One-day tours of Milan: is it possible to tour it all in a few hours?
No, but we still want to recommend the main tours you should consider if you only have a few hours to discover the city!
Milan l’è un gran Milan, a regional evergreen that really can’t be faulted: the Ambrosian city, capital of fashion, design and international spokesperson for Made in Italy in many sectors is one of the flagships among the beauties of northern Italy and, despite what many may believe,
is a city for everyone.
Whether you are an art lover, a shopaholic or a food tour enthusiast, Milan and its many faces will satisfy you and also give you-in case you are moved by culinary curiosities-bread for your teeth… But what to see in Milan in a few hours?
Tours of Milan in a day: here are 10 not to be missed!
Walk through the Monumental Cemetery
Tour of Milan in one day: here is the first stop! Just a short distance from the glass towers of Porta Nuova and the Asian street food of Via Paolo Sarpi, the Monumental Cemetery is a must-see for art enthusiasts: here, in fact, strolling through the tree-lined avenues, one can admire tombs and funerary effigies of great artistic value. Resting at the Monumental Cemetery, in the Famedio, are illustrious figures of the caliber of Manzoni, writer par excellence of the Milanese capital. A triumph of funerary art, to also deepen the knowledge of the personalities who helped build Milan’s image in the world.
Discovering Underground Milan
You only need to descend four meters deep to discover another fascinating and mysterious face of the Ambrosian capital: a tour of underground Milan will take you to discover the archaeological area below Piazza Duomo and the ancient Crypt of San Giovanni in Conca, to whose basilica the Romanesque ruins still visible in Piazza Missori belong.
Under the streets of Milan you will experience a real return to the most remote past, admiring the remains of the Baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti – where it seems St. Ambrose baptized Agostino d’Ippona – and the ancient Basilica of Santa Tecla. Quite a leap back in time!
Cathedral Terraces
The Duomo could never, ever be missing from the list of the best 10 things to see in Milan… But how about we also take you among its 135 spires? Climb up to the Terraces of the Duomo to have at your disposal a view that is nothing short of spectacular: a unique panorama, while you enjoy the story of the history of the Cathedral and the hundreds of spires and statues that adorn the city’s iconic sacred building.
Historic Tramway
Visiting Milan from a different perspective. Climb aboard Milan’s historic vehicle, a special guided tour, discovering the Lombard capital and its history.
The historic vehicle of Milan, the 1503’s one, dates back to the 1920s. Recently renovated, it has retained all the retro charm of that period, and sitting in comfortable seats you can immerse yourself in the Milanese atmosphere. A Milan as you have never seen it. Not only for tourists but also for those who live Milan in a rush. A time to enjoy a rail route that takes you back in time to a city that changes but never passes.
The Last Supper
Santa Maria delle Grazie, is one of the most studied and imitated masterpieces in the world, but also one of the most mysterious and discussed. Join us on this guided tour as we discover the history and secrets behind the Last Supper by Leonardo and the beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Milan’s majestic Scala
and the Theatre Museum
Just a few more steps will be enough for you to reach Milan’s famous La Scala: the opera house is located in the Piazza della Scala of the same name and will captivate you with its neoclassical elegance, which bears the signature of Giuseppe Piermarini. Its stage over the years has hosted great voices of opera, such as the divine Callas and composers and musicians of the caliber of Verdi and Paganini. Today it is possible to visit the halls of the Teatro alla Scala Museum where you can retrace the splendor of the theater’s seasons, from the time of Eleonora Duse, to the discovery of historical relics and unique relics such as the tuft of hair of the world-famous Mozart.
St. Maurice at the Major Monastery
Guided tour of a special place: the Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, also known as the Sistine Chapel of Milan. On Corso Magenta, nestled and hidden among majestic and flashy palaces, stands a seemingly anonymous church, so much so that its sober and gray facade almost escapes a somewhat distracted eye … but how much beauty and splendor it holds inside!
Come in with us, thanks to a guided tour led by expert guides, and be enchanted by the thousands of colors that cover its walls entirely, telling us unknown stories, to be discovered one after another.
Sforza Castle
With a guided tour of Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, we relive the charm of court life, Gothic legends and architecture made up of crenellated towers and drawbridges as we stroll through its exterior. In the true heart of the city, we follow the Biscione, still considered the symbol of Milan and explore the ancient fortress, home to great masterpieces by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and other priceless treasures, now the property of the Civic Museums. And finally a walk, with a view from the Castello Sforzesco over the Arco della Pace, into the greenery of Sempione Park, where the hunting estate of the lords of Milan once stretched…
Branca Tower
A guided tour at sundown, at the hour of sunset: when the city slowly lights up in the evening lights and it’s time for an aperitif, it’s time to climb the most Milanese tower there is, the Torre Branca!
Follow us up to the highest panoramic terrace of the Torre Branca, exclusively reserved for us: listening to a thousand stories and tales about the city that slowly unfolds before our eyes, we will enjoy, up there, at almost 100 meters high, a unique and unforgettable aperitif at altitude!
Crypt of St. Sepulchre
Approaching the Church of St. Sepulchre, we already have the impression that we are traveling back in time, and taking a leap back to the Lombard Middle Ages and the time of the Crusades… The very facade of the church, although rebuilt over time, seems to be defended by its two tall towers as if by two knights from a distant time! Founded as far back as 1030 with the name Holy Trinity, the church was soon rededicated to the Holy Sepulchre because of the presence, since its foundation, of the crypt, a legendary, almost magical place, a copy of Christ’s holy sepulcher in Jerusalem.
