Duomo in Milan
The Duomo at dusk (photo by Freddy Sherman)

While Rome may be known as the Eternal City and filled with endless tourist sites, Milan is more the city where Italy does business. It’s the heart of the country’s thriving finance industry and many Italian corporations have their headquarters there. It’s a great city to visit because it has this energy and is a chance to experience a more authentic Italian lifestyle than Rome. It’s also filled with incredible history and culture, from The Last Supper to La Scala.

Porto Nuova Milan
A view of the Porto Nuova skyline, Milan’s financial district (Photo by Freddy Sherman)

I really enjoyed my first visit to Milan and instantly fell in love with it. In this video, you’ll see a few of the city’s iconic structures. We start inside the magnificent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. One of the world’s first (1877) luxury shopping malls, the Galleria continues to serve the same purpose today, providing a protected (from the elements) place for Milan’s citizens and visitors to shop and dine. A tip, the building (not the stores inside) is open 24 hours, so a late-night visit can offer some amazing, crowd-free photos.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
The ornate Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the world’s first shopping malls (Photo by Freddy Sherman)

After the Galleria, there’s a brief look at my visit to Leonardo DaVinci’s “The Last Supper” masterpiece. Filming isn’t allowed inside, but I managed to show a brief look as I left.

The Last Supper in Milan
A highlight of 2017 and my life was visiting Leonardo’s The Last Supper in Milan (Photo by Freddy Sherman)

Then you get some views of the spacious Piazza del Duomo, the square in front of the city’s beautiful cathedral (“duomo” in Italian). I was there on a Friday night and it was just alive with people enjoying the warm night. It’s a place where people gather to meet, stroll, listen to music and shop. One side of the Galleria opens out onto the square.

Principe di Savoia hotel
The spectacular Principe at night (Photo by Freddy Sherman)

Next are some street views in the Brera neighborhood, filmed on a busy Saturday night. Again, you see the energy of the city as everyone is out having fun, shopping, going to dinner and just enjoying life. In Milan, I stayed at the city’s best hotel, the stately Principe di Savoia. The Dorchester Collection property is on the Piazza della Repubblica, mid-way between Milano Centrale and the city’s historic center. The Principe has a limo which whisks guests between the luxury hotel and the city center every 20 minutes. The last scenes of the video show me taking the limo from the Piazza della Scala back to the hotel.

Alitalia Business Class
Enjoying some Ferrari Maxiumum Brut aboard Alitalia (Photo by Freddy Sherman)

And of course to get to Milan, I flew in the seriously Italian Business Class cabin of Alitalia. It really was like flying in a fine Italian restaurant and staying overnight in an Italian luxury hotel. The luxurious flights provided a wonderful opening and closing to my Italian adventure.

Read more of Freddy Sherman’s take on travel on his Go World Travel Blog. You can also follow more of his adventures at luxuryfred.com, on his luxuryfred Instagram feed and on his YouTube channel.

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