"MILANO MY HOMETOWN" Milan by muttleymilano

Milan is my hometown; sometime I would like to escape in a far place because it seems Milano is "going too fast" for my life-rhythm. Many times i like it and i could' nt miss it.
Visit Milano in spring, is the best weather period; not too cold and not too hot. Our winter is quite warm , in january we are at least 1-3 °. The last summer was really hot (35 - 37° ) and it was difficult to stay here; don't come to Milano in august; in this month everyone is going out for holidays and you risk to find an empty town, and too hot to bear.
It' s easy to walk in the city and see the most interesting historical places without taking bus or metro.
In the city visit Duomo church; this is Milano' s symbol; in this two years they are cleaning Duomo front-wall and is not possible to see it. Castello Sforzesco is another famous symbol of the ancient family who reigned for many years in Milano; Teatro "la Scala" (very famous! thay are rebuilding it and the works will be finished for december 2004). Have a walk and take a drink in "Navigli" (take Tram number 3 or 15 from Duomo square for 10 minutes); these are old channels where you will find many bars, restaurants, discos and nice shops. During summer cars can't pass in this area and every evening "Navigli" are very crowded by tourists and Milano citizens.
"brera"(place of the artists) is another famous area full of shops and bars where you can have a drink watching people walking outside. "Brera" is not too far from Teatro la scala (400 metres behind it) and is also close to metro station "Lanza" (green line).
For the nightlife another famous street is "Corso Como" (close to "garibaldi" metro green station); here there are many bars for your drinks before dinner and discos very famous like "Hollywood", "Casablanca", "Tocqueville". Go there not too late, like 23.00 - 23.30, because it could be difficult to enter there after 1 o clock; is better if you are divided in boys and girls because there is a kind of selection.
If you come to Milano from september to may you can try to see a football match of F.C. Inter (my favourite team) or A.C. Milan. You can find tickets even at the stadium(prices from 20 to 150 euro) except for the derbies and matchs like Inter-Juventus or Milan- Juventus. to reach the stadium take metro number 1 red line and stop to "Lotto"; have a walk for 15 minutes in "Viale Caprilli" and you will see S.Siro in front of you.
For your shopping the most expensive shops are in Via Montenapoleone, Via Orefici, Via Della Spiga: here you can find shops like Versace, Valentino, Dolce e Gabbana; if you are young and you like ore casuals wears go to "Via Torino" (close to Duomo) and "corso Buenos Aires" (metro stop "Lima" or "Loreto"); this is a long street (2 km) very popular for the shopping in Milano.
Have a nice time in Milano and don't worry if you see Milano's citizens walking too fast or driving fast their cars: this is our way of life from 9 a.m to 18.00 p.m!!! after this Milano becomes a more relaxing place.
If you are coming to my town contact me! we could meet to have a beer!

vicolo dei lavandai

This place is one of the most characteristic places in Milano "vicolo Lavandai" in Navigli; my granmother was born and lived in Navigli for many years; in these places all women living there came to wash the clothes.

Piazza San babila by night

Together with Piazza Duomo, this square is one of the hearts of Milano; here starts Corso vittorio Emanuele, the main street of Milano, i think. At the other side of the square you will find Via Montenapoleone, the most famous shopping street in Milano...but only if you have many money to spend 'cause here you will find just the best shops like Valentino, Versace, and all the fashion griffes.

• Pros:fashion shops , nightlife
• Cons:traffic and pollution
• In a nutshell:take Milano for a short time and you will like it!