Italy is beautiful. Glorious even. And each region is so different, as a tapestry made of different fabrics stitched together. Food, Art, History. Italy has a bit of everything for everyone. But you know what? It is also pricy. It can be expensive. Milan, for instance, is known for being one of the most expensive cities in Italy. Being the capital of Italian fashion, and one of the most recognisable fashion capitals in the world, home to designer fashion brands, of course, this isn’t a cheap place to live… or to visit.
When it comes to budget when travelling, I also always find this an incredibly subjective topic. What is budget for some people, may not be budget for others. So here are a few things to note about my travels in Milan.
- I prioritise culture/history over dining out. Yes, the food in Italy is great. But dining out is expensive and I didn’t see it as a priority as a solo traveller, especially when now it is so easy to find really great Italian restaurants anywhere else (I know this will anger the Italians, but it is what I have experienced!).
- I don’t mind walking, I even prefer it.
- I didn’t want to stay in hostels – I stayed at a hotel, with a private room and bathroom. I also don’t need luxury hotels.
- I try my best not to get carried away by the main attractions (I will explain a bit more below)
Bearing this in mind, see below for a little more information
Accommodation
This is where you’ll spend more money, especially if you are a solo-traveller. As per usual, I used Booking.com for all accommodation on this trip, trying to find the best price-quality duo. When I started this search I almost gave up on the trip immediately. Everything was so expensive, and bear in mind I was looking to visit in December, the low tourist season. I really didn’t want to stay in hostels, but even if I did, they seemed to have terrible ratings and there wasn’t a lot of choice. I also use filters on Booking, and one of them is that the overall guest rating has to be higher than 8. To me, this means the property is clean and safe, the most important thing for me. I realised that I’d have to perhaps stay between 20-30 minutes walk from the actual “centre” of each place to be able to find the most affordable accommodation. And because I really don’t mind walking, I ended up staying in the below and absolutely can assure you these were amazing stays.
🏠 Accommodation: Hotel Ritter in Milan
- Mid-range price-wise, but still much cheaper than others
- Very nicely clean, nice staff at reception and amazing breakfast (included in the price)
- Whilst room was small, it was enough for one person
- Located in the neighbourhood of Moscova, a stylish area, with restaurants, cute shops and cafes
- About 25 minutes walk to the Duomo, which I’m using as a reference of how far from “main attractions”
🍕 Food & Drinks
The only time I dined out (and with this I mean sitting at a restaurant to eat a meal) was to have lunch with a friend from Milan. Other than that, I did what I usually do when I’m more budget-constrained and works quite well for me, especially in Europe. As a disclaimer, the below is also easier to do when solo-travelling. When with other people, there is typically a lot more to get from sitting at the table to eat, and usually it can be hard to get everyone to agree to eat sandwiches and salads for dinner every day 🙂
- Had a hearty breakfast at the hotel. Since it was available in all the places I stayed in, it was easy for me to indulge a little more. This meant I wouldn’t be hungry until mid-afternoon. I would then have a mid-afternoon snack and then dinner.
- I bought food from “street vendors” – with this I mean smaller places without a sitting area, selling focaccia, pizza, polenta.
- I bought my dinners from the supermarket and then ate calmly in my hotel room, whilst watching a show. In Europe at least, most supermarkets will have a section with salads, sandwiches, fruit, etc ready to eat. I would buy even slices of pizza and bread, so my dinners were always below 7-8 euros. I mostly used Carrefour.
- I used my refillable bottle for water, and filled it every morning with tap water, which is very safe to drink in Italy. The only other drink I usually need to keep me awake during the day is coffee, but I would have it at the hotel, and then only have it in the afternoon if I was tired and wanted to also sit for a little rest. When it comes to alcohol, whilst I do enjoy a good glass of wine, it is not necessary and it’s even healthy of me to not drink alcohol when travelling. I would indulge if I considered it a vacation… but it wasn’t 🙂
👣 Transport – Getting around Milan
I walked everywhere, even the 30 minutes from the Train Station to the hotel. Milan is a very walkable city, mostly flat, and you’d be missing out if you take public transport. I only see the benefits of walking: exercise, see more, and save money. There is tram, metro and bus available though, in case you need it, it should be fairly straight-forward to navigate 🙂
Activities – What to do in Milan
So here is where it’s the hardest to save money, next to accommodation. Because the first thing you are going to think is that you want to do it ALL, but it all costs money (and a lot of it…) in Italy. So often I miss London for offering world-leading museums for free (except temporary exhibitions) even if a lot of the artefacts exposed were simply stolen (yes, talking about you British Museum). Unfortunately, it is not the case for most countries, Italy included, so I was forced to say no to some things.
🤷🏻♀️ What I didn’t do in Milan
Milan Duomo: this is probably the most shocking one. The Duomo is literally the symbol of Milan, almost seems like the whole identity of Milan revolves around its massive cathedral. And to be honest, I was planning on visiting it. It was going to be pricy, I believe I would have to pay almost 20 euros for the entrance and the climb to the terrace. I kept thinking to myself – perhaps it is stupid of me if I come to Milan and not visit the Duomo. Well, I didn’t visit it and I don’t think I was stupid.
