Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese: Milan) is financially the most important city in Italy, and home to the Borsa Italiana stock exchange. It is the second most populous city proper in the country, but sits at the centre of Italy's largest urban and metropolitan area. While not considered as beautiful as some Italian cities, having been greatly destroyed by Second World War bomb raids, the city has rebuilt itself into a thriving cosmopolitan business capital.
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Milan is often described as representing "modern" Italy. The differences between Rome and Milan are evident from several proverbs, such as an Italian saying about the differences between the two cities which roughly translates, "Rome is a voluptuous woman whose gifts are very apparent, while Milan is the shy, demure girl whose treasures are plentiful, but discovered in time." Milan is the most modern of all Italian cities, yet it keeps most of its history intact. At first sight, Milan looks like a bustling and relatively stylish (with its shiny display windows and elegant shops) metropolis, with a good number of grand palaces and fine churches in the centre, but might seem like a slightly p…
Milan has a similar implant to many Italian cities: an old medieval core (though of medieval times essentially only the street layout remains, as Milan was continuously tore down and rebuilt over the ages), and the city forming a circle around it (the Duomo cathedral sits at the very hearth of this circle). Milan in particular has a very distinctive implant: circonvallazioni, viali/corsi and vie. The circonvallazioni are big streets running in circle: the historic core is bordered by the first circonvallazione, the “Cerchia dei Navigli”, and many other form around it, getting bigger progressively.
See the Districts articles for more listings. There are many things to see in Milan - from fine churches, old palaces, excellent museums, world class theatres and opera houses, cultural gems, striking buildings, sleek modern architectural works and lovely streets and squares. Milan has some of the oldest churches in Italy, older than the ones in Rome because Milan was the capital of the Northern part of the late Roman Empire. The cathedral, Duomo is the symbol and the heart of Milan. Santa Maria delle Grazie in the Western part of the city is the home for Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
See the Districts articles for more listings. Exhibitions - Many exhibitions are held during the year, ranging from wines to computers, industrial equipment and chocolate. The fieramilanocity is the old exhibitions ground in central Milan a few km northwest of Duomo (MM1 Amendola Fiera or MM1 Lotto - Fiera 2 Stations), the new fairgrounds of fieramilano are in Rho (northwest of Milan, MM1 Rho Fiera Station, A4 highway Pero exit). La Scala, one of the world's most famous opera houses, is in Milan. It also hosts classical music concerts.
See the Districts articles for more listings. Although Milan is a city that changes its mind as quickly as fashion trends come and go, it remains one of the strongest bastions of traditional Italian cooking, where homemade elements are still very much praised and appreciated. There are trattorias, enoteche (wine bars) and restaurants (including luxury ones) everywhere that offer traditional Milanese and Italian dishes to eat.
See the Districts articles for more listings. There are plenty of bars and cafés in Milan of all kinds - from fancy old-fashioned ones, where you can enjoy a formal hot drink, to avant-garde modern places, and youthful spots for a happy hour/late-night drink. Some also offer some food too. Milan has a great variety of places where you can have fun. A great starting point is Corso Como, near Garibaldi Station, full of bars and glamorous clubs.
Unless you venture into the dangerous suburbs, Milan is a rather safe city. Certain areas near Loreto, the central railway station, and Porto di Mare (Southern end of the yellow metro line) can be unsafe at night. At the station, do not seek help from any random person offering to help with the booking machines or ATMs or under any other pretext. After they have helped, they will pursue you to get as much money as possible for their "help". Or they can pretend to be helpful, cheating instead.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Milan typically sees ~29°C daytime highs and 11 rainy days.
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