Milan Madness

Milan is Italy's fashion capital - for it is trendy and posh. It is completely different from Florence and Rome where there are many popular galleries and sights. The three biggest draws in Milan is the Last Supper, Santa Maria della Grazie, and the Duomo. Provided that you are lucky to have booked tickets in advance for the Last Supper, you only need a few hours to see Milan.

I enjoyed the Last Supper tremendously and was lucky enough to score tickets during Culture Week, meaning that my ticket and the booking fee were free.

Milan is expensive and needs no more than 1 or 2 nights' stay!

Quick Tips:

1. If you really want to see the Last Supper painting, book tickets over the phone three months in advance. They sell out quickly (often in blocks to tour groups) and many people are disappointed when they call only a week before their trip. If you cannot get tickets, consider buying them through a tour group which is more expensive.

2. Metro tickets are cheap and the metro is efficient and clean. Use the system to get around Milan. Keep one or two tickets on hand with you in case for emergencies.

3. When booking a hotel, make sure that there is nearby public transportation. I cannot count the number of times I've heard people complaining that they booked a hotel far out from the city and having to pay even more money for a taxi.

4. If you really want to visit Milan, one or two nights is just enough. If you have a few extra days, stay in Lake Como.

5. Watch your belongings at ALL times when at any train station or any metro station. There are pick-pockets lurking around. I got lucky on my trip but always keep an eye out, no matter what.

6. Centrale Train Station allows smoking inside the facility. There are many people smoking and the smell can be over-whelming. Try to spend as little time in the train station if you're not used to smoke, wayward pigeons and beggars.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around Milan is via its underground. There are three coloured lines (M1, M2 and M3). Most popular sights are on the M1 line.

Single tickets cost 1 euro each, good for 75 minutes as long as you stay underground. Keep extras with you. There is a day pass as well (around 3 euros) which is cost-efficient if you're planning to travel extensively around Milan for an entire day.

This church in Milan is one of the largest in the world and took just over 500 years to complete. The inside of the cathedral is a sight to behold for there are hundreds of statues and gargoyles. It is hard to describe this cathedral in words - it is so ornate and beautiful that you are at a loss for words.

You can climb (250 steps) or ride to the roof in which the view is absolutely stunning. Take the stairs to get more of the experience and when you get to the top, it'll be worth the strenuous effort!

Getting to the Duomo is easy for it is accessible by two metro lines (Lines M1 and M3, stop Duomo). From there, it is a simple short walk. Metro tickets cost €1 apiece. The cathedral is open daily from 7am to 7pm whereas the roof is open from 9am to 5:45pm. The stairs are cheap (€4) whereas the elevator cost a bit more (€6).

Tip: Please dress appropriately and make sure your shoulders are covered and that you do not show your knees.

The Last Supper is one of Da Vinci’s greatest works. It depicts the scene of Jesus and his disciples as taken from the Bible in which Jesus announces to his compatriots that one of them will betray him in the end. Over the centuries, the fresco has deteriorated quite badly due to lack of care and poorly carried out restoration works. During the war, the church was bombed but miraculously, the fresco survived.

To see this, you must have pre-arranged reservations and booking is often frustrating and difficult for it is very popular. There is an official website where you can buy tickets (2-3 months in advance) but it is better to call them directly because the operators speak English. The number to call is +39 (02) 89421146 but keep in mind of the time differences.

Tip: Use a cheap phone card ($5) to book all of your reservations to save money on your phone bill. When you get a date/time confirmed, the operator will give you a reservation code in which you need to bring with you when picking up the tickets. Do not forget it! You must show up 20-minutes prior to pick up the tickets. Only 25 people are allowed in each time to view the painting. After picking up your tickets, you’ll have a bit of time so you could check out the church next door while waiting (free). The cost of tickets is €6.50 per person plus a €1.50 reservation fee. The Last Supper is free during Italy’s Culture Week in which I was lucky enough to be in Milan during then!

Getting to the Last Supper is easy. You need to take the metro and get off at either metro stops Conciliazione (Line M1) or Cadorna (Lines M1 or M2). It is a short walk from both stations to the Last Supper and there are signs indicating the direction you should take. A single ticket costs €1 but purchase two so you have a return trip.

The Last Supper is truly breathtaking. It is much larger than you would expect for it takes up an entire wall. The details are blurrier than what you see in pictures or in books but for the most part, you can make out the important details. After viewing the Last Supper (15 minutes time), I was quite convinced that the person to the left of Jesus was Mary Magdalene because the figure is feminine. Being a fan of works about Mary, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see this painting.

