Tips & Itineraries

Milano

Free things to do in Milano?

Yes, you can!

With an eye to fellow budget travellers, we’ve complied a list of 12 free attractions in Milan. Free is better!

1. Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore
Corso di Porta Ticinese 39
Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm, Sun 9am-7pm

Located close to the mediaeval Ticino gate, the Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore is one of the oldest churches in Milan. It is near the city park called Basilicas Park, which includes both the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, as well as the Roman Colonne di San Lorenzo. Dating from the 4th century, this church is pretty much Roman in its rotund design, although it was rebuilt several times in the Middle Ages. Inside the church are some of the oldest and best-preserved examples of post-Roman art in Northern Italy: 1,600-year-old Paleochristian mosaics. A free-standing row of 16 Corinthian columns – once part of a 2nd-century temple – sets San Lorenzo’s frontal piazza off from the road. The Chapel of S. Aquilino, to your right as you enter the building, preserves 4th-century mosaics, a 3rd-century sarcophagus and a Roman-era portal. A sarcophagus in the chapel is said to hold the remains of Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius, last emperor of Rome and wife of Ataulf, king of the Visigoths.
(find more at www.sanlorenzomaggiore.com)

2. Church of San Maurizio
Corso Magenta, 15, Milano
Tue-Sat 9:30am-5:30pm

The church of Saint Maurice al Monastero Maggiore, also known as Chiesa di Milano, was built in the early 1500s, and it contains what is believed to be the oldest pipe organ in Milan, painted by Francesco Medici. The complex was founded in Lombard times, partially re-using ancient Roman edifices. Of these there remain a polygonal tower, a relic of the ancient Maximian walls, and a square one, originally part of the lost Hippodrome and later adopted as the church’s bell tower. The monastery is now home to Milan's Archaeological Museum. The construction began in 1503 under design of Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono in collaboration with Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. The edifice was finished fifteen years later by Cristoforo Solari, divided into two parts: one for the faithful, one for the nuns. Until 1794 the latter were strongly forbidden to cross the dividing wall. The inside of the church is adorned with wonderful frescoes by Simone Peterzano, and other forms of art from various noted masters. The church today is used every Sunday from October to June to celebrate in the Byzantine Rite, in Greek according to the Italo-Albanian tradition. (find more at www.chiesadimilano.it)

3. Church of San Giorgio al Palazzo
Via Torino / Piazza S. Giorgio 2
10am-12am / 2.30pm - 6.pm Sunday 3pm – 5pm

The church of San Giorgio al Palazzo in Piazza San Giorgio, right on Via Torino was founded in 750 by the Bishop Natale and has repeatedly changed their appearance throughout history. The front in the Baroque style dates from 1774. According to legend, in ancient times was located the temple of Mercury and Apollo at this point before the first bishop of Milan in the second Century founded the first Christian church. The most striking feature of the interior is the Passion Chapel, with panels and frescoes painted by Bernardino Luini in 1516. In the first chapel on the right is a canvas by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

4. Temple/Church of San Sebastiano
Via Torino 28
Mon-Sat 8am-12am, 3pm to 6.30pm Sun 9.30am-12.15am, 3.30pm-7pm

The Temple of San Sebastiano is a late-Renaissance- or Mannerist-style church in the center of Milan. It was built in the 16th century, after the end of a season of plague. While the plague was raging in 1576, urged by the bishop, Charles Borromeo, the townspeople made a vow to build a church dedicated to Saint Sebastian, whose protection they implored. The works, which started in 1577, were prolonged, involving the addition of the presbytery, with its circular design and dome, drawn up by Pellegrino Tibaldi on the model of the Pantheon. As a civic place of worship, many trade associations (traffic wardens, goldsmiths, cobblers, etc.), armed forces and sporting associations celebrate their religious services there.

5. Chiesa di San Babila
Corso Monforte 1
8am-noon, 3.30-6pm daily

The church was initially erected in 4th century on the place of a pre-existing Roman temple, dedicated to the sun. During the centuries it changed a lot and was renovated and rebuilt for several times. But little remains of the original church, renovated many occasions over the centuries. The church was completely rebuilt in the Romanesque style in the 11th/12th centuries and whilst this is the style we see today, little of it is much more than 150 years old. The bell tower dates from the 1920s, replacing the original, which collapsed in the 16th century. The main facade was added in the early 1900s, and much of the interior and the main body of the church were renovated and or reconstructed in the 19th century mainly due to damp - although the aisles date from the Renaissance.

