Where to Stay: Milan Area Guide
So you’re going to Milan. You’ve made all sorts of plans – you know what ice cream to eat (sorbetto al limone), what places to visit (the Duomo), and what art to see (The Last Supper). You’ve done most of your packing, though you still need to decide which sunglasses look more fashionable (the larger ones). You’ve even brushed up on your Italian. Fantastico. The only thing that remains is finding a place to stay.
The first thing you should realize when starting your search for lodging is that Milan is a large city, or it is by Italian standards, at any rate. It isn’t so vast that you wouldn’t be able to walk across town with some determination and a passion for long strolls, but it’s no handkerchief. You’re going to have several areas of town to choose from.
Don’t worry too much about transportation when selecting a place, though, because even if you’re one for the pedestrian sports, you can take advantage of the truly fantastic, easy-to-understand and logical public transport system. This is no Paris or London with hundreds of metro lines – so many that one line can differ from another by one shade of the same color – this is Milan, where virtually all roads lead to the Duomo. Or, the main railroad hub, Centrale. So no matter where you stay in this town, you can be sure to get home, without ending up somewhere you didn’t want to go, any time of day or night.
With transportation covered, there is nothing to stop you from staying wherever you like. That, however, leaves you with more options than you perhaps would like to sift through. Well, that’s why we’re here: to narrow it down for you, picking only the most suitable neighborhoods and looking at the pros, cons, and particulars, however long your trip.
Centro
Centro is the obvious choice for first-time visitors and those wanting their trip to Milan to be about sightseeing. The perk is that you’ll be an easy walk away from most of the things in your guidebook, the drawback being of course that the rest of the tourists will, too. While Centro may be very busy in the day, it is not the hotspot for night-time activity, so it may be too quiet or just quiet enough for you. Prices in this district are the perhaps highest anywhere in town – this goes for the hotels as well as the food and drinks, though neither are better than what is on offer anywhere else in Milan.
What we refer to as “Centro” on this list includes the actual part of town named Centro as well as the historical center, Centro Storico, or anywhere between the triangle of metro stations San Babila, Montenapoleone, and Piazza dei Mercanti.
Hotels are more expensive in this area, but there are deals available. A good place to start is at the UNA Hotel Cusani, which offers luxury without a financial headache the next day. If you want to splurge, even just for a night, the TownHouse Galleria is an incredible choice, since booking a night here means you will be staying at the top of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Brera
Bordering the above-mentioned center of town, you can find the most romantic neighborhood in all of Milan. Brera is ideal for couples away together; especially, it must be said, for those with a fair amount of disposable income.
Brera comes from the word for broad, though that would be the last thing on your mind while wandering the narrow little streets of this district. To dial up the romance, you’ve got the botanical gardens in this part of town as well as an astronomical observatory. Brera has a wide range of wonderful rentals, so checking out sites that offer those may be worth it. If you’d rather have turndown service, these hotels are great options:
Brera Apartments is a full-service property that feels like your own home. Hemeras Boutique Hotel is glorious and its classical beauty hard to put into words. If money is no object, the fanciest hotel in Brera and, according to some, anywhere in town is the Bvlgari Hotel, a shamelessly expensive property by the people who provided Elizabeth Taylor with her jewelry.
Navigli/Porta Genova
Something about the crowd that calls this neighborhood home makes you fall right into step with them as you go back to your place by the canals after a long day out around town. The Navigli area extends to Porta Genova, the city’s oldest railway station, with the rails leading up to it splitting the district down the middle.
Come here if you like to swim against the stream and are comfortable rubbing shoulders with artists and vagabonds. Try to catch one of the famous markets along the canals, of which a slightly different themed version exists on most days of the week. The Navigli is the arguably the most beautiful part of town, and, as luck would have it, also one of the cheapest. Staying here can be pulled off at a steal and even the best hotel in the area, Nhow Milan, won’t set you back too far. Staying at this stylish, artsy hotel with an electric orange and muted gray theme is a must. Other fantastic options include the sleek but cheap Art Hotel Navigli and the B&B Fiori di Grano, a lovely, romantic little place right by the water.
Porta Romana
The Porta Romana area is where you can throw a stone and hit two bars and a legendary club in one go. Most of the worthwhile clubbing, bar-hopping, and general after-hours merriment takes place around Porta Romana. This is the perfect area for you to dance the night away at Magazzini Generali or any of the countless milestones of the famous Movida Milanese.