No photography is allowed but there is a gift-shop so pick up one of the great books on the Last Supper or a postcard. The books are a bargain - €6 for a detailed book on the Last Supper! If you have a chance to stay in Milan or have a stopover, take the time to see this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – before the fresco deteriorates to the point where it cannot be restored properly.

Santa Maria della Grazie is Milan's most famous church and convent for which it is the home of Da Vinci's Last Supper painting which is in the refectory of the convent.

The church was completed in the late 1400s and was meant to be a convent. The architecture is stunning and the apse is the most striking part of the church. The church was bombed during World War II and much of it was destroyed although the Last Supper mural wall miraculously survived thanks to the protection of the church's devotees.

Inside the church, it is breathtaking and almost a spiritual experience and this is coming from a non-spiritual person! I was deeply disappointed to see that many people were attempting to take flash photographs inside the church - something that I frown upon. Please avoid this because it disturbs the parishioners and those praying in the pews. Proper attire is required as well - meaning no bare shoulders or knees.

Access to the church can be reached by metro - Line M1 (Stops: Conciliazione or Cadorna) or Line M3 (Stop: Cadorna). There is a tram line that goes past the church as well (Tram 24, Corso Magenta). The church is open from 8am to 7:30pm daily. Admission is free for the church only.

I would recommend going into the church if you've already picked up tickets for the Last Supper - either before or after. Just remember that the church is much revered and loved by Milan's population - you can see the scars from the bombings and the details of the extensive restoration work put into the church to make it for what it is today - a World Heritage Site.

There are several ways to get to/from Milan Malpensa airport. Keep in mind that this does not refer to Milan Linate or Milan Bergamo - two completely different airports. Malpensa is 30 miles away from the city centre of Milan whereas Linate is much closer.

Methods of transportation (listed from cheapest to most expensive):

1. Malpensa Shuttle - A coach travels to/from Milan Centrale Train Station to Milan Malpensa Airport and vice versa. The shuttle leaves every 20 minutes and it is a comfortable ride that takes an hour. The shuttle stops at all the terminals. Tickets can be bought online, at any booth in the Centrale train station, or at the airport. It costs: €5

2. Malpensa Express - A train that travels to/from Milan Cadorna Train Station to Milan Malpensa (Terminal 1). Tickets can be bought at Cadorna train station or at the airport. It takes about 40-45 minutes to complete the journey. One-way adult ticket is €11 (€13.50 if purchased on the train). Child one-way ticket is €5.50 (€8 if purchased on the train).

3. Taxi - May take between 40-60 minutes to get to/from the airport, depending on traffic. It's pretty expensive and can vary between €50 and €100.

4. Car - Don't even think about it!

We couldn't find a decent hotel to stay in the night before our flight to Athens. We looked into hostels but 99% of them had terrible reviews and the cheap hotels were far out in the city with no access to public transportation. Milan isn't cheap when it comes to lodgings so we decided to suck it up and sleep at the airport to save money.

We had a few hours stopover in Milan after arriving by train from Florence. After visiting the Last Supper and Duomo, we returned to Centrale train station, where we took the Malpensa Shuttle (€5) to Malpensa Airport - some 30 miles away. The ride lasted about an hour due to traffic and we were dropped off at Terminal 2 (budget airlines). The bus then proceed to Terminal 1 (other airlines).

Malpensa Airport is MUCH smaller than you expect and it looks like everything is on the ground floor. There are hardly any restaurants or decent facilities so bringing food with you is a good idea. We got to the airport just before 9pm and it was completely empty. The cafés were shut down and janitors were already sweeping up the place.

There were a few other people that had intended to stay the night as well. Around 10pm, a huge gathering of Roma soccer fans came in for a night flight back to Rome - complete with police officers. I guess they take security seriously there.

I wasn't asked for my passport and there were no problems with the guards that patrol the airport. The lights go don't off at Malpensa (At Orly, they go off around midnight) so you definitely won't be getting some sleep unless you knock yourself out with pills. The chairs are uncomfortable but there are no armrests despite the lack of padding. There is limited seating at Malpensa so if you're planning to hunker down at the airport, get there a bit earlier to grab a seat.

I think based on my experiences, I wouldn't sleep at Malpensa again unless I had an extremely early flight. I wish I could have shelled out a bit more money for a nice hotel room but I'd feel guilty anyways. So if you're trying to decide whether or not to sleep in the airport, I'd stick with getting a hotel room. It's not worth losing an entire night's sleep and being crabby the next morning due to that fact.