In reality, Milan is so much more than the Duomo. It is a beautiful city, incredibly charming, sophisticated and stylish. I found myself more interested in spending my time outdoors (even with the grey weather!) than spending all of that money…indoors. In addition to it, precisely because the weather was not fantastic, I probably would have a pretty shitty view from the terraces anyway. I arrived in Milan and as I got to see a little of it, I didn’t see a need or even willingness on my part to embark on the journey that would be the Duomo. I don’t mean to take away the importance of it – I will definitely try to visit if I’m ever back in Milan! But for 2 days, with a shoestring budget, I really thought I could just skip it… and I did with no regrets.
Pinacoteca de Brera: it’s the main and likely most important public art gallery of Milan, and therefore it definitely caught my eye with its enviable collection of Italian art from the 13th all the way to the 16th century. I really wanted to have been able to go… but once again, I had to give it a pass. The ticket was €15, and I knew I’d have to spend at least a couple hours inside it. It was q question of time and money in this case. So, once again, this was a place I had to sadly pass.
🙋🏻♀️ What I did in Milan
Got a Milan Museum Tourist Card for €12! My Milanese friend had mentioned to me Museo del Novecento, as an art gallery that I should visit. When I navigated to their website, I found out about this card that includes entrance to a few smaller-scale museums in Milan for three days. The museums included in the ticket are typically about €5 for a single entrance, and because I was interested in visiting at least 3 of them, it was definitely worth it. These are the museums you can visit with this card:
- Galleria d’Arte Moderna: if you are into art, this is definitely a must-visit. I really loved it, the building itself is beautiful (photos below)
- Museo del 900: also highly recommend. It has a brilliant collection of modern and contemporary art, mostly by Italian artists, and a magnificent view of the Duomo from its interior.
- Museums of the Castello Sforzesco. I got my card here, so I then visited some of its museums. I didn’t spend much time here. There were a lot of school groups and the exhibits focused more on the archaeology side of the place, with little explanation.
- Palazzo Morando: a 18th-century palace with period furnishings & paintings. It also has a fashion exhibit, but I found it quite poor.
- Museo Archeologico, Civic Acquarium, Natural History Museums (I didn’t visit any of these, but it could be a great way to spend some extra time, especially for families and/or on a rainy day)
Take a Free Walking Tour: I’ve raved about these in many of my posts. Every time I can, I sign up for one. The working of “free” walking tours are simple - it’s not really free, but you pay in the end whatever you think you should, sort of a tip. I always learn so much more about the place, and its landmarks, traditions, history, etc, when I get on these tours. I loved the one I did with Citywalkers (linked here if you want to check it out). The tour is also offered in Spanish, and it was about 2h30 long, uncovering so many secrets of the city, that Milan even shone different to me after the tour.
Visit a Chapel made of Human Bones (free) – Santuario di San Bernardino alle Ossa: I had no idea there was one of thee in Milan if it wasn’t for the tour! In fact, as someone who sort of likes dark locations such as these, I had visited the Chapel of Bones located in Évora, Portugal a few years ago, having no idea that it had been inspired precisely by this one in Milan. I was quite surprised I didn’t find this in any of the blog posts I was reading about Milan.
Visit the Cimiterio Monumentale: I dedicated a full post to this, but this really is a must-visit if you’re going to Milan. I know for some people visiting cemeteries rings odd, and even they’d think I’d be mad. Trust me when I say this is indeed one of the major points of interest in Milan – an open-air museum with the most brilliant artworks. And it’s completely free to visit.
Take a funny photo with L.O.V.E. Just in front of the Italian stock exchange headquarters, you find the below statues. It was offered to the city by provocative Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, and the name – L.O.V.E stands for the Italian words Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità (Freedom, Hate, Vengeance, Eternity). It’s been there since 2010, even though it was supposed to be temporary. Whilst it is viewed as a critique to the economy and society based on virtual numbers, in reality this middle finger isn’t turned to the stock M Exchange, but to us – to anyone who comes from the direction to enter it. Our guide said that in his view the fuck you (excuse me the swear word) is directed towards the people, those of us who trust the system, the bankers, the stocks, with our savings, expecting or hoping to gain wealth, and then simply being fucked by them. I suppose it is open to interpretation.
Find a quiet corner in the Gallerias de Emanuele Vittorio, and appreciate the details. This is likely the landmark that comes second to mind when we mention Milan, but these are indeed beautiful to behold. The crowds though can be offputting. My advice: take the walking tour because the guide will tell you a lot more about this building, and then later on, find a quiet corner, stand there and appreciate all of the details you are surrounded with. Is this the most beautiful shopping centre of all?
Walk and observe. Walk the streets of Milan and pay attention to the architecture. Don’t forget the Middle finger. You can check this blog post I wrote on Milan for inspiration 🙂
As you can see there is a a lot to do within a tighter budget in Mialn, specifically if you only have a couple of days to explore. Please remember this is just may way of travelling, and a lot of these lessons I learned with experience.
Love, Nic
P.S. This post contains affiliate links. It is not sponsored, I will only earn a small commission if you purchase something after clicking on it, at no additional cost to you.
The Winged Bone 