Cantine Isola is a little gem in the hearth of Chinatown.

It is one of the few authentic wine bars in Milan. Cantina Isola is always very crowded (there is only one little table but I’ve never spotted it free) Everybody here stands in front of the counter, drinking excellent wine and eating (for free) very tasty snacks (olives, cheese, anchovies, sun dried tomatoes..)

During spring/ summer there is a nice patio in front of the bar so you can enjoy a nice glass of wine relaxing in the pedestrian street.

Ask the bartenders to advice you the best red/white wine of the day.

Since it is situated in the middle of Chinatown, if you come here to have “aperitivo” before you can have a nice walk across Via Paolo Sarpi (full of Chinese little shops).

If, after one, two or more glasses or wine and a few olives, your belly will ask for real food I would advice to go to the one of the best Chinese restaurant in Milan: Jubin, just 3 minutes walk away on the same street.

On Wednesday nights they do poetry reading: the owner will jump on a chair and will declare a poem and at the end he will ask for the author.

Wine + poetry: who’s asking for more?

It’s not common to sit under the olive trees in Milan, especially if you are in the middle of the city centre, but if you are a tourist or a student then it is easier than you might think.

The Caffè degli Atellani is a coffee bar on 2 levels, a glass cube with an English style garden an the rear with small tables and potted olive trees.

It’s opening times are quite peculiar: from 12:00 till 18:00 Monday to Friday. If despite this you are still able to pop in there, you’ll see it is definitely worth a visit! Beside the atmosphere, you will discover one of the most interesting public spaces of Milan: the Mediateca di Santa Teresa, a former baroque church that has been transformed into a municipal multimedia library. You can go there and use the internet, watch movies and TV programmes or listen to music (Tue – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:45).

The whole structure (the library and the bar) is a great example of how an old building that hasn’t been used for ages can be converted by a brave architect in a modern, light and multifunctional space. Absolutely great for the design-addicted.

This bio-natural restaurant is in the inner court of a modern building just opposite the Navigli. It is a great place to go to if you are curious to discover what vegan food is, i.e. the food with no meat, no fish, no egg, no cheese, no milk … you would imagine you can only have salad but believe me, it’s an entire new world of ingredients and tastes to explore. Not only tofu and seitan but also hummus, wakame, kamut, soya, cereals and many others.

I suggest to try Mudra for lunch and to get the menu degustazione (sampling menu): for just € 9.00 (€ 15.00 for dinner) you have a single dish with 1st and 2nd course + side order. Also the aperitivo is a nice experience: you can order your glass of biological wine or beer and peck from the buffet but if you want to try something different, you can get a 20 minutes ayurvedic massage with it (€ 18.00 instead of € 8.00)

At the 1st floor there are often courses (dance, massage, yoga…).

Afer 21:30 you need to press the entry phone to get in the inner court.

The municipal aquarium is a lovely Art Nouveau building dating back to the beginning of the XX century. It is the 3rd oldest aquarium in Europe and it was created for teaching purposes. If you go there, spend some time outside and try to count how many different animals living in water environments are represented, both painted or sculptured: every time I go I find new ones I had not noticed before.

It’s a great place to go to if you are with children, one of the few children-tailored spaces Milan offers to its youngest visitors. However it is also perfect for the long rainy and dark winter days, if you are fed up with shopping and cinema: the pools representing different water environments (lake, see, river, mountain stream, …) with the relative animals and vegetables create a bewitched atmosphere, with its soft lighting. My favorite part is the corridor with round walls and ceiling made of glass where you can see fishes swimming all over you.

There is also a library inside, which unfortunately can only be accessed for studying purposes, and an exhibition centre, usually for photographs exhibits.

I recently discovered this café located inside one of my favorite Museums: Triennale (Museum of Modern Art and Design).

The restaurant offers a wide varieties of  elaborated and creative dishes. I had a very good pasta dish with an interesting cream of lemon, broccoli and anchovies.

At lunch, (except during the weekend) the menu is quite convenient (a starter, a pasta dish and a dessert for € 25.00). Otherwise you can have “a la carte menu”.

The place is quite fancy: all the furniture are design pieces and so are the cutleries. The spaces are big and the view from the window is excellent looking out on the park. In summer there is a nice terrace for enjoying an aperitif, right in the middle of all the green.

