Hot, hotter, Milano!

Brittle my ass. Italy's second largest city unearths its long-hidden treasures

Modern art in old palazzi, Da Vinci in the sophisticated shopping temple, blossoming inner courtyards, fabulous new hotels, rooftops and restaurants. The 2026 Olympics can come!

Via Montenapoleone, 27 B. An event for loyal customers and guests is currently underway at the Montblanc flagship store. Motto: "An olfactory experience". Tried-and-tested and new fragrances from the company are being offered for sniffing. In between, you can literally look down from the second floor of the boutique at the shopaholics from all over the world rushing past on the open-air catwalk below. Like Montblanc, which has long since ceased to define itself solely through its fine fountain pens, Milan has also constantly expanded its repertoire: No longer just a business and trade fair city, fashion and design mecca, art and culture stronghold, but also a hospitality hub and wellness hotspot, thanks to fresh high-end hotels and a spa that only opened in April on the flank of the San Siro soccer stadium, home to Champions League finalists Inter Milan. Speaking of top-class sport: now, just a few months before the Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina next February, Italy's second-largest city seems to be stepping up its pace once again. "Open house" events in private residences, the normally hidden backyards, restorations of historic buildings, exhibitions, piano concerts, culinary mergers, acquisitions, takeovers.

Prada, for example, snapped up Versace for 1.25 billion euros - the company headquarters are only four kilometers apart in Milan. It's nice to be able to go one level smaller, for example with Louis Vuitton's collaboration with the Da Vittorio Cafe. Nevertheless, it can still take a while to get in at the weekend. "Up to an hour and a half," the friendly hostess whispers to me conspiratorially. Tonight, the queue of people waiting for a luxury snack is at least wanting to end - because here at the address Via Montenapoleone 2, business closes quite soon.

451 meters of luxury madness

Otherwise, the brand mania here in the epicenter of the fashion district seems to know no pause. The consistently posh 451 meters with the highest store rents now make Via Montenapoleone the most expensive shopping street in the world. In the 18th century, Maria Theresa of Austria opened a pawnshop here, which was later closed and reopened by Napoleon, who gave his name to today's upmarket shopping street. Art lovers also have their paradise: "Grande Brera". This important revitalization project in the boho district of Brera is a merger of the Pinacoteca art gallery with other institutions such as the Palazzo Citterio, a celebrated modern art space.

Over 400 masterpieces from the 14th to the 19th century can be admired in the Pinacoteca. Many school classes are among the visitors, the children sit on the floor and listen to the teacher. The adult US guests can't be ignored either: "Lovin' it!".
Two of Milan's newest luxury hotels are also works of art in their own right. The appearance of the "Portrait" alone, with its antique columns and the largest piazza in the fashion district, is a sensation in itself. Before the Ferragamo family was allowed to lease the building behind the magnificent baroque portal at Corso Venezia 11 from the Milan Curia for its hospitality project, it lay derelict for a long time - hardly anyone knew about the hidden structure, which has served as an archbishop's seminary, boarding school, military hospital, prison or architect's studio over the centuries.

Casual with mocha and aperitivo

Now it's a lively upscale hostel from the Lungarno Collection "without the white-glove attitude", as marketing and PR manager Sara Guerini can rightly claim. "We want to be Italian, informal, casual". The Milanese appreciate the aperitivo and live music in the historic colonnades just as much as the international guests, including designers, actors, company bosses and sports stars. Another attraction could be the "best breakfast in Italy" (Best Luxury Hotel Awards 2024), including the mocha ritual. Old black and white photos of Salvatore Ferragamo as the shoemaker of immortal Hollywood stars such as Audrey Hepburn are nostalgic.

The Longevity Spa and the feeling of living and well-being in the 73 rooms with plenty of Tuscan marble, as well as the encouragement to be sustainable instead of excessive: "Save water. Every drop counts" is the message on the flush button of the toilet in my junior suite. The "Casa Brera" from Marriott's Luxury Collection also shines as an urban oasis, but with completely different attractions: amazingly quietly located around the corner from La Scala and the hustle and bustle of Piazza del Duomo, it offers the only rooftop pool of a luxury hotel in Milan and, with the adjoining "Etereo" on the eighth floor, a popular restaurant with a dream view. Lunch recommendation: the pasta with mussels couldn't be bettered by a nonna. At ground level, the "Odachi" is run by chef Haruo Ichikawa, the first Japanese chef to be awarded a Michelin star in Italy.

Arias from the suite

Just a few minutes' walk away, on Via Manzoni, the "Grand Hotel et de Milan", founded in 1863, is dripping with history: celebrities such as Hemingway and Nureyev came and went here and, thanks to La Scala just 674 steps away, opera superstars too, of course. You can still hear the arias that were spontaneously belted out from a balcony of the venerable building after an Othello premiere. And the great Enrico Caruso, who recorded a long-playing record in a room converted into a recording studio in 1902, still echoes in a suite dedicated to him. Giuseppe Verdi stayed at the "Milan" for 27 years, until his death. And Maria Callas, another illustrious regular guest, passionately argued with her husband at reception about which jewels she should wear to her performances at the "Teatro alla Scala".

Also close to the historic "Milan" and yet light years away: the Philipp Plein Hotel: inconspicuous on the outside, with the usual flashy bling-bling of the German fashion designer on the inside. All in all, a huge range that characterizes Milan and which makes PR lady Guerini from "Portrait" extremely optimistic for the immediate future: "The Olympics will trigger a further boost and demonstrate to guests what the city is capable of, beyond the usual associations. The EXPO ten years ago was the first successful test of how well we can organize things."

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