6. Louis Braille Historical Museum
Via Vivaio 7
Thu 5pm-10pm Sat 10am-3pm

The "Braille" Museum is located within the Institute of the Blind of Milan and exposes tools and printed books for the blinds, which tell the history of the Institute from the writing visual relief to the use of Braille Code. The museum contains a collection of instruments, special machines, books printed before the introduction of the Braille code and following its spread, evidence of the cultural pathway of the blind whereby nowadays they can access the most innovative information technologies.

7. Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation
Vicolo Lavandai, 2/a (entrance from Via Vigevano, 9)
11am-7pm Wed-Friday (closed on holidays)

Founded in 1995, the Foundation was created to be a place of study and discussion around the important themes and great figures of the contemporary avant-garde as well as acting as a real cultural centre, holding exhibitions, meetings, conferences, book presentations and concerts. Milan’s picturesque Darsena (Navigli) has been enriched by a highly active artistic hub blending in perfectly with the historic places the celebrated sculptor, Arnaldo Pomodoro, lived and worked.
(find more at www.fondazionearnaldopomodoro.it).

8. Cimitero Monumentale
Piazza Cimitero Monumentale
8am – 6pm (last adm 5:30 pm) Tue-Sun

The Milan Monumental Cemetery, which was designed by the architect Carlo Maciachini (1818-1899), is located in an area of 250,000 mq. Officially opened in 1866, it has since then been filled with a wide range of contemporary and classical Italian sculptures as well as Greek temples, elaborate obelisks, and other original works such as a scaled-down version of the Trajan's Column. The main entrance is through the large Famedio, a massive Hall of Fame-like Neo-Medieval style building made of marble and stone that contains the tombs of some of the city's and the country's most honored citizens, including that of novelist Alessandro Manzoni. Corners have been set aside for non-Catholic graves, and there’s a monument to Jews deported by the Nazis.

9. Casa Verdi – Rest house for musicians
Piazza Michelangelo Buonarroti 29
8:30am-6pm (crypt)

The Casa di Riposo per Musicisti is a home for retired opera singers and musicians, founded by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi in 1896. The building was designed in the neo-Gothic style by Italian architect, Camillo Boito. The crypt conserves the grave of the famous composer and his wife Giuseppina Strepponi. (find more at www.casaverdi.org).

10. Brera Astronomical Observatory
Via Brera 28
Mon-Fri 9:30am-4.30pm, closed on Sat, Sun and on holidays
(free admission to the museum of ancient astronomical instruments)

The Astronomical Observatory of Brera, whose offices are inside the ancient Palazzo Brera, is in the heart of Milan and is the oldest institute of scientific research of the city. It was built from 1764 according to a plan of Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich (1711-1787), a Jesuit priest who was interested in mathematics, astronomy, optics, engineering, and geodesy.
(find more at www.brera.inaf.it).

11. Brera Botanical Garden
Via Brera 28
(opening hours)

The Brera Botanical Garden is an oasis in the center of Milano. It is part of a large cultural compound including the Astronomical Observatory, the National Library, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Brera Pinacoteca, housing one of the greatest art collections in the world from the 15th to the 20th century. Established in 1774 by the Italian botanist and clergyman Fulgenzio Vitman under the direction of Maria Theresa of Austria, the garden spreads across 5.000 m² and prides itself on more than 300 different plant species, like one the oldest Ginkgo biloba trees in Europe, as well as mature specimens of Firmiana platanifolia, Juglans nigra, Pterocarya fraxinifolia, and Tilia. It was restored in 1998 after a long period of neglect and decay.

12. Casa del Manzoni Museum
Via Gerolamo Morone, 1
Tue-Fri 9am-noon, 2pm-4pm (closed on holidays)

The Manzoniano Museum is located in the house of Manzoni in Via Morone, where the writer lived with his family from 1814 until his death in 1873. His famous novel The Betrothed (orig. Italian: I Promessi Sposi) (1840), is one of the masterpieces of world literature. Built in the 18th century, the palace was restored in 1864 by Andrea Boni with a renaissance revival architecture which especially characterizes the façade overlooking Belgiojoso square, designed in 1864 at the instance of Manzoni by architect Andrea Boni and coated with red terracotta. The studio and the bedroom are set up in the same way as they were originally, while a collection of portraits of Alessandro Manzoni and the first editions of his works, including the first edition of I Promessi Sposi, are housed in the dining room.
(find more at www.casadelmanzoni.it).