The Duomo's marble rooftop, the canals of the Navigli and the aperitivo in the Galleria – the tables, the hotels and the quartieri, in one guide.
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MICHELIN
18 ✱ tables · 11 Key hotels
Photo: Boris Stroujko/Adobe Stock
In this guide
Every table and hotel the MICHELIN inspectors have chosen in Milan – 18 starred, 3 Bib Gourmand, 70 more restaurants and 40 hotels – on one map, with our own stories as we write them.
Take the lift up Gio Ponti's 108-metre steel tower in Parco Sempione for the city at your feet as the light goes; October Friday hours 15:00–19:00, €9, a 6–7-minute visit, closed in bad weather or strong wind.
Stand at the mosaic-lined Bar di Passo at the mouth of the Galleria, the home of the Milanese aperitivo since 1915; open until 23:00 Monday to Saturday.
Dinner at the Tapa Bistrot of Moebius on Via Cappellini – cocktails, small plates and a vinyl record store under one roof; open until 02:00 on Fridays.
Be at the terraces when they open: the world's largest walkable Gothic roof, among spires and statues, with the golden Madonnina overhead; daily 09:00–19:00 (last ticket 18:00), under-6s free.
Caravaggio, Hayez, Tintoretto and Modigliani on the first floor of Palazzo Brera; Tuesday to Sunday 08:30–19:15 (last entry 18:00), booking compulsory on brerabooking.org, Grande Brera ticket €20.
Out through the back of the palazzo into the free Orto Botanico, founded in 1775 – 31 October is the last day of its summer hours (10:00–18:00) – then wander the lanes of Brera.
Halloween weekend family detective tour 'Murder at the Castle' in the dungeons of the Castello Sforzesco, plus monster-and-ghost tours for 6–10-year-olds; the courtyards are free and open until 19:30. Check times and booking with the castle.
1 November is the first Sunday of the month, when the civic museums are free for everyone: the Natural History Museum opens 10:00–17:30, dinosaur hall and dioramas included – then a turn through the Giardini Montanelli outside.
From the Darsena, Milan's old harbour, follow the Naviglio Grande past the Vicolo dei Lavandai to the twin churches of San Cristoforo; free, and flat all the way.
✱ MICHELIN star · Bib Gourmand: good cooking at a fair price · ◆ selected in the Guide · € to €€€€: the Guide's own price bands, from «on a budget» to «spare no expense».
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Sunset and drinks
Where to drink
Where the aperitivo was invented: historic bars, hotel terraces and rooftops over the city.
The home of the Milanese aperitivo since 1915, opened alongside the Campari story at the mouth of the Galleria: stand at the mosaic-lined Bar di Passo and order the Zucca 'secco' that Verdi and Toscanini drank before La Scala.
A rooftop of pools, a terrace and an American Bar mixing in the 'old school' tradition with a decidedly Italian touch – signature cocktails at €22, from morning swims to after-dinner drinks.
Cocktail bar, tapas bistro and record store · Centrale / Porta VeneziaMoebius
Three things under one roof: a cocktail-and-tapas bistro, a tasting restaurant and a vinyl record store – a late-night address for people who care about the music as much as the drink.
Photo: Maurizio Mori/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Historic bar (since 1907) · Magenta / Sant'AmbrogioBar Magenta
Open since 13 April 1907 and still a hub of Milanese social life – coffee in the morning, cocktails late, and the old 'Magenta' mark set into the marble floor at the door.
The glazed restaurant terrace on the roof of the Triennale's Palazzo dell'Arte in Parco Sempione – an easy drink after the design museum or the Torre Branca next door.
Sources: YesMilano and the bars' own pages, read 27 October 2026.
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Where to stay
The hotels worth the trip
The MICHELIN Guide's Keys first – its mark for hotels with character, service and a sense of place – then the rest of its selection and the ones we would book ourselves.
The green heart of Milan – 40 hectares between the castle walls and the triumphal arch, with history around every bend.
Past Castello Sforzesco and its courtyards, The Civic Aquarium, the only surviving pavilion of the 1906 Expo, Ponte delle Sirenette, Italy's first cast-iron bridge (1842), over the little lake
Public park; from mid-September to 11 November it is one of YesMilano's picks for autumn colour.
Big playground on the Arco della Pace/Arena Civica side, the miniature train and six kiosks; flat paths.
