Milan & the Lake District - Italy - page 381

SEEING THE BRERA AND AMBROSIANA PICTURE GALLERIES They

feature plenty of stunning work by the Old Masters.

TAKING A WINDOW-SHOPPING SPIN Walk past the high-end boutiques
in Milan's Golden Rectangle, and then go on a budget shopping spree through the
stock shops and outlets of Corso Buenos Aires.

INDULGING IN THE NIGHTLIFE The converted warehouses along the
Navigli canals are always hopping after dark.

FERRYING BETWEEN LAKE MAGGIORE'S BORROMEAN ISLANDS
You can tour the palaces of one of Lombardy's last remaining Renaissance-era
noble families and watch the peacocks wander their exotic gardens.
MILAN
Milan (Milano) is Italy's financial center, business hub, and fashion capital, as well
as one of its most industrialized major cities. That also means it's crowded, noisy,
hot in summer; damp and foggy in winter; and distinctly less easygoing (and more
expensive) than most Italian cities.
Milan reveals its long history in monuments, museums, and churches—its
cathedral is one of Europe's great Gothic structures, and another church contains
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. This sophisticated city also supports a thriving
cultural scene embracing La Scala (one of the world's top opera houses), high-
fashion boutiques and shows, and a throbbing nightlife.
LAY OF THE LAND
Think of Milan as a series of concentric circles radiating from the central Piazza
del Duomo, the Cathedral Square. Within the inner circle, once enclosed by the
city walls, are many of the churches, museums, and shops that'll consume your
visiting hours. For a general overview, obtain one of the serviceable maps with a
street index that the tourist offices provide for free.
The city's major neighborhoods encircle the hub, Piazza del Duomo. Looking
east from the Duomo, you can see the imposing Castello Sforzesco, at one end
of the well-heeled Magenta neighborhood. You can walk to the Castello in about
15 minutes by following Via Orefici to Piazza Cordusio and from there Via
Dante. The other major draw in Magenta is Santa Maria delle Grazie (home of
The Last Supper ); to reach it, leave Via Dante at Via Meravigli, which becomes
Via Magenta and leads to the church (total walking time from Piazza del Duomo
to the church is about 20 min.).
Heading north from Piazza del Duomo, walk through the city's glass-enclosed
shopping center (the world's first), the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Emerging
from the northern end of the Galleria, you'll be in Piazza della Scala, steps away
from Milan's famous opera house, La Scala. A walk northeast of about 5 minutes
along Via Manzoni takes you to Via Montenapoleone and the Quadrilatero
d'Oro, the city's high-fashion shopping district, the epicenter of Italian design. A
walk of about 10 minutes northwest of Piazza della Scala along Via Brera brings
you into the atmospheric Brera neighborhood, where cobblestone streets and
old palazzi surround the city's major art collection, the Pinacoteca di Brera.