If you’re looking at a map, this area may seem too far from the center of Milan, but it really isn’t. Called Porta Romana because the road leading to Rome started here, the district packs a punch you will remember long after you’ve left the city. The list of best places to stay is again topped by a hotel of the UNA group, the Hotel Mediterraneo, a four-star at the price of a hostel. But you’ve also got a Best Western with fantastic reviews or the Grand Visconti Palace, a lavish affair with a rather doable price tag for feeling like a royal.
Zara
The northern counterpart to Porta Romana, gritty and no-nonsense Zara is as practical as it is thrifty. The name may evoke a certain Spanish fashion emporium, but Zara was Zara long before those guys ever thought of copying runway style on the cheap. This part of town has none of the Milanese high fashion feel, which is great since no tourists really brave visiting this side of town. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and quiet area to hang your head, the one centered around Viale Zara is ideal. There isn’t much going on here, sure, but that may not be a bad thing. Plus, if you find a restaurant with most tables occupied, you can be sure that it isn’t a tourist trap and will serve amazing Milanese food. The hotels in this area, including via Fulvio Testi, are all pretty reasonable, even in the times when lodging is in high demand. If the plan is to come to town during fashion week but not go home penniless, Zara is where you should stay. The best bets in this district are Hotel Zara, a simple but modern little hotel that comes at the price of lunch for two, and Starhotels Tourist in via Fulvio Testi, a simple but manicured hotel that lacks in precisely nothing but frill.
Isola and Chinatown
Lessons in cool teach you detachment in Isola, both figuratively and literally. And right next to this oft-discussed zone, you can find Chinatown, so crossing from one to the other is an easy and exciting walk. Not quite as dramatic as the part of town that gave its name to a movie starring Jack Nicholson, little cinnabar lanterns still line the streets of this city within the city. Stroll along via Paolo Sarpi and check out the authentic Asian food, or head down the graffiti-filled streets of Isola to catch a show at the Teatro degli Archimboldi, the modern answer to the classicity of La Scala. Like Brera, these two districts are immediately adjacent to the grounds of Parco Sempione, albeit the other side of it. The Aparthotel Isola is wonderfully restrained and the price even more so, and the Leonardo Hotel Milan is a similarly fine option. Somewhat more extravagant but certainly worth the splurge is VIU Milan.
Financial District/Zona Garibaldi
Beneath Isola, you can find its polar opposite in vibe as well as architectural sensibility. A new addition to the Milanese cityscape, the skyscrapers and fluid, glass architecture of the recently revamped financial district make the capital of fashion feel that much more cosmopolitan. A crowd composed of office workers means a lot of after-work buzz around this area, where you will not be able to try all of the aperitivos along one single street. But you can always do your best to try. The Pirelli building is situated here, as is the Unicredit tower, which looks like a sheet of paper falling – both of these are easy landmarks to recognize from afar if you get lost. The hotels in this area tend to focus on working professional clientele, which means that prices for even the best places fluctuate, sometimes lingering on the lower end of the spectrum during the holiday season. The first spot of value for money is shared by Hotel Tocq and LaGare by Sofitel, both shining examples of extravagance, while the finest, classiest hotel in Milan and possibly all of Italy is the Hotel Principe Di Savoia, a heartbreakingly gorgeous affair that hurts the wallet considerably but is so unreasonably gorgeous, you just may convince yourself it’s worth it.
Porta Venezia
In the likely case that you have come to Milan to do some serious shopping, Porta Venezia will afford you plenty of chance to do just that without putting you in financial ruin. There are vintage shops on every corner, offering dresses that used to belong to Italian socialites but are now sold at reasonable prices. If that isn’t shopping enough, the Mecca of Italian high street, Corso Buenos Aires also starts from Porta Venezia, the gate that gave this area its name. This district, with its coat of arms a black lion on a silver background, is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of town, so you can find specialty shops of all kinds and multicultural cuisine, too, is well represented. Porta Venezia won’t break the bank and is a wonderful part of the city to discover, being on the one hand markedly different but on the other so very Milan. The area offers attractive prices. One good example of this is the Just Hotel Milan, too cheap for how good it looks, though the Best Western Hotel St. George and the World Hotel Cristoforo Colombo come in at a very close second and third, respectively.