With our Milan for Beginners tour we’ll touch all the most iconic sites and at the same time we’ll explore some less obvious areas of town. Accompanied by our expert private guide you’ll see the Duomo, the Galleria, the Scala Opera House, the Merchants’ Square, the financial and food districts. A walk to Castello Sforzesco will complete our itinerary.

MILAN PAST & PRESENT – Milan has an ancient heritage and a fascinating history; here you find some of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art! The Florentine born Leonardo da Vinci spent here 20 years of his working life. After a long series of foreign dominions, Milan’s modern expansion started at the end of the 19th century and continues today.

A BUSINESS HUB WITH A SOPHISTICATED STYLE – Milan is the center of business and the capital of Italian fashion and design. It is often defined ‘the moral capital of Italy’, although Rome being the political one. The most European of Italian metropolis is characterized by its elegance and strong attitude to hard working with an eye to the future.

THE GOTHIC DUOMO – Milan’s Cathedral was started in 1386 when the city was under the rule of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, to be completed, almost 600 years later, in 1965! It is one of the world’s largest churches and stands out with its ‘forest’ of white pinnacles. It is embellished in and out by a huge number of statues. It is Milan’s most cherished symbol.

LA GALLERIA – Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala, consists of two enormous glass and cast-iron vaults intersecting in a central octagon, surmounted by a great dome. Designed by architect Mengoni in the 1860s, it is the oldest working shopping mall in Italy and will enchant you with its boutiques and cafés.

THE GREAT OPERA HOUSE – Teatro alla Scala, cultural heart of Milan, was inaugurated in 1778, and owes its international fame to the great artists of the Italian melodrama: Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Toscanini and many others. We’ll stop to admire the exterior (recently refurbished), where you’ll learn from your guide about its glorious history

PIAZZA MERCANTI – an unusually quiet corner, tucked away behind the Duomo, brings us back to the Middle Ages, when it was the center of commercial and judicial life. With the help of your guide you’ll be able to imagine everyday life in Medieval Milan: notaries writing acts and wills under the arcades, vendors, bankers and merchants, public executions.

THE FOOD SCENE – during our introductory discovery walk we’ll be able to spend some time talking about the Milan of the Milanese, with its traditions and its attitude to change and keep up with modern times. You’ll learn about some of the most typical local gastronomic specialties and about all the major trends in today’s food and drink scene.

CASTELLO SFORZESCO is an enormous fortified structure, erected in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, the new Duke of Milan on the ruins of a medieval castle. You’ll learn about the Visconti and the Sforza, the two leading dynasties, refined art lovers on one side and cruel rulers on the other. The Castle enshrines artworks by Leonardo & Michelangelo.