| Milan, Italy |  |
| October 29 - 30, 2005 |
Benvenuti a Milano!
Milan, dating back at least 2,500 years, is Italy's financial center, business hub, fashion capital, and one of the world's most industrialized major cities. It is crowded, noisy, hot in the summer and damp and foggy in the winter, less easygoing and more expensive than other Italian places - in short, not as immediately appealing a stopover as Venice, Florence, or Rome.
Milan, though, reveals its long and event-filled history in a wide range of monuments, museums, and churches. It is home to the third-largest church in Christendom, not to mention one of the world's most famous paintings, a fabulous large castle and a series of canals designed, in part, by Leonardo da Vinci.
Despite Milan's size and sprawl, most of its attractions are concentrated in the city center, between the Duomo and the Castello Sforzesco. The Duomo is best place to begin exploring the city and is within strolling distance of dozens of historic sites.
Heading north from the Piazza del Duomo, walk through the city's glass-enclosed shopping center (the world's 1st), the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Emerging from the northern end of the Galleria you'll be just steps away from Piazza della Scala and Milan's famous opera house. A walk northeast takes you to Via Montenapoleone and the city's high-fashion shopping district, the epicenter of Italian design. A walk north of Piazza della Scala along Via Brera brings you into the atmospheric Brera neighborhood, where cobblestone streets and old palazzos surround the city's major art collection, the Pinacoteca di Brera.
Milan is also a fashion lovers paradise: shopping, whether of the window variety or - for those who can afford it - the real thing, is of almost religious significance. With high fashion, chillingly expensive boutiques, and designer labels, it all comes down to personal taste.
.. and my personal opinion on Milan: definitely a must-see city that offers a lot to all kinds of visitors. Located relatively close to Vienna, I'll pay the city for sure another visit!
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