After your meal or coffee, you can go on to visit the Museum and discover some nice exhibitions or enjoy a nice walk in the park, located just behind the restaurant.

Just beside Piazza Duomo and nearby Piazza alla Scala, is a small square: Piazza San Fedele. I have always been fascinated by this place because in Milan there are not so many squares and also because even if it situated in the very center of the city it is always very peaceful, maybe because it is quite small.

It is not so famous even if there is a statue of Alessandro Manzoni  and a nice Church which gives the name to the square.

If you are around this area for shopping or for a tour I recommend you come here for a rest. I like to come here with an ice cream or with a snack and rest for a while, just doing people spotting or reading a book.

There are few places in a city where you feel like I am proud to live here because of this place. Ostello Bello is definitely one of them.

Before it was a hostel, a bar and a place to meet new people, it was a project some guys have been working on for years, with a passion you immediately see.

The place is located in the very center, between piazza Duomo and the Navigli area, the perfect spot to stay if you’re visiting Milano. The walls are beautifully decorated by the illustrator Elena Borghi and each room is painted in bright colors and has its own private bathroom (complete with the very Italian bidet!). The common kitchen offers a lot of cutlery and each floor has a fabulous terrace with hammocks and plants (I wish I had one like that at my place).

If you are not sleeping there you are very welcome to visit the café anyway, where the atmosphere is friendly and homey. The young owners of the place will take care of you as they did with each detail of the place, from the little frames which show the rooms’ numbers to the books in the shelves available for the guests. Some events will take place in the next months, so stay tuned!

Rotonda della Besana is one of the most charming and uncommon places I have seen in Milano. Basically, it is a public garden surrounded by a “flower” shaped porch, with a deconsecrated church in the middle.

It was built at the beginning of the XVIII Century to be a church with its graveyard. Afterwards it’s been devoted to many different purposes and now the church hosts exhibitions and cultural events and the garden around is a public green area.

This place gives a peaceful and protecting feeling because of its perfect symmetry and balanced geometry. Once you’re inside it’s like time stops and all the chaotic sounds of the city are left outside.

If you’re in Porta Romana take some time to stop here and try to catch the beauty of the place with your camera or check which exhibit is on because usually they are really interesting and well cared.

In front of Parco Solari, a lovely public garden with a covered municipal swimming pool inside, there is this charming coffee-library with a couple of tables outside.

This is one of my favorite places when I go to the Mercato di Papiniano (check the article), the biggest street market in Milan (Via Papiniano, Tue 07:30 – 13:00 & Saturday 07:30 – 17:00).

After the crowd and the noise of the stalls, I love to sit and sip a tea, a vegetable & fruit juice (try the apple, carrot and ginger one!) or a glass of wine surrounded by books. Lunch is also possible, although there are often so many people that it might take some time to be served.

This coffee shop is also a cultural association and hosts lectures and book presentations. It is owned and run by a couple that, bored of working for a bank and an insurance company, decided to create a meeting-place for enjoying the pleasures of life: food, drinks and culture.

The Smooth Bar has been around for many years and still it is always crowded at different time of the day. It is situated in a suburb (Fiera) not so full of “cool” places. It is a residential and commercial area (Corso Vercelli, full of department stores and it is good for shopping) and bars and restaurants are nice but not “different”. Smooth cafè is a point of reference in the area.

Starting from breakfast (muffin, croissant and even yogurt with muesli) arriving to lunch (I usually order a piadina filled with rucola and fresh “sqacquerone” cheese, but there are many tasty options including pasta or nice salads). To drink they prepare nice fruits juices.  

Aperitif time (from 19:00 to 21:00) is always very crowded and with € 8.00 you’ll have your favorite drink/wine/beer together with  snacks brought to your table including small sandwiches and fresh fruits.

I know they serve food also at night, which for Milan, it is not common at all.

Another interesting fact is that there are always painting exhibitions on the wall: check out the website to discover which is the exhibition of the week.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Smooth | Art & culture, Bars | A sandwich/salad € 9.00
Via Michelangelo Buonarotti, 15 | Fiera | +39024819043
Mon -Tue 11:00 – 01:00, Wed 11:00 – 13:00 & 17:00 – 00:00, Thu – Sun 08:00 – 01:00

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