My first taster of Italy was a day trip to Milan (yes I am crazy!) I flew out at 8 am and flew back to England at 10 pm. Ryanair were offering £10 flights so I took the opportunity to try and get a flavour of the fashion capital. Milan is one of the most expensive cities in Italy, and I wanted to see if I could do it on a budget and still have fun.
Transport: €20 I took the Express train from Milan Malpensa airport to the city centre. The journey took roughly 45 minutes and it was a very spacious train.
Lunch/snack: €2.70 After doing research online I learnt that panzerotti is a popular kind of Italian street food. It’s a fried dough that is stuffed with a filling of your choice. So I went to Luini which is a popular place in Milan for panzerotti and had one filled with mozzarella and prosciutto.
Duomo Cathedral: free This is one of Milan’s most popular attractions, and looks similar to the Kölner Dom in Germany. I decided to wander around the outside and had a quick browse inside. There is an option to pay and go up to the rooftop terraces…but I decided against this seeing as it was a budget trip.
Castello Sforzesco: free This was another beautiful free attraction in Milan. It’s a castle that is free to enter and wander around. There is a mini museum inside that costs money, but from what I saw and read online it’s not worth the visit.
Gelato: €3.50 What’s a trip to Italy without gelato? I stopped off at an organic gelato shop to try some. Mine was flavoured with a mix of passion fruit and raspberry. I love the way that they carved it into a cute petal pattern.
Pinacoteca di Brera: free This was another free attraction in the artistic Brera district. It is a small public art gallery with many sculptures. I like the fact that all the sculptures had a Roman theme. At this time, it was free for me as an EU citizen under the age of 25.
Dinner & Wine: €13.00 Pizza and red wine are another “must-have” when in Italy. So I finished my day off with a trip to an Italian restaurant along the Navigli canal. I don’t know how…but I finished all of that pizza.
This was my first trip to this city, and I managed to properly experience Milan on a budget. I went back again the following year on a weekend trip with my friend. Click here to see my other trip to Milan.
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