After spending a jam-packed week in Milan for last month’s Milan Design Week 2018 and the Salone del Mobile, I extended my stay to the weekend, slowing down the pace to explore the city a little further. Here I’m sharing my travel guide for a cultural design weekend in Milan – two to three days of gallery hopping and good food.
Now, Milan isn’t the prettiest of all the Italian cities – you go to Rome or Florence for picturesque scenes and historic, old-world charm – but what it lacks in looks, Milan makes up for in design flair and fashion. It’s a vibrant, cosmopolitan city – rich, urban, messy, dynamic and creative. You’ll have to look hard for Insta-worthy ‘pretty city’ moments away from the tourist traps (I did manage to find a hidden few!), but what you will find is smart, contemporary galleries, effortlessly stylish design boutiques and a brilliantly modern juxtaposition of old with new. And if you tire of the art and design, there’s always the shopping!
Of course there’s the landmarks of the Duomo, Torre Velasca and the chic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to add to the list of first-timers, but here I’m focusing on a handful of my must-visits, from luxurious Italian villas and house tours to independent galleries off the beaten track. There’s plenty to discover.
Things to do
– Villa Necchi – My favourite, favourite place in Milan, Villa Necchi Campiglio is an utterly elegant home (now preserved as a museum and offering daily tours) hidden away in one of the city’s richest neighbourhoods. Designed in 1932 by architect Piero Portaluppi for Angelo Campiglio and his family, it’s an oasis of calm – a luxurious, imposing villa surrounded by lush gardens and a beautiful swimming pool. Stupidly I don’t have any photographs, but you might recognise it if you’ve seen the 2009 film ‘I am Love’ starring Tilda Swinton.
Via Mozart, 14. Tours run every 30 minutes, Wednesday to Sunday 10am – 6pm, however it’s free to enter the gardens and visit the cafe. If you’re nearby don’t forget to pass by the grand Villa Invernizzi on Via Cappuccini to see their resident flamingos!
– La Triennale di Milano – is a design and art museum set within the greenery of the Parco Sempione. As well as a permanent collection and coffee bar in the garden, there’s temporary exhibitions – the current one profiles Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani, on until 11 September 2018
La Triennale di Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, open 10.30am – 8.30pm, closed Mondays.
– Mudec Museum of Culture – Housed in a restored factory complex to the south of the city in Tortona, Mudec is an arts and culture museum with a changing array of exhibitions. While we were in Milan, they had the Frida Kahlo exhibition that is coming to London.
Via Tortona, 56, open seven days a week, with shorter opening hours on a Monday.
– Brera district – A lovely, arty district, where you’ll find small galleries, boutiques and showrooms nestled down courtyards and alleys. Take a pause at the botanical gardens and make sure to pop into the two Aesop stores – one is a bold, turquoise, retro-inspired vision by Dimore Studio, the other an altogether more understated affair with a moulded fibreglass sink by Vincenzo De Cotiis Architects.
– Six Gallery – is a new, understated creative space hidden down a quiet street to the south-west of the city. It’s a collaboration between architects Quincoces-Dragò, Mauro Orlandelli, art director Samuele Savio, musicians Sergio Carnevale and Nic Cester and landscape architect Irene Cuzzaniti. Spanning off a verdant courtyard, you’ll find an exhibition space as well as an intimate restaurant and cafe, set within the raw, industrial setting of black painted brick.
Six Gallery, Via Scaldasole 7, Milan, open 12pm – 7.30pm, closed Sundays and Mondays.
– Santa Maria della Grazie and La Vigna di Leonardo – While everyone floods to Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper at Santa Maria della Grazie, with good reason, don’t forget to cross the road to a little-known gem – his vineyard. Here you’ll find a gorgeous, ornate villa and perfectly Italian garden hidden away. And at the end of the lawn, a small space where da Vinci grew grapes to make wine, given to him by the Duke of Milan in 1498. The house and gardens are still owned by residents, so you can’t really hang about, but it is worth visiting to pretend you live there for a moment too!
La Vigna di Leonardo, Corso Magenta 65, open 9am – 6pm, 7 days a week.
– Fondazione Prada – Designed by Rem Koolhaas’s firm OMA, the Fondazione Prada is a must-visit – a cultural complex located in a former gin distillery in an edgy, industrial area on the southern edge of Milan. Combining seven existing warehouses, laboratories and brewing silos with three new structures, the 19,000 sq m venue comprises space for temporary exhibitions with a cinema, auditorium and Wes Anderson-designed cafe. Now there’s also the Torre, opened in April to coincide with Milan Design Week – a nine-storey exhibition space for the permanent collection, accessed by a vertigo-inducing lift shaft.
Fondazione Prada, Largo Isarco 2, open Wednesday to Monday, closed Tuesdays.
Places to eat and drink
– Sixième, Six Gallery – for a twist on classic Italian food in a sumptuous, stylish setting, Six Gallery, Via Scaldasole 7.
– Pasticceria Marchesi – For accidentally Wes Anderson interiors and pretty pastries in this Prada-owned institution, Via Monte Napoleone, 9.
– LuBar – A plant-filled paradise in a grand building near Central Station, Via Palestra 16.
– oTTo – a cool, alternative cafe and co-working space, Via Paolo Sarpi 8.
Plus scroll down for more…
The best coffee you’ll find will often be at a typically Milanese cafe – fit in like a local and grab an espresso and brioche at the bar. My favourite for tradition was La Fattoria di Brera on Via San Fermo in the Brera district.
– Bar Luce – Designed by film director Wes Anderson, Bar Luce is a kitsch, retro cafe housed within the complex of the Fondazione Prada. It has the feel of a movie set with ornate wallpaper, wood veneer panels, pastel-shaded Formica seats and pinball machines. One for the instagrammers!
Fondazione Prada, Largo Isarco 2, open Wednesday to Monday, closed Tuesdays.
– Marotin – a super cute little cafe serving very good coffee and beautiful homemade biscotti. Ticking all the Instagram boxes with #ihavethisthingwithfloors tiling! Via Archimede, 59
– 10 Corso Como – A Milanese institution, 10 Corso Como is a high-fashion boutique and restaurant set within a quaint, inner-city courtyard – a more pretentious version of Merci in Paris if you like. The cafe is a place to see and be seen really, while the best bit is the bookshop on the first floor and a small, intimate gallery run by Carla Sozzani.
10 Corso Como, Milan
And there we have it, my guide to a cultural design weekend in Milan! The best thing I always find is to lead with your feet and see what you find, always remembering to look up – Milan is full of architectural surprises. Let me know if you’re planning on visiting the city or if you have any tips of your own. Ciao for now!
All images Cate St Hill
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