Travel like a Local – Milan (Italy)

5 Places Locals love in Milan, not the usual tourist attraction 

1. Brera’s botanical garden

Unknown to many, yet placed in the touristy Brera district, which makes this botanical garden a truly Yelp gem 🙂 The entrance is free and it’s a perfect relaxing heaven, especially in spring and summer. “One of those places in Milan you sometimes hear about, they use to say it just doesn’t feel like Milan, though it remains hidden and unknown to most people.”

2. Darsena

The Darsena is the perfect starting point to dive into the Milanese nightlife and it’s been completely renewed since last year. “I love the Darsena, walking around at night is really enjoyable… the new market as well as everything they created around it give Milan the feeling of a real European city to remember with pleasure once you head back home.”

3. Chiesa di Santa Maria presso San Satiro

This little church designed by  Bramante is just round the corner from the cathedral, a perfect place to mix shopping and culture together and it treasures… a surprise. “If you enter and look at the bottom, the apse seems downright deep as according to the original project. However, if you find your way through the chairs and get closer you’ll be definitely stunned. The apse was indeed created with a striking perspective technique, which only resembles the depth Bramante actually wanted. It is in fact only 95 cm deep!”

4. Dialogo nel Buio

Permanent exhibition at the Blinds’ Institute. You are accompanied by visually impaired guides through an itinerary of about one hour in complete darkness; an aperitif or dinner in the darkness can follow after at wish. Who’s been there talks about it as a unique experience you should definitely live if you are in Milan.  

5. Risoelatte

Furniture straight from the 60ies, great homestyle cuisine from Milan and beyond. It’s two steps away from the cathedral and the castle, though it’s well hidden… you would never come across it unless someone tells you to go there! “A leap back to the Italian houses in the 60ies, which are represented with simplicity and an extreme attention to details. Even if you just call around for a lunch break, Risoelatte makes you feel pleasently at home with its coffee aroma, granma’s care and laundry hanging to dry.