The Best of Milan: Explore the City’s Secrets

(181 reviews)

Milan audio tour: The Best of Milan: Explore the City’s Secrets

This is a 1.6mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Milan

Italy

$9.99

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About the Tour

If you’d like to discover the secrets of Milan and delve into the city’s stories and curiosities, this walking tour is for you!

We’ll explore all the main attractions starting from the heart of Milan at Piazza della Scala, then heading towards the Duomo, before exploring the majestic Sforza Castle and ending off in the hip Brera neighborhood. Along the way, you’ll learn about the symbols that are important to locals, the transformation of the city's landmarks through the centuries, and the most interesting neighbourhoods to visit today.

You'll also hear about:

La Scala, the city’s landmark theatre
The focal point of all things elegant in our fashionable city, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
The Duomo, which is the real symbol of Milan with its mesmerizing architecture
The story of Sforza Castle, the old fortress, and the characters that have shaped it
Sempione Park, the green heart of Milan
The very important tradition of aperitivo and what locals like to drink
All that is artsy and chic in the Brera District

Let me show you the Milan you won't find in the tourist books.

Tour Producer

Veronica Azimonti

1 tour

Ciao! I am Veronica, licensed tour guide based in Milan with over twelve years of experience and graduated in history of art in Milan. I was born and raised in this vibrant city and have developed a deep connection with its history, art, and ever-evolving urban identity. My passion for art, architecture and design has guided my professional path, allowing me to create engaging and meaningful experiences for travelers from all over the world. My favourite thing is to get lost wandering around the city and discover always new hidden gems as I am visiting for the first time. I hope to show you my Milan with a lot of interesting curiosities about local habits and share this passion with you during this tour. You will learn a lot about funny facts, history, design, architecture, culture, lifestyle creative spirit, and authentic local atmosphere: I strongly believe that a guided tour should be a journey through stories, emotions, and personal insights that help visitors truly understand the soul of a place.

Preview Location

Location 5

Duomo Cathedral

Stop here in front of the statue.

The man on the horse looking at the Duomo Cathedral is king Vittorio Emanuele.

In Italian Duomo means the main church of a city. This is certainly one of the main cathedrals in Europe, and is the 4th largest. Its construction was also ... Stop here in front of the statue.

The man on the horse looking at the Duomo Cathedral is king Vittorio Emanuele.

In Italian Duomo means the main church of a city. This is certainly one of the main cathedrals in Europe, and is the 4th largest. Its construction was also one of the slowest to build. Construction started in 1386 but it was finally completed only 6 centuries later, after World War II in 1965!

The Duomo is completely made of marble, a special kind from Candoglia, coming from the lake Maggiore, north-west of Milan. It is colourful and changes colours due to different lights and weather, making the Duomo almost a living entity! This marble is fragile and gets damaged easily due to rain and pollution, that’s why there's always work going on: cleaning, restoration and replacing of statues.

It is an endless job since the Duomo has 3500 statues! They are all different and dedicated to religious protagonists as well as animals, monsters and natural elements, you can find everything here! The most important statue of all is the one on the top. Can you see the gold statue on the main spire?

It’s our “Maddonina”, in Italian little Virgin Mary, symbol of the city and essential protection for everybody: spiritual but also practical since she is holding a spear that works as a lightning rod.

The Duomo is still used for celebrations, and it's possible to visit inside. But I especially recommend you climb to the rooftop and see the amazing view of the skyline. The Ticket office is on the right side of Duomo, with access to the stairs and elevator behind it.

Before we move on, take a look also at this amazing square. Piazza Duomo is the main meeting point of the city, dedicated to religion, shopping and culture. Facing the Duomo, the large building to its right is Palazzo Reale, which host important exhibitions and shows and Museo del Duomo, dedicated to the cathedral. The contemporary building in front of it is the Museo del Novecento for contemporary art.

Feel free to go visit the Duomo. You can close off the tour while you do. When you're ready, come back to this spot and start the tour by choosing Resume.

Otherwise if you prefer to keep going, let me show you where to go next.

With your back to the Duomo, you're going to make your way along the wide pedestrianized street on the right, branching off straight ahead, via Mercanti. I'll meet you on that street. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Teatro alla Scala
Duomo di Milano
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Via Dante
Sforzesco Castle
Parco Sempione
Brera District
Pinacoteca di Brera

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Piazza della Scala, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Total distance

3km
Final location
Via Gaetano Negri, 10, 20123 Milano MI, Italy
Distance back to start location

498.95m

Directions to Starting Point

Piazza della Scala, 20121 Milano

Stand in Piazza della Scala with the statue of Leonardo da Vinci, in the centre of the square, just behind you.

If you use the subway, stop at Duomo or Montenapoleone and walk 5 minutes. If you use the tram take n.1 and stop at "Piazza Scala".

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

I suggest you to take a sweet break and a real italian coffee at Pasticceria Marchesi in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and try an aperitivo at Camparino or in Brera district.

You can visit Duomo inside and don't miss the amazing view from the rooftop (best time is early morning or at sunset)!

If you like shopping I suggest via Dante, corso Vittorio Emanuele and more exclusive Brera.

If you like history and art you can visit the Museo teatrale la Scala, the exhibition dedicated to Leonardo in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the Castello Sforzesco museums and the Pinacoteca di Brera.

Stop for a rest in Parco Sempione and in Brera district for aperitivo or dinner.

Best time of day

I suggest early morning or late afternoon when less crowded.
Everything is open every day (except from museums closed on Monday morning). The Castello courtyards are open every day from 7am to 7:30pm

Precautions

Just keep an eye on your belonging against pickpockers and I suggest not to buy food for pigeons nor bracelets they try to sell you along the way.

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“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”