying.
Day 2 – What to do in Milan for 3 Days
We got up early to be the first ones at the Duomo. There you take a number and wait until your number is called and that’s the ticket system. Keep in mind that if you go to any church in Italy your shoulders and knees have to be covered. I kept a shawl in my purse in case we wanted to pop in a church!
The Duomo in Milan was absolutely beautiful. I took a bunch of pictures but I don’t think they even do it justice!
The best part of the Duomo is being able to make the climb to the top (they also have an elevator up for a small fee). Look at that beautiful view!
After the Duomo, we walked to the Sforza Castle to see the Rondanini Pietà, Michelangelo’s last sculpture before he died. The sculpture is incomplete but still is an amazing work of art. From one angle it looks like Jesus is lifting up his mother Mary, while another angle looks like Mary is pulling up Jesus. We had the place to ourselves and it was nice to sit and examine this for a while.
After this, we wandered for a bit and saw the arc below, had lunch, and got some yummy gelato. Coffee gelato became my thing in Italy. I had it every day!
Next, we went to the afternoon viewing of the ballet at the famous opera house, Teatro Alla Scala. We sat in the very last row but it was absolutely amazing!
We were pretty tired after the ballet so we took a quick nap and then took the subway to the Navigli District. This area had a lot of young people out on a Sunday night and had cool bridges over the water. We walked around and enjoyed a delicious dinner of pasta (of course).
Day 3 – What to do in Milan for 3 Days
It was time for a little window shopping! We walked around Via Monte Napoleone and looked in stores like Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, Prada, Gucci, and the whole gang! All this window shopping worked up an appetite so we had coffee and a snack at the Armani Cafe!
I had a hot chocolate that tasted like pudding and was so yummy! After this, we went to 10 Corso Como and shopped, had pasta, and enjoyed the trendy neighborhood.
We walked a ton this day exploring everything Milan had to offer. We finally decided we wanted burgers for dinner (yes, we’re those people) and the best burgers in Milan are at a local hostel, Ostello Bello!
After this, we went back to our hotel, got dressed up, and headed to Dolce & Gabbana’s bar, Bar Martini. This place was amazing and so chic. I sipped a glass of red wine and listened to Beyoncé play!
Milan had so much more to offer but it was time to go. we packed up and got ready to head to Venice the next day. I hope you enjoyed my 72 hours in Milan. Next Monday, I’ll continue this series with my travel guide to Venice!
International travelers visiting Italy will need to have travel insurance with a minimum coverage of 30,000 (about $50,000 USD) to satisfy the Schengen Visa requirements.
Milan is a huge city, but all the main attractions are located close to the Piazza del Duomo. You can easily walk to all the main attractions of Milan in one day and have a day itinerary.
La Scala Theatre & Museum, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Museo del Novecento, Poldi Pezzoli Museum and Milan Natural History Museum.
Some things we didn’t get to see: Royal Palace of Milan, Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro, Sforzesco Castle (Castello Sforzesco), Santa Maria delle Grazie, and San Siro (the football stadium).
Check out some of my other blog posts about Italy!
Have you ever been to Milan? What would you do in Milan for 3 days?
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