Start: Castello Sforzesco, Piazza del Cannone entrance (M1 Cairoli)
Milan's Liberty (Art Nouveau) at its most extravagant – painted women, cherubs and iron foliage on the streets behind Corso Venezia.
Past Palazzo Castiglioni by Giuseppe Sommaruga, with its bees under the eaves, Casa Galimberti's painted-tile façade, Casa Guazzoni and its Mazzucotelli ironwork
All year; free.
Pushchair-friendly pavements; a walk for looking up – best with older children.
Start: Palazzo Castiglioni, Corso Venezia (by the Giardini Indro Montanelli)
Milan's artists' quarter on foot – a great picture gallery, a secret garden and narrow streets of galleries, cafés and workshops.
Past Palazzo Brera's courtyard with the colossal Napoleon statue, and the Pinacoteca, The Orto Botanico di Brera behind the Academy, The Biblioteca Braidense
All year. Orto Botanico Monday to Saturday, 09:30–16:30 from 1 November.
Cobbles can be bumpy for pushchairs.
Start: Palazzo Brera, Via Brera 28 (M2 Lanza or M3 Montenapoleone)
The canal that brought the Duomo's marble into Milan – now a stroll past old washhouses, shops and the bars where the city's aperitivo spills outdoors.
Past The Darsena, Milan's old harbour where the Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese meet, Vicolo dei Lavandai, named after the washerwomen who did the laundry here, The twin churches of San Cristoforo (13th and 14th century)
All year. The antiques market fills the canal banks on the last Sunday of every month.
Flat; the towpath has no parapet in places (YesMilano bike route), so hold small hands.
Start: The Darsena, Piazza XXIV Maggio (M2 Porta Genova; trams 3, 9, 10)
A quiet canal walk through the north-east of the city, where the Martesana once carried barges from Milan to the Adda.
Past The Ponte Vecchio of 1837 by Carlo Caimi, The old dock basin and the Canottieri Gorla rowing club, 19th-century gardens and villas on Via Petrocchi
All year; YesMilano recommends spring and autumn for urban walks.
Flat and traffic-free along the canal; shared with cyclists.
Start: Viale Monza at the Ponte Vecchio, Gorla (NoLo)
Milan's farm country inside the city: a lane of old cascine ending at a medieval abbey.
Past Restored farmhouses along Via Sant'Arialdo, The Cistercian Chiaravalle Abbey and its 'Ciribiciaccola' bell tower, The abbey's ancient mill
Abbey Tuesday to Sunday 09:00–12:00 and 15:00–18:00, closed Mondays (YesMilano venue listing; the older itinerary text gives shorter hours – check before you go).
Open countryside within the city limits; a long walk for small children – the bus shortens it.
Start: Via Ripamonti (Quintosole), then Via Sant'Arialdo
Three English-style gardens a few minutes apart, at their best when the maples and planes turn.
Past Groves, streams and the duck pond of the Giardini Indro Montanelli, The English garden of the Villa Reale behind the GAM (adults only with a child), Giardino Perego off Via dei Giardini, with its 18th-century statue of Vertumnus
Best from mid-September to 11 November, the 'summer of San Martino' (YesMilano).
Playgrounds in the Montanelli gardens; the Villa Reale garden is reserved for children and the adults with them.
Start: Giardini Indro Montanelli, Via Palestro entrance (M1 Palestro)
Sources: YesMilano, the Comune di Milano and the places' own pages, read 27 October 2026. Coastal paths close in rough seas – check before you set off.
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With kids
Milan for children
Dinosaurs, rooftops, tree-top courses and a garden only children may enter – plus Lake Como, Leolandia and Gardaland for a day out.
Photo: Alexandre/Adobe Stock
In Milan
Photo: MUBA – Museo dei Bambini Milano
Museum · Ages 12 months to 11 years (child ticket); the Connessioni family ticket is for 3–8-year-oldsMUBA – Museo dei Bambini Milano
A whole museum built for children inside the deconsecrated church of the Rotonda della Besana, with a play exhibition, a creative-reuse workshop and a 'chamber of wonders' from nature.
Open to families at weekends, on public holidays and some Friday afternoons (from 17:00); Tuesday to Friday is for schools.
One of the oldest aquariums in the world, in an Art Nouveau pavilion from the 1906 Expo, following water from mountain streams to the open sea – with Parco Sempione on the doorstep.
