Milan really was just another stop for me. In my mind it was a grey, dull city with little to offer. While I wasn’t exactly wrong, I was more impressed than I expected. Milan is well known for its shopping and art culture – both things I’m not hugely interested in. That being said, I thought the city had some neat character, a lot of green spaces, and I liked the University/student scene.
As usual I spent a day wandering the streets, ticking off the main attractions. The grand canal, the duomo, sforzesco castle, Arco della pace and many shopping centres. I tried gelato from the Lindt store – they were even giving out free chocolates. Although I was in Milan for a few days, I had really only allocated one day to the city, and I felt I saw it all. Or everything I wanted to see at least. It was reasonably walkable, but the metro was also easy to use.
A trip to Lake Como was a priority during my time in Milan. The ever popular lake is only 40 minutes by train from Milan, so easily accessible. However I was left a little underwhelmed. Granted, I didn’t have the time (or money) to take the ferry or a cruise to the other towns around the lake, but I thought the lake, and Como town itself was a bit average. I’ve seen many lakes that are twice as stunning, and don’t require paid access to go swimming. With that in mind I spent the day sunbathing on the lakeside grass. It was certainly not a day wasted.
This left me with one final day in Milan and no idea what I wanted to do. Technically I was actually leaving this day, but I had a night train that wasn’t until 9:30pm so I still had the whole day to spend. I had thrown a few different ideas around – another day trip, a chill day in the city, I couldn’t decide.
Eventually I settled on a day trip to Lugano, which was actually a lake in Switzerland, but still only an hour and fifteen minutes away from Milan. Now, I am so glad I made this decision. I checked out first thing in the morning and stored my luggage at the hostel before getting on the earliest train. Upon arrival in Lugano, I knew I had about 4hrs of free time before I needed to get back to the train station to ensure I had plenty of time to catch my night train once back in Milan. Honestly, 4hrs was pushing it, I could’ve spent a lot longer. I strolled around the lake, it was truly spectacular. It reminded me a little bit of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu in NZ, but better. I then headed for Monte Bré, a mountain that has panoramic views over the lake and surrounding alps. It was accessible via a funicular and then a cable car. This was very expensive, and I’m not sure I’d pay for it again but I’m glad I did it. The views at the top were stunning, and there were a few different viewpoints which all offered fantastic perspectives. I took my time up here but there wasn’t much to do besides admire the views.
Switzerland is known to be extremely expensive and it was. I avoided looking at the prices as I walked past restaurants after I saw 6 chicken nuggets and chips going for 18.5€ ($32NZD). I went hungry that day and ate when I got back to Milan. But it was worth the trip! Definitely the most impressive lake I’ve visited so far, and I really liked the town of Lugano itself. Another fun fact was that within this day, I visited 3 countries, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. What a crazy concept!
My time in Milan city itself was short lived, and I probably wouldn’t return any time soon but its proximity to other locations did make for an enjoyable stop.
~ Nikita’s Nomadic Notes
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 