There are cities you visit because they’re on your bucket list.
And then there are cities that completely surprise you.
For us, Milan was definitely the second.
Before we booked our trip, we pictured a city of designer shops, fashionable Italians and busy business districts. It sounded fun for a weekend, but we weren’t convinced it would be the perfect destination for a family city break.
How wrong we were.
Milan welcomed us with grand piazzas, beautiful architecture, streets that seemed to invite you to wander without a plan and, quite honestly, some of the best food we’ve ever eaten in Italy.
It’s a city where you can spend the morning admiring one of the world’s most spectacular cathedrals, the afternoon getting lost in charming neighbourhoods and the evening enjoying fresh pasta or pizza on a terrace while the sun slowly disappears behind centuries-old buildings.
And somewhere in between, you’ll probably eat more gelato than you intended.
Not that we’re complaining.
Arriving in Milan
One of the things we love about European city breaks is that your holiday starts almost as soon as you land.
Within an hour of leaving the airport, we were already strolling through the streets with our suitcases behind us, soaking up that unmistakable Italian atmosphere.
People were lingering over coffee, trams rattled through the city, little cafés spilled onto the pavements and every other corner seemed to have another bakery tempting us inside.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we did what we almost always do in a new city.
We started walking.
No strict itinerary.
No rushing from one attraction to another.
Just letting the city introduce itself.
Where to Stay in Milan
If you’re only visiting for a few days, we’d definitely recommend staying in or near the historic centre.
Being able to walk back to your hotel after dinner or pop in for a short break during the afternoon makes travelling with children so much easier.
We stayed close enough to explore most of Milan on foot, which meant we could simply wander wherever the day took us without constantly checking train or metro schedules.
When we’re planning a trip, we almost always book through Booking.com. We love being able to compare hotels, apartments and family rooms in one place, especially during school holidays when the nicest places fill up quickly.
👉 Book your Milan hotel through
That First Glimpse of the Duomo
Every city seems to have one moment.
One view.
One place that makes you stop in your tracks.
In Milan, it’s the Duomo.
You walk through the surrounding streets, turn the corner and suddenly this enormous white marble cathedral appears before you.
No photo had prepared us for just how impressive it would be.
The girls immediately looked up and started pointing out all the statues decorating the façade.
“How did they even build this?” one of them asked.
A very good question.
Construction began in the 1300s and took nearly six centuries to complete, which somehow makes it even more remarkable.
As beautiful as the cathedral is from the outside, our favourite part was climbing to the rooftop.
Walking among the marble spires while looking out across Milan felt almost surreal. From above, the city stretches in every direction, with church towers, terracotta rooftops and the distant Alps on a clear day.
If there’s one thing we’d recommend booking before your trip, it’s this.
Tickets can sell out quickly, especially during weekends and school holidays, and booking ahead means you can spend more time exploring instead of standing in line.
👉 Reserve your Duomo & Rooftop tickets
Spinning for Good Luck
Right next to the Duomo you’ll find the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Even if shopping isn’t your main reason for visiting Milan, don’t skip it.
The building itself is stunning, with its enormous glass roof, beautiful mosaics and elegant cafés that have been welcoming visitors for generations.
In the centre of the Galleria you’ll notice a small crowd gathered around a mosaic of a bull.
If you’ve been to Milan before, you probably already know why.
According to local tradition, placing your heel on the bull and spinning around three times brings good luck.
Of course, the girls wanted to try it immediately.
Let’s just say there was a lot more laughing than graceful spinning.
Whether it actually brings good luck, we can’t say.
But it definitely brought one of our favourite memories of the trip.
Brera: The Neighbourhood We Loved Most
If we had to choose one part of Milan that completely stole our hearts, it would be Brera.
It has a completely different feel from the busy centre.
The streets are a little narrower, balconies overflow with flowers, artists display their work outside small galleries and cosy cafés invite you to sit down just a little longer.
It reminded us of the moments we loved most while wandering through Montmartre in Paris. Not because they look the same, but because they create the same feeling.
The feeling that if you keep walking, you’ll discover something wonderful around the next corner.
If Paris is still on your travel wish list, don’t miss our Paris with Kids guide. It’s another city that’s perfect for exploring at your own pace, one neighbourhood at a time.
The Pizza We Still Talk About
Travel memories aren’t always made at famous landmarks.
Sometimes they’re made around a dinner table.
After a full day of exploring, we wandered into a small neighbourhood restaurant that wasn’t mentioned in any guidebook we’d read.
Italian families filled the tables.
Waiters hurried past carrying enormous pizzas.
The smell alone was enough to convince us we’d made the right choice.
A few minutes later, dinner arrived.
And honestly…
It may have been the best pizza we’ve ever eaten.
The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, the tomato sauce tasted wonderfully fresh and the mozzarella…
Well, the mozzarella deserves its own paragraph.
Every time we lifted a slice, long strings of melted cheese stretched halfway across the table.
The girls couldn’t stop laughing.
Neither could we.
There wasn’t much conversation during dinner because everyone was far too busy eating.
Even now, whenever we make pizza at home, one of them inevitably says,
“It’s good… but it’s still not Milan pizza.”
We have a feeling that restaurant has set the bar impossibly high.
And that’s exactly what we love about travelling.
Years later, it isn’t just the famous sights you remember.
It’s moments like these.
A simple family dinner that somehow became one of the highlights of the entire trip.
Leaving Room for Surprises
People often ask us how we plan our city breaks.
The answer is surprisingly simple.
We book the things that really need booking—like the Duomo—and then leave plenty of room for the unexpected.