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:30, last entry 17:00, ticket office closes 16:30.
A contemporary botanical park at the foot of the Porta Nuova towers, with an inclusive playground open to children with disabilities, bowling greens, a pond and a free programme of family workshops on gardens, plants and stars.
Leisure park · Ages From 3 on the Kaa children's course (minimum reach 90 cm, wrist with arm raised); 1.40 m reach for the Pitone and Anaconda courses; the 15 m 'jump into the void' from 10Parco Avventura Milano – Tree Experience
Milan's first tree-top adventure park: seven courses of rope bridges, lianas, nets and zip-lines among the trees of Parco Cassinis, a few steps from the M3.
2026 calendar: in late October and November open at weekends only (24, 25 and 31 October; 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 November), 10:00–17:00, last entry one hour before closing.
Milan's oldest museum: a dinosaur hall that children head straight for, and Italy's largest collection of natural-habitat dioramas, in a neo-Gothic palazzo in the public gardens.
Under the dome of the 1930 planetarium, children's shows take young astronomers through the solar system, the stars and space missions, with two four-show 'clubs' that reward each visit.
Shows for children, young people and families at weekends, about an hour long and in the dark; the programme changes monthly (in late October 2026, 'La notte di Halloween' on Saturday at 11:00).
One of Europe's largest science museums, in a Renaissance monastery: steam trains, the Toti submarine, the Luna Rossa catamaran, a fragment of moon rock and the world's largest permanent show of Leonardo's machines.
Tuesday to Friday 09:30–17:00; Saturday, Sunday and holidays 09:30–18:30; closed Mondays (Abbonamento Musei listing – check the museum's site).
A lift whisks five people at a time up Gio Ponti's 108.6-metre steel tower of 1933 in under a minute, for a view over the park, the city skyline and, on clear days, the Alps.
October 2026: Tuesday and Thursday 15:00–19:00; Wednesday and Friday 10:30–12:30 and 15:00–19:00; Saturday 10:30–14:00, 14:30–19:30 and 20:30–00:00; Sunday 10:30–14:00 and 14:30–19:30.
Forty hectares of lawns and trees from the Castello to the Arco della Pace, with a big playground, six kiosks, the Civic Aquarium and the Torre Branca all inside the park.
Milan's first English-style garden is reserved for children and the adults with them: a pond, a classical temple, a little waterfall, a bridge, a botanical trail and a playground.
Children-only garden behind the GAM – Galleria d'Arte Moderna (museum open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:30).
A garden laid out for Countess Ludovica Guastalla in the 1530s, a few minutes from the Duomo, with a play area and a baroque fishpond where children can look for the fish over the balustrade.
Public garden with a children's play area and a mobile snack kiosk.
A huge park traced on old farm boundaries, with five play areas, courts and rinks – and Trennolandia's inflatables, toy cars and miniature train for younger children.
632 hectares of meadows, woods and gardens on the site of the old Breda works, with space to play, football, basketball and baseball pitches, a running track and a velodrome.
Public park open all year.
Northern edge of the city, towards Sesto San Giovanni and Cinisello Balsamo
A red-brick fortress with moat, towers, battlements and vast courtyards to roam for free; inside, the Egyptian Museum and the Armoury are favourites with children, and there are guided walks along the ramparts.
Roman Milan, Etruscan, Greek and early-medieval finds in the cloisters of the Monastero Maggiore, with a free 'Save-the-Parent Kit' booklet of games and activities by age group for young archaeologists.
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri/Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca
Museum · Ages Workshops for 4–12 and families; sessions by age band (e.g. 6–10, 8–12)Pirelli HangarBicocca – Kids
A vast former train-coil factory turned contemporary art space, free to enter, with Anselm Kiefer's towering Seven Heavenly Palaces – and weekend workshops that let children explore the exhibitions hands-on.
Exhibitions Thursday to Sunday 10:30–20:30 (last admission 19:30).
A botanical garden founded in 1775 for Empress Maria Theresa, tucked behind the Pinacoteca – flower beds, rare species and ancient trees for a quiet, free half-hour in the middle of Brera.
Monday to Saturday; 10:00–18:00 from 1 April to 31 October, 09:30–16:30 from 1 November to 31 March.
The family park of the centre: three playgrounds, vintage rides and a miniature train circuit (fee per person), ducks and swans on the pond, big boulders to scramble over – and the Natural History Museum and Planetarium inside the gates.
