I visited Milan – the capital of Lombardy in Italy – only once, in November 2009, but the fact that it was one of my first trips on my own (no parents, friends, travelling companions, nada) made me thoroughly document myself and research a lot about the things that I was about to see, experience and live for the couple of days I had available for discovering the city. And I really enjoyed it, especially due to the characteristic Italian architecture and art that surrounded me at every step. So I decided I must return someday… Recently, Wizzair low-cost airline introduced a flight that directly links my hometown, Craiova, to Milan, so I immediately took advantage of the situation and bought tickets … for my parents for September. Though I really wanted to see Milan again, I grabbed the opportunity to go to Rome this year (stay tuned for tons of articles and photos this June) and passed my mum & dad the chance to get to see Italy’s second-largest city.

As when travelling it’s good to book the flights / accommodation a long time before your actual departure, last weekend I was browsing booking.com to find some cheap and cosy hotels for my folks. And while we were all the family in the living room looking at hotel pics, searching for hotels on the map etc, my dad asked me to make them a list with Top 10 things they should visit in Milan in 2 days. Based entirely on my own experiences (and probably leaving aside all the cool things that I didn’t try while there), here’s the first part of my Top 10, from top to bottom:

1. The Dome / Milan Cathedral – superb Gothic edifice and largest Italian cathedral, impressive for its size and architectural lacery. You must go up to the roof (on foot / by elevator), which offers a perfect view to the ornating sculptures, as well as to the Dome’s Square and neighbouring Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

2. Santa Maria delle Grazie Church – included on the UNESCO Heritage List, this is the most famous Dominican church and convent in the world, because it hosts Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. I didn’t know you have to book the (expensive) tickets a long time before, so I couldn’t enter, but the church looks really nice on the outside too.

3. Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery / Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – a beautiful glass-covered commercial gallery between the Dome’s Square and Scala Square. Probably everything on sale here is too expensive to touch, but you should definitely visit it for the architecture and for trying your luck at spinning on your heels on the testicles of the bull in Turin coat of arms’ mosaic.

4. Scala Theatre / La Scala – one of the world’s most famous opera houses.

5. Brera Art Gallery / Pinacoteca di Brera – popular art gallery in Brera Palace, which exhibits works of famous Bellini, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Raffaello, Rubens, van Dyck and Caravaggio.

Here are my first 5 choices. By next week, when I will continue this post with the next 5 attractions worth visiting in Milano, let me know what you think should also be on my list! 🙂