Italy (Winter 2023) - Milan (Day 3)
Mercato Centrale Milano (Inside Central Train Station)
The main train station itself is pretty impressive. It is a huge stone structure with ultra-high ceilings with a few levels of shops and eateries. The highlight of the building is the Mercato Centrale food hall on the northwest corner of the structure.
We only had breakfast coffees and pastries here but if you wanted to you could spend a few days just eating meals here. The market spans two levels and has all sorts of food stalls and tiny restaurants. All of the food looked fairly affordable but also very high quality. There are a few bars scattered throughout the hall and a decent amount of seating.
This is definitely something I will go back and explore more on future visits and another good reason to stay at a hotel around the train station.
Walk to Brera…
El Beverin
We decided to take a walk to the upscale neighborhood of Brera for lunch. They say there are a few must try foods in Milan so we decided to have those for lunch this day. The classic dishes were good but nothing to rave over but it was good to try them here. Nothing fell into the “best I’ve ever had” category.
This restaurant was located on a street corner in Brera and got fairly busy during the lunch hour. Lots of locals either meeting friends or having business lunches.
Good Time Cafe (Chinatown)
After lunch we decided to explore a bit and walked to the Chinatown area. There were a lot of eateries that looked pretty good but we just had lunch otherwise I would have sampled some places. A decent amount of people were getting small takeout orders and eating on the street.
Instead we just relaxed with some beers at a small cafe.
Puccia’s
We headed out to see the Last Supper this night and got to the area early so had some time to kill before going to the church. We first stopped somewhere for a coffee but then at this place for some negronis before going to get our dose of art and history for the night.
Last Supper - Santa Maria delle Grazie
The Last Supper painting is located in a small side building in this church. Apparently it is miraculous that this survived WWII since the photos show the church almost completely destroyed except for where these paintings were located.
It is hard to get a ticket to see this because it is so popular. You almost have to book a tour which is pricey compared to what you would expect to enter museums (and here you basically only see two paintings - not a whole museum full). The guides do a good job in providing the history of the painting as well as of DaVinci’s time in Milan.
You can also take photos here which I found surprising. Due to the delicate nature of the work and the restoration, they only let a limited amount of people in per day so the slots get sold out quickly. Our tour was the last one of the night.
These is actually a non-Leonardo painting in the same room opposite the Last Supper - the Crucifixion, painted by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. They said this work was done properly in fresco so it survived much better than the Last Supper. I guess Leonardo tried a different method that did not age as well.
Bar Frida
Headed back to the hipster Isola neighborhood for some night time drinks. Bar Frida definitely had the hipster vibe. The young people looked like students and the older folks looked like professors or something. They were probably none of the above but that’s how it felt. They had a large indoor and outdoor area with murals everywhere. They also had a food menu here as well.
Tusa
The last stop was also in Isola but this place had a much classier feel. Fancier cocktails and a fancier setting at Tusa.