Whether it is a weekend getaway, a day or an afternoon to spend as a couple, with family or with friends, art cities like Milan and the surrounding areas are destinations that offer many activities, many routes and many tours to spend quality time with those we love. Unhurriedly, carefree and quietly, enjoying outdoor walks in contact with local culture and nature.
Milan is a city that when visited on foot offers the best of itself and reveals hidden corners and evocative glimpses. To appreciate it in all its nuances and not miss the most fascinating places and the most curious stories, why not indulge in a pleasant walk in the company of a local expert?
A guided tour just for your family or inner circle of friends is more affordable than you think and is an opportunity to discover Milan safely and in anatmosphere of intimacy. With the advantage of having a professional guide all to yourself and being able to arrange your own tour when you prefer, choosing the day and time!
The itineraries range from the city’s iconic monuments such as the Castello Sforzesco and the Monumental Cemetery, to Milan’s most iconic neighborhoods such as Brera and the Navigli; from the Art Nouveau palaces of Porta Venezia to the skyscrapers of the avant-garde neighborhoods of Porta Nuova and CityLife; from the green areas of Parco Sempione and Parco delle Basiliche, to the walls colored by the Street Art. Up to thematic guided tours dedicated to the great women of Milan and the legends and traditions of Milan.
Here are 12 private guided tours to discover Milan while walking with family or friends.
Monumental Cemetery
To really get to know the city, visit the Monumental Cemetery is a must! Inside rests all the historical figures who have made the fame and greatness of the city of Milan. Just to name a few: Alessandro Manzoni, Franca Rame, Enzo Iannacci, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Arturo Toscanini, Alda Merini.
And so, enveloped in a mysterious and evocative atmosphere, we pass the majestic Famedio with our guide and stroll in the shadow of the cypress trees of the Monumental Cemetery: here, among the sculptures, mausoleums and priceless works of art of this true “open-air museum,” we will get to know the most illustrious personalities who made Milan the great city it is today.
Milan Liberty
A guided tour through the quiet streets away from the traffic noise of Porta Venezia, to discover an Art Nouveau Milan, where everything is possible! It is right here that we will find ear-shaped intercoms, wrought-iron cats and even a garden full of pink flamingos.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Art Nouveau architectural style transformed many Milanese mansions into true works of art: fairy-tale palaces behind Art Nouveau doors, hidden courtyards, friezes with floral and animal decorations, multicolored mosaics… As we stroll we will discover the most beautiful Art Nouveau palaces in Milan, such as the Palazzo Castiglioni, the Berri-Meregalli House, the Dumont Cinema and the Galimberti House.
Navigli courtyards and railing houses
We rediscover the greener side of the ancient “Milan city of water” through a guided walking tour of the Navigli District, from courtyard to courtyard.
Indeed, the District preserves intact the charm of Old Milan, revealing places where time seems suspended: we will walk among the most picturesque courtyards of the Milanese Navigli, even more beautiful in the flowering season, telling the story of the Navigli; we will listen to the poetic verses of Alda Merini along the Darsena; we will admire picturesque corners and secret courtyards, hidden among Milan’s railing houses, a riot of flowering balconies and lush vegetation.
And finally, a brief foray into one of the most surprising corners of theAlzaia Naviglio Grande awaits us: amidst the presses and ink, the Engraving Center.
Brera District
The Brera District is undoubtedly among the most famous and beloved places in the city of Milan, rich in history, art and picturesque views, and a guided tour is not to be missed to spend an afternoon either with friends or with one’s family. An open-air jewel to be experienced in its splendid atmosphere, alien to the hectic pace of the rest of the city.
Starting from the confines of Parco Sempione and walking along the typical cobblestone streets, together with our guide we will rediscover the many facets of this neighborhood: the greener soul of the Botanical Garden in the Brera Picture Gallery; the color factories and stores for art and antiques; the Milanese Baroque of Palazzo Citterio and Palazzo Cusani; the Art Nouveau of Palazzo del Corriere della Sera; the sacred face of the Churches of San Marco, Santa Maria del Carmine and San Simpliciano; the vocation for creativity of the boutiques of artist’ s perfumes and design showrooms.
