I want to tell you my story about a family trip to Europe in December 2023. Friends from Italy and Spain have been inviting us to visit for a long time, so when the opportunity arose for work, they asked «Koradius kelionės» specialists to make us a route to visit Italy, Spain and France, pick up flights and book hotels. Our children study well, so there were no problems with teachers at school – they were quietly allowed to travel during their studies. The youngest daughter is learning French, and has long dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to surprise her and additionally visit Paris during the trip (she found out about this just before flying to Paris, at the airport in Spain))). In general, there were a lot of emotions and impressions during the trip, both positive and negative – in Paris, the scammers managed to deceive us and extort money. But about everything in order…
You can read the story about the trip to Bergamo (Italy) here, and the next city of our trip was Milan.
Milan, Italy.
Milan greeted us with sunny weather, no rain or wind, the air temperature is +12 0C. We experienced the first delight immediately after getting off the train – the Milano Centrale station building turned out to be a real architectural masterpiece in the Art Deco style. However, there was no time to study it, by the appointed time our friends were waiting for us in the square near the Duomo di Milano Cathedral.
We went down to the subway and took the yellow line to Duomo station, and after 15 minutes we already arrived at the appointed place, because it’s not far to go- from the station to Duomo station you only need to drive 4 stops.
The cost of the metro in Milan is 2 euros per person, children under 14 years old are free.
Duomo di Milano Cathedral is a Gothic structure that was built for 600 years, inside the cathedral there is a nail with which Jesus was nailed to the cross. The price of visiting the cathedral for 4 people was 48 euros, the price includes the possibility of climbing to the roof of the cathedral and entering inside.
Not far from the Duomo di Milano Cathedral is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery, which presents the most famous Italian jewelry and fashion brands.
Duomo di Milano Cathedral and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II are the most recognizable and visited tourist attractions in Milan, so if you are going to come to Milan, plan a visit to the cathedral and gallery in the morning or afternoon, preferably on a weekday, because on weekends and holidays, and even more so in the late afternoon, due to the large influx tourists, it will be difficult to visit these attractions.
The next point of our trip was the Castello Sforzesco castle, built as a fortress of the Visconti dynasty, which later housed members of the powerful Sforza family, who ruled Milan during the Renaissance. On the way to the castle, we stopped at a cafe for lunch. Prices in the pizzeria are shown in the photo.
Castello Sforzesco Castle:
The defensive structures for the castle were designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. Now there are 7 museums in the castle.
A five-minute walk from the Castello Sforzesco castle is the Arc de Triomphe, which Napoleon Bonaparte ordered to be built.
Walking through the streets of Milan, we went to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which houses the painting “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci. Entrance to the church is free, but you can’t just see the painting – it is located in a separate room (refectory), where you need to buy a ticket for 15 euros per person, and you need to make an appointment to visit the refectory in advance.
But even without the painting, there is something to admire in the church:
And here is some modern Italian art 😉:
Milan is a bright and memorable city that knows how and knows how to surprise its guests. Over the weekend, you will hardly have time to fully enjoy its unique atmosphere, get to know its rich history and the rhythm of life, but now you know for sure that Milan, like your good old friend, is always glad to see you.
Thank you, Italy, for your hospitality and charm, and beautiful Spain awaits us ahead 😉