Jerseys of AC Milan, Inter and the Azzurri, a timeline of the 'Scala of football' – then the changing rooms, the players' tunnel and out to the edge of the pitch.
Every day 09:30–19:00 (last tour 18:15); stadium visit times change on match and event days.
Italy's first interactive cinema museum: mix your own dubbing, make a film poster, play with AR and touchscreens, and glimpse the reels of one of Europe's oldest film archives.
The world's largest Gothic building you can walk on top of: a marble forest of spires and statues underfoot, the golden Madonnina overhead, and the city and mountains beyond.
Terraces every day 09:00–19:00 (last ticket 18:00).
One of the city's largest green spaces, at the foot of the three CityLife towers – a play area, contemporary sculptures to discover and grassy banks just made for rolling down.
Public park with a play area, the open-air ArtLine sculpture park and the Orti Fioriti gardens.
A 120-hectare forest planted since 1974 by Italia Nostra: woods, meadows, streams, a small lake, a water garden, an orchard and an apiary – with herons, owls, foxes and frogs to spot.
Solve the murder of Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza with the voices of Leonardo and Ludovico il Moro in the castle dungeons, hunt for monsters among the carvings and make your own guardian monster – then magic inks and chemical reactions at the Science Museum.
Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026: family detective tour 'Murder at the Castle' in the castle dungeons, monster-and-ghost tours and workshops.
Leisure park · Ages Theme park for children and young teensLeolandia
Lombardy's theme park built for younger children, with cartoon-character areas (Bing, Masha, PJ Masks, Leo & Mia), water play and seasonal Halloween and Christmas transformations.
HalLEOween runs 18 September–2 November 2026; Natale Incantato, the Christmas season, starts 7 November.
Capriate San Gervasio · about 20 min by metro or tram
Leisure park · Ages Villaggio del Bambino from 3; Dolly Park 2–13Idroscalo
'Milan's seaside': a 2.5 km lake built in 1928 for seaplanes, with the free Villaggio del Bambino play area, picnic lawns, a 6 km running loop, a sculpture park and sailing, canoeing and climbing.
Park open Monday to Friday 06:30–21:00, weekends and holidays 07:30–21:00; free entry.
The vast park around the Villa Reale – woods, meadows, old farmsteads and cycle paths, with a little park train and bike hire – a short train ride from Milan.
Park open every day; winter hours for pedestrian gates 07:00–20:30 (vehicle gates 07:00–19:00).
A 100-hectare wood on the Adda where life-size dinosaurs and scenes of prehistoric life appear along the trail – with a little panoramic train for small legs.
25 October–15 November 2026: Monday to Friday 09:00–17:00; weekends and holidays 09:00–17:30 (ticket office closes an hour earlier).
More than 2 km of aviation history by Malpensa, from pioneer flights to space – climb aboard an MD-80, a DC-9 and a Chinook helicopter, catch a planetarium show and let off steam in more than 1,000 m² of indoor and outdoor play areas.
1 October–31 December 2026: closed Mondays; Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00; Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10:00–18:30.
A historic funicular that climbs from the edge of Lake Como to the village of Brunate, where the Faro Voltiano lighthouse and the terraces look out over the lake and the city.
Every day 06:00–midnight, simultaneous departures from Como and Brunate every 15 minutes (every 12 minutes 07:00–09:00).
The simplest lake day from Milan: board a public boat at the Como waterfront and watch the shore villas and villages go by from the deck.
Navigazione Laghi runs ships, ferries and fast services all year; the winter timetable runs 2 November 2026–14 March 2027 (summer/autumn timetable before that).
Leisure park · Ages Peppa Pig Land and a 'for the little ones' sectionGardaland
Italy's 'n° 1 amusement resort', by its own account, on Lake Garda – dressed for Halloween in autumn with shows and the new PREDA maze, then back for Christmas with Magic Winter.
Magic Halloween 12 September–1 November 2026 (park 10:00–17:00 on 27 October); Magic Winter 5 December 2026–6 January 2027.
Castelnuovo del Garda · about 105 min by metro or tram
Sources: YesMilano, the Comune di Milano's civic museums, in-lombardia.it and the places' own pages, read 27 October 2026. Travel times from the centre. Check seasons and ages with the place before you go.
09
The atlas
Milan at a glance
The MICHELIN tables, the hotels and the sights, on one map.
