Day 1:

Most flights from the US arrive early in the morning, so take full advantage of the day and try to stay active to push through the jet lag. Take one of the shuttle buses or trains to the city center from the airport, drop off your things at your hotel and head to the Duomo first. Milan is very easy to get around using their metro system. I recommend you get at least a 2 day unlimited pass (for about 8.25 euros/per person) to get around. For the Duomo, I recommend you pre-buy your tickets to save time and highly recommend the combined ticket with lift to the rooftop (16 euros). You actually get out on the rooftop of the church and walk amongst the statues, which is pretty cool. Plus, you get good views of the city.

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For lunch, I recommend a quick bite at local favorite, Spontini, for pizza. It’s right outside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Get a small slice (we ordered a large and barely finished half!).

Spend the early afternoon window shopping and browsing in the Galleria. Stop for a coffee or drink at Bar Camparino (where Campari was invented) and people watch. Head over to the Teatro La Scala (open until 5:30 PM) after your coffee. The museum is great for opera or music lovers and only 7 euros per person. We would highly recommend checking out an opera while you’re here, if one is showing.

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For dinner, maybe check out Macellaio RC, an Italian style steakhouse with phenomenal dry aged beef and excellent service.

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Day 2:

Start the day with breakfast at Marchesi, a historic pastry