Any visit to Milan, Italy, probably comes with a heap of expectation and preconceived notions. Yes, it’s a venerable fashion capital flush with designer names, the financial hub of Italy’s prosperous north and the revered centre of a centuries-old tradition of excellence in the arts – this is the city of da Vinci, after all. About 1,3 million people call the city home, and it may not feel like an extraordinarily large city on first take, perhaps due to the lack of many tall buildings combined with the well-connected feel of its historic centre. You’ll find cheap flight tickets to Milan with airBalticTravel.com available all year round to either Malpensa (MXP) or Bergamo (BGY) airports.
Language
Italy is a country of passion – passion for food, for football and, especially in Milan, for all things beautiful – and the Italian language is expressive: vocally and visually. English is really just now taking more of a forward role in communications, but it’s probably best to head to Milan with some of the basics for getting around. You may want at least to throw up your hands in frustration and proclaim for all around to hear “Ho capito niente, qua!” meaning “I don’t understand anything here!". Alternatively a simple "va bene" works in way of agreement to most anything.
See and do
If you’ve managed to get cheap tickets to Milan with airBalticTravel.com, you’re savings can then be transformed into Milan’s unofficial street sport: shopping. It’s a powerhouse of designer names and all pretty much centered about the gallery and square by the Duomo, Milan’s famous chalk-white cathedral set with Gothic spires and literally thousands of statues – a tremendous work that took all of 500 years to complete. Plus, there are museums right across the city, La Scala for a night of opera (and to rub shoulders with a famous face) and the works of that master engineer, artist and moonlighting performer of autopsies, Leonardo da Vinci. Book well enough (i.e. months) in advance and you may even get a private viewing of The Last Supper at St. Mary of the Graces. Milan certainly is one of the most coveted destinations in the world, but, with a little bit of searching and booking ahead of time, it's possible to find a cheap hotel in Milan – and there are many first-rate ones to choose from. For getting around, the city’s infrastructure is well-laid out with a metro and tram system keeping everything connected well. Nonetheless, you may find it fits the swagger of the city to rent a car in Milan and join the flow of bicycles, Vespas, trams and high class sports cars, because, let’s face it, in the grand spectacle of Milan, you’ll want to play a role.