That’s very different from planning a visit to Disneyland Paris, where a little preparation can make a huge difference to your day. Cities like Milan are best enjoyed slowly.
Take the side street.
Sit down for another coffee.
Browse that little bookshop.
Order dessert, even if you weren’t planning to.
Because those unexpected moments often become the stories you tell long after you’ve unpacked your suitcase.
And Milan gave us plenty of those.
After discovering the beauty of the Duomo, getting lost in Brera and finding a pizza that our daughters still compare every pizza to, we quickly realised something about Milan.
This city isn’t just about the famous sights.
It’s about the moments in between.
The coffee breaks.
The long dinners.
The streets you didn’t plan to visit.
The feeling of sitting on a terrace while watching Italian life unfold around you.
And there were still plenty of places waiting to be discovered.
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper
There are some places you visit because you know you should.
And then there are places that genuinely make you stop and think.
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper was one of those moments.
Hidden inside the former monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the painting is surprisingly easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. From the outside, it doesn’t look like the home of one of the world’s most famous artworks.
But inside is a masterpiece that has fascinated people for centuries.
What makes the experience special is that it doesn’t feel like a crowded museum visit. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed inside at a time, which gives you the chance to really take it in.
Even our daughters, who aren’t normally the first ones to ask for an art museum, were impressed by the story behind it and the fact that something created so many hundreds of years ago is still standing in front of us.
A little tip from us:
Don’t wait until the last minute to book this one. Tickets are limited and often sell out well before your trip.
👉 Book your Last Supper tickets
Discovering Milan One Street at a Time
One of our favourite things about Milan was that it never felt like we had to rush.
After visiting the main sights, we often put the map away and simply walked.
We discovered small courtyards hidden behind large doors, tiny bakeries selling fresh focaccia and streets where locals sat outside chatting over coffee.
The girls loved looking into little shops, especially the ones filled with colourful Italian stationery, jewellery and handmade items.
These are the moments that often make a destination feel special.
Not the places everyone photographs.
The places you accidentally find.
An Evening in Navigli
If there is one place in Milan that feels magical at sunset, it’s Navigli.
The historic canal district completely changes as the day comes to an end.
During the day, it’s a lovely neighbourhood to explore, but in the evening the atmosphere really comes alive.
The reflections of the buildings shimmer in the water, restaurants open their terraces and locals meet friends for an evening drink.
We loved simply walking along the canals before finding somewhere to sit down.
The girls enjoyed watching the boats pass by while we enjoyed one of those rare holiday moments where nobody was checking the time.
No schedule.
No hurry.
Just enjoying being together.
Food Is Part of the Milan Experience
Let’s be honest.
Italy is impossible to experience without talking about food.
And Milan has plenty to discover.
Of course, there is pizza and pasta (and we definitely ate our fair share), but Milan also has its own traditional dishes.
One of the most famous is risotto alla Milanese, a creamy saffron risotto that is simple but incredibly comforting.
Then there’s cotoletta alla Milanese, a crispy breaded veal cutlet that is a local favourite.
But our personal recommendation?
Leave room for dessert.
Always.
A scoop of authentic Italian gelato while wandering through the streets is one of those simple pleasures that makes a holiday feel complete. Italy is no place to count calories.
A City That Works for Families
Before visiting Milan, we wondered if it would feel too much like a grown-up city.
Fashion.
Business.
Museums.
But we quickly discovered that Milan works beautifully with children.
The girls enjoyed:
- climbing the Duomo rooftop,
- searching for hidden details in old buildings,
- discovering new streets,
- stopping for gelato,
- watching trams pass through the city,
- and, of course, finding the best Italian food.
The secret is not trying to do everything.
Milan rewards slow travel.
A Perfect Day Trip: Lake Como
One of the biggest advantages of visiting Milan is its location.
Within a short train ride, you can leave the busy city behind and find yourself surrounded by mountains, colourful villages and beautiful lake views.
Welcome to Lake Como.
We love destinations where nature and culture come together, and Lake Como is exactly that.
Imagine taking a boat across the lake, exploring little villages, stopping for lunch beside the water and watching the mountains reflect in the lake.
It feels completely different from Milan, which makes it such a wonderful addition to your trip.
If you have a few extra days, we would definitely recommend adding Lake Como to your itinerary.
For families without a car, organised day trips are an easy option.
👉 Discover Lake Como day trips and experiences
(And keep an eye on Travelicious—we’ll share our full Lake Como guide soon.)
Our Travelicious Verdict
Milan wasn’t the city we expected.
We thought we’d find fashion and famous landmarks.
And we did.
But we found so much more.
We found a city where our daughters laughed while spinning on a lucky mosaic in the Galleria.
A city where we stood quietly in front of one of the world’s greatest paintings.
A city where a simple pizza dinner became one of our favourite travel memories.
A city where we slowed down.
And perhaps that’s what makes Milan so special.
It doesn’t demand your attention in the way some famous European cities do.
Instead, it gently invites you to explore.
To wander.
To taste.
To enjoy.
So if you’re looking for a family-friendly European city break with incredible food, beautiful architecture and plenty of little moments to remember, we can wholeheartedly recommend Milan.
Just make sure you leave room for pizza.
Because chances are…
Your kids might still be talking about it months later.
Continue Exploring with Travelicious
Loved Milan? You might also enjoy:
Paris with Kids – discover one of our favourite European city breaks, including our tips for exploring Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower and hidden corners of the city.
✨ Disneyland Paris Guide – planning a magical family trip? Our complete guide helps you make the most of your visit.
🏰 Lake Como – coming soon: our tips for exploring one of Italy’s most beautiful lakes as a family.
Happy travels ❤️