PRE-TOUR MILAN
ourlodging
Genius Hotel Downtown
distancewalked
3.5 Miles
We arrived at Milan's Malpensa Airport the afternoon of October 11, the day before our Best of Italy Tour began in Venice. We followed Rick's advice from his book and easily caught the 40 minute train ride to Milan's Cadorna terminal. Our hotel was a 15 minute walk from the train station.
pre-tour day1
We ended up flying into Milan for several reasons. First, we were unable to book a room at the Venice hotel for the night before our tour began and other Venice hotels were quite expensive. I did find some options near the airport that were more reasonably priced, so keep that in mind if your first hotel has no vacancy for pre-tour bookings. Secondly, we found a direct flight to Milan and discovered you can take a train to Venice for less money than flying. With luck, we could see a few of Milan's famous attractions as time allowed. Our decision was made and we booked our flight. With that confirmed, I checked for reservations to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper. Sadly, I discovered official tickets were released months earlier and were sold out. I followed the suggestions in Rick's book for reputable 3rd party options but I didn't see anything that would fit our schedule so The Last Supper will have to wait for a future visit to Milan! Besides, my focus had now turned to Michelangelo.
It's possible to secure some last minute entry tickets for "The Last Supper" if you are flexible on your times. Every Wednesday at 12:00 pm local time, a few tickets are released by the Last Supper Museum for the following week. It's worth a try!
After checking into our hotel, Kevin reviewed options for dinner and we headed out for a walk toward the Milan Duomo. We were on time to attend Mass, entering through the door on the far left of the cathedral. You don't have to buy a ticket to attend church services, but you do have a security check.
Later, we explored the Piazza del Duomo and then stopped for salad and pizza at Caffe' degli Artisti. It was a beautiful evening accentuated by the pastel hues of the fall sunset. Back at the hotel, we were ready for some much needed sleep and excited for the adventure tomorrow would bring.
"Milan is a true metropolis: strong and fearless but welcoming, too. Little by little, I came to realize that I could become someone here."
today'shighlight
Sforza Castle
distancewalked
5 Miles
pre-tour day2
We had a restless night and headed out early to Milan's Sforza Castle. It was a warm, hazy morning and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the vast gardens before the castle museum opened at 10:00 am.
We had a train to catch and a certain artifact to find, so once the museum opened we quickly made our way around until we found what we were looking for!
We're getting close . . .
The Rondanini Pietà
This rustic looking piece of marble was Michelangelo's last sculpture. He worked on it from 1552 until his final days at age 88 in 1564. It was displayed in the courtyard at the Palazzo Rondanini in Rome for centuries but has been in the Museo della Pietà Rondanini at the Sforza Castle in Milan since 2015.
THERE'S A TRAIN TO CATCH
We had train tickets to Venice that departed at 11:45 am. When we didn't see our destination listed on the platform, we realized we were at the wrong train station! Our train was scheduled to depart in 15 minutes from the Milano Centrale station, a 13 minute ride away. Oof! A very kind station worker allowed us on the metro train without a ticket and we arrived at the proper departure station at 11:45. However, European trains are habitually on time and you have to walk through a crazy mall to reach the platform.
We missed our train to Venice!
We relied on the kindness of several English speaking Italians to help exchange our tickets for the next train departing at 12:45 pm. It was on time and we relaxed on a comfortable 2 1/2 hour journey to Venice for our 4:00 pm orientation. See you there!