Milan

[CraigK]

Hi All,

I will be in Milan at the end of March. I am travelling to Italy to photograph dogs (Bracco Italiano and Spinone) for a book project I am working on.

I have not been to Milan in over 20 years so I really haven't a clue as to where I should look for a hotel and what areas I may want to avoid. I have a day or two to wander around before I meet my contacts there and go to the field to see the dogs in action.

Any suggestions for sites to see (besides Il Duomo of course)? Good food, camera shopping?

Ciao Tutti,

Viaggerò a Milano in tre settimane. Starò lí per pochi giorni. Ero in Milano 20 anni fa ma adesso ho dimenticato molto della città.

La può il reccomend in cui vicinato che dovrei stare? Quale vicinato che dovrei evitare? Qualunque luoghi di vedere? I ristoranti buoni, i negozi?

 

[NikoSperi]

Salut Craig,
Paradoxically, I will be outback in BC and will be returning around end of March. Maybe when our dates firm up, we can meet up.
Otherwise, in 20 years you will see that the city has cleaned up a bit (thank God, it couldn't really get grimier!).

I'll start with the easy side - camera shopping. You can find alot here, but the prices will send you away screaming bloody murder. Oublie.

Easier still - good food:
Trattoria alle Colline Pistoiesi, Via Amedei 1 (next to Piazza Sant' Alessandro)
Great trattoria, tipical simple dishes, my second kitchen. Booking recommended.
L'Ulmet: Via Disciplini
Take italian food and apply the french savoir-faire for taste, presentation. Add an incredible wine collection (visit the cave if you can). A bit pricy and elegant, very good food.
Consolare: don't remember the street, in the heart of Brera.
Where excellent fish and seafood meets the fashion crowd.
Arrow: again, have to look up the address... zona Corso Sempione
Where even better fish, less the fashion crowd

You have to do the "aperitivi"... from 7 to 10 the past time is to meet at the bar and have a cocktail or three while grabbing the incredibly opulent servings of munchies each bar puts out. Great for people watching... some are:
Living - Arco della Pace (angolo via Bertani) closed Mondays
L'Exploit - Colonne di San Lorenzo
Le Biciclette - Via Torti (zona Porta Genova)

And for the hardest part - sites to see.
Presumably you have seen the majors like Duomo, Galleria, Scala, Cenacolo...
Brera houses the current Università delle Belle Arti, and is quite an interesting visit.
Corso Como, from Porta Garibaldi to Porta Nuova, which 20 years ago was a craphole designed for mugging and drug dealing, has transformed into a design/hip/art pedestrian area with the requisite cafés and boutique art galleries. Amazing transformation.
Other than that... it's Milan! People watch! ;-)

Anyways, if more comes to mind I'll chime in.

 

[CraigK]

Thank you for the great advice Niko!

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Check out the Castello Sforzesco - in addition to an interesting museum, they have a room with the ceiling painted by daVinci, and an exhibit space with rotating exhibits. When I was there, they had an exhibit of photos of the American West up to the early 1900s. Most of them were albumen prints. I found my hotel when I stayed there through the Rough Guide, and it was quite decent. I think most things between Foro Bonaparte and the Duomo would be pretty central and decent. There's also the DaVinci technology museum, and the Last Supper fresco. Milan has a decent subway, if you're inclined to transportation photos, and also very cute trolley cars on the street.