Centro Storico

Where a Gothic cathedral meets great artworks, upscale shops and fine dining

Word to the wise: Don’t be intimidated by the street hawkers in Piazza del Duomo. They prey on travellers; simply say “non grazie” before walking away from whatever they are touting.
This quasi-pedestrianised area is Milan’s historic heart and encompasses all the city’s foremost sights, from the museums of Castello Sforzesco to Santa Maria delle Grazie, home of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous 'The Last Supper'; and from Piazza del Duomo to Brera.

Central is the magnificent duomo and its enormous cobbled piazza, where the flotsam and jetsam of Milanese life wash up alongside tourists peering upwards at the great Gothic façade. Add to this the upscale boutiques and cafés of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the cultural heavyweights of Pinacoteca di Brera and Museo Poldi Pezzoli, mainstream shopping in Via Torino and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the romance of La Scala opera house, stylish department store La Rinascente and the magnificent food shops Peck, Da Claudio and Due Leccornie. They’re all neatly packaged together in the middle of this most stylish of Italian cities.