Even the most unconventional tourist would never leave Milan without visiting Piazza del Duomo. Well, since you’re there you must have a traditional “aperitivo” (to get before lunch or before dinner) at the Bar Zucca where Verdi and Toscanini used to go, back from the Scala Theatre. We never sit at the nice small tables located apart, we like to enjoy our Rabarbaro Zucca standing in the crowd of the bar - just try it.
The owners were an industrial family of the XX century. We’ve been there a couple of times and we suggest it to every friend who is coming to town. You walk through the villa in the exact way they left it. You can see their personal pictures framed in the living room, their wardrobes and drawers full of stuff, like a pair of silk scarves especially designed by Monsieur Christian Dior for the sisters Gigina and Nedda Necchi, even the big marble’s bathrooms designed, like the entire house, by the architect Piero Portaluppi are inspiring.
To really reach/understand a city you must live there or, at least, acting like you do. Nothing makes you feel more like a Milanese D.O.C. than stopping by Frida's on a Sunday morning to buy some flowers. Located in Brera this tiny shop has an extraordinary colour palette of flowers and plants. After that we just take a walk in the neighbourhood holding our bunch of Brassica Oleracea and our day is made.
Cozy ambient inside, but also with tables on the street, Champagne Socialist is a good place to try natural wines from Europe. You can also go there just to buy a bootle (or more, of course) and drink it at home.
Vintage lovers!
The Planetarium of Milan, Civico Planetario "Ulrico Hoepli", is a building located at the entrance of Giardini di Porta Venezia. It's a beautiful structure designed by Piero Portaluppi and commissioned by the Italian-Swiss publisher Ulrico Hoepli.
Also the interior design is beautiful, there you can find a planetarium which projects and represents the image of the stars and their movements in the sky.
The Planetarium also has a library which is a section of the Museum of Natural History, near by.
They also organize educational activity concerning astronomy as talks, events and even concerts.