The Ultimate Guide: Milan

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SPEAKER_2 (1:00)

The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman on Newstalk with Kea.

Ciara Kelly (1:09)

And it's that time of the week when we go on our ultimate guide to far-flung places and exciting lands, and we're joined by Fionn Davenport. And this week, Fionn, you are bringing us to a city that I think probably many Irish people will be familiar with and will like very much, Milan.

Fionn Davenport (1:24)

Indeed, Milan, and part of the reason, although do you really need a reason to talk about Milan, was that Ryanair have announced just yesterday, was their summer schedule and they've added Milan-Bergamo to their summer routes. And then I was thinking, do you know what? I've never covered Milan on The Ultimate Guide, never once. And it is a great, great city. It's a city, despite the fact that it's Italy's second largest city, it's its most glamorous, maybe its most modern city. And in a lot of ways, it's often forgotten compared to Rome, Florence, Venice, and kind of is treated a bit like a city of the industrial north, when in fact, it's incredibly interesting and well worth the visit.

Ciara Kelly (2:10)

So funny. I often take notes as I, as I interview people to remind myself, and I was had just written industrial north just before you said industrial north, because that is the perception, isn't it?

Fionn Davenport (2:23)

Yeah, it is. And it feels like it's a very workaday city. And even Italians will tell you is, is that Italy gets more relaxed the more south you go. And the Milanese would be seen as hardworking and busy.

And La Dolce Vita isn't something that you would equate with the Milanese, which I think is slightly unfair.

I think it's an extraordinarily beautiful city. Certainly the historic center. It's a really interesting city. It has, I'm going to say, a handful of things that would fill a weekend. There are amongst the very best things you can do in any city in Europe.

Shane Colman (3:01)

So for those reasons alone, I think, let's get to those, Fionn, let's get to some of the stuff to do in Milan.

Fionn Davenport (3:09)

Yeah. So Piazza del Duomo or Cathedral Square. So that's the heart of the city. So you've got the cathedral and I mean, even if you've never been to Milan, I would wager that you would recognize the cathedral. It's this extraordinary building. It is stunning, stunning. The facade is stunning. But the square itself is really beautiful.

Absolutely go visit the cathedral. There's a really nice combination ticket for about 26 euro that gives you the cathedral and all the roof terraces, because you get great views of the city from those. But really for me, once I'm done with the cathedral, it's the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is maybe, well, certainly, Europe's most beautiful arcaded shopping center.

I don't really know if it's the original arcaded shopping center, but again, this is one of the most beautiful structures in all of Europe. It's got this triumphal arch, this wonderful glass canopy inside. And inside, you've got like cafes with haute couture. You have this cafe called Beefy, which has been there since it opened in the 1860s. It's got the world's first Prada shop, which has the sign that says the Fratelli Prada, or Prada Brothers, the original sign is there. It's an extraordinary thing. And there's a local legend that says, in, inside, there's a mosaic of a bull in the floor. And so local lore goes is that you go in and you spin your heel on the testicles of the bull, and it's meant to bring you good luck. Now, that's been done so many times over so many decades that unfortunately those testicles have been worn out to just like this cavity that just sits there. But still, the legend endures, and if you want good luck, you should really just turn your heels on it.