Sforza Castle
We relive the charm of court life, from the Visconti era to the glorious age of the Sforza family, of Gothic legends and architecture made of crenellated towers and drawbridges, as we stroll through the exterior of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
Starting from the Filarete Tower, we explore the quadrilateral of the fortress: from the first courtyard with the Square of Arms and its towers, to the Rocchetta with its high walls without windows in the parts exposed to possible attacks, to the Castellana Tower that holds the Treasure Room decorated by the great fresco by Argo by Bramantino; all the way to the Ducal Court overlooked by the Elephant Portico and the towering Falconry Tower, once housing hunting falcons. The ground floor of the tower still houses the splendid Sala delle Asse, decorated by Leonardo da Vinci.
Branca Tower and Sempione Park
Away from city traffic, Parco Sempione is Milan’s green lung, the city’s largest and most famous park. A walk through Sempione Park accompanied by an art historian is rejuvenating for body and spirit! To then climb to the top of Branca Tower and 98 meters high and enjoy the view from up there! With the evening lights and the city bursting with life in the atmosphere that is increasingly tinged with shimmering reflections… But that’s not all! The climb to the top is made even more special by a sweet break, a moment to pamper the palate, with a sparkling aperitif!
Wrong Visit
Fun outdoor quizzes around the city, stories, secrets and anecdotes packed into a new activity under the banner of originality and entertainment. A perfect opportunity to have fun with family or friends, challenging each other to see who knows the city of Milan best.
Could you tell a genuine anecdote from a fake one? The wrong visit is an experience that will let you discover the secrets of the center of the Milanese city while having fun and challenging yourself!
Navigation on the Navigli
We narrate the history of beautiful Old Milan, a city of water, first with a guided walking tour of the Darsena, now the hub of nightlife, and then by embarking on a boat tour of the Navigli. We go by waterways to discover picturesque corners such as the Vicolo dei Lavandai, the 14th-century Church of San Cristoforo, the “Scodellino” bridge and typical railing houses.
Red light drama-tour Brera, among the streets of the “Contrada di Tett”
A stroll among the old closed houses of Via Madonnina and Via Fiori Chiari, the churches of San Simpliciano and San Carpoforo, the Accademia, the Botanical Garden and Bar Jamaica. Peasants, chimney sweeps, politicians, and clergymen all come alive in the stories, discovering a Milan in which, beating hearts were not the only ones.
Repositioned cobblestones, repainted walls, art galleries and mundane aperitifs.
Today’s Brera is a business card, a gift-wrapped package. The Brera of yesteryear is a daughter you would never let leave the house dressed like that.
Legends and Traditions
A special and entertaining itinerary to discover Milan’s historic center and the many legends that crowd it, curious about the city’s millenary and sometimes enigmatic history. The Biscione and many other symbols of the medieval past, ghosts, superstitions, anecdotes and culinary traditions, habits, customs and trades of the Old Milan.
This and much more in a fascinating guided tour, to entertain everyone, young and old, to do with family or friends, that will reveal the oldest soul of some of the city’s iconic places (such as Castello Sforzesco, Sempione Park, Piazza Mercanti and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II), on the traces of a past that still lives on in today’s Milan.
Great Women of Milan
They inhabited it! Let’s pay tribute to the women who helped make Milan great through a walking tour that winds through the Castello Sforzesco, Via Rovello, Piazza della Scala and the surrounding area.
Starting in the Visconti-Sforza period, we will meet Beatrice d’Este and Cecilia Gallerani. In the Risorgimento period we will make the acquaintance of female figures such as Clara Maffei and the Manzonian women, including Marianna de Leyva, a woman of 17th-century Milan who inspired the character of the Monaca di Monza. Without forgetting the women connected to the world of theater, first and foremost the unforgettable Maria Callas, and the great ladies of the museum and collecting world, such as Fernanda Wittgens, the first director of the Pinacoteca di Brera.
Street Art Tour
Itineraries on the hunt for art. Not the one kept in museums, but the one that parades before everyone’s eyes, for those who know how to observe, among the streets of Milan, imprinted on walls, bridges and doorways. An art that knows no rules and that even in Milan knows how to amaze more and more and is spreading like wildfire, especially in some of the city’s neighborhoods: Ticinese and Navigli, Ortica, Isola, Martesana and Centrale.
With a dedicated guide, we are going to unearth the most curious, interesting and irreverent works of Street Art that are helping to redesign and shape urban spaces.
Check out all the Team Building
Events and Private Guided Tours
suitable for your Company!
**
