Spires of Milan: the Duomo

Getting a tad lost (walking in the complete opposite direction) I learnt that Milan was a very modern city, with an amazing Duomo (Cathedral) that stands tall amongst the busy city. I stayed at an awesome hostel there – and learnt that sometimes expensive hostels are worth it. Ostello Bello was well worth it for a lovely bathroom after the poor one I’d used in Menaggio.

The Duomo has to be the highlight of Milan. From the outside I’d consider it almost the best Cathedral I’ve seen in Europe. Only Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia could compete for beauty in my opinion. Inside Milan’s Duomo there is an incredible array of stained glass windows. Its pretty dark being a Gothic Cathedral, but the colourful light that shines through these makes the cathedral seem much more happy. For the record though – you’re not allowed to wear shorts inside – I had to trek back to the hostel to get changed before I was allowed in.

It’s free to get in, but if you want to visit the top of the Cathedral it will cost 7 Euro to walk up some stairs. I imagine people go up there for the view over the city, but to be honest, I was much more impressed with the architecture up-close as I wandered around the roof. Incredible to say the least. Milan is worth visiting to see the Duomo alone.

There isn’t a lot else in Milan to capture a tourist’s attention. Although I did make an effort to visit the large park and castle (if you can call it that?). Window shopping is another popular task in Milan and then there is always eating gelato to fill up the time…

A worthy note is that the journey home was much better than the one I had to Lake Como. I didn’t even have to wait in line at immigration back in London! The usual delay can be anywhere from 30-45 minutes to 2 hours at a London airport, but in this instance I was able to walk straight up to one of the officers – brilliant! Seems 10:30pm on a Monday is a good time to be a foreigner at a London airport.

For more images from Italy, check out Ngaire’s photography gallery at http://designack.com/portfolio/photography/travel/italy/