Photo: Alexandre Rotenberg/Adobe Stock
10
The directory
Every place in Milan
Every restaurant, hotel and sight the MICHELIN Guide lists within 6 km – 140 places, each with its own page. The six nearest the centre of each kind are here; the rest are in the directory, A to Z.
EatPellico 3 – an engineer's seasons under a ceiling of starsInside the Park Hyatt Milano, chef Guido Paternollo cooks seasonal Mediterranean menus under Flaviano Capriotti's star-patterned ceiling. Selected in the M
EatNobuya – a Tokyo chef's dialogue with Italy in a 1500s palazzo
EatMotelombroso – a canal‑keeper's cottage turned kitchen of invention
EatMU Dimsum – Cantonese ritual rebuilt in wood near Centrale
EatDry Aged – Milan's steakhouse built around the ageing cabinet
EatBelé – a cocktail bar's kitchen comes of age on the Navigli
EatAltriménti – a Milanese reunion in the shadow of CityLife's towers
✱✱Two MICHELIN StarsAndrea ApreaItalian Contemporary, Creative · MilanRead the story 
✱✱Two MICHELIN StarsSeta by Antonio GuidaInternational, Contemporary · MilanRead the story 
✱✱Two MICHELIN StarsVerso CapitaneoCreative, Mediterranean Cuisine · MilanRead the story 
✱One MICHELIN StarAbbaContemporary, Creative · MilanRead the story 
✱One MICHELIN StarAnimaContemporary, Creative · MilanRead the story 
✱One MICHELIN StarCracco in GalleriaModern Cuisine, Contemporary · MilanRead the story 
✱One MICHELIN StarHortoModern Cuisine, Organic · MilanRead the story 
Two MICHELIN KeysGrand Hotel et de Milan95 rooms · MilanRead the story 
Two MICHELIN KeysMandarin Oriental Milan104 rooms · MilanTwo MICHELIN KeysBvlgari Hotel Milano52 rooms · MilanThe address Two MICHELIN KeysFour Seasons Hotel Milano118 rooms · MilanThe address Two MICHELIN KeysPortrait Milano73 rooms · MilanThe address Two MICHELIN KeysThe Carlton, a Rocco Forte Hotel71 rooms · MilanThe address 
One MICHELIN KeyCasa Cipriani Milano15 rooms · Milan
One MICHELIN KeyVico Milano6 rooms · MilanOne MICHELIN KeyCasa Brera, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan116 rooms · MilanThe address 
No. 1San Siro – Milan's 'Scala of football' and its last chapterThe Stadio Giuseppe Meazza at San Siro: opened in 1926, home of Inter and AC Milan, host of the 2026 Olympic opening ceremony, sold to the clubs in 2025 – history, museum and visiting.Read 
No. 2Sant'Ambrogio – Milan's Romanesque basilica and its golden altarThe Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan: founded by Saint Ambrose in 379–386, rebuilt in Romanesque style, with Volvinius's golden altar, the Ciel d'Oro chapel and the Oh bej! Oh bej! fair.Read 
No. 3Milan Design Week 2027 – the Salone del Mobile and the FuorisaloneMilan Design Week 2027: the 65th Salone del Mobile.Milano at Fiera Milano Rho from 13 to 18 April, Euroluce, SaloneSatellite, the Fuorisalone districts and how to plan your visit.Read 
No. 4Pinacoteca Ambrosiana – Leonardo, Caravaggio and a cardinal's libraryThe Biblioteca and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan: Cardinal Borromeo's library of 1609, Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus and Musician, Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit and Raphael's School of Athens cartoon.Read 
Cimitero Monumentale – Milan's city of marble, bronze and memory
Porta Nuova – the Bosco Verticale, Gae Aulenti and Milan's new skyline
Fondazione Prada – Koolhaas's gold-leaf distillery and the Torre
Navigli – Milan's canals, from the Duomo's marble barges to aperitivo
Castello Sforzesco – Michelangelo's last Pietà and the Sforza fortress
Teatro alla Scala – Piermarini's opera house and the 2026–27 season
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Milan's drawing room under glass
Brera – the Pinacoteca, the botanical garden and the artists' quarter
The Last Supper – 15 minutes with Leonardo in Santa Maria delle Grazie
Duomo di Milano – the rooftops, the Madonnina and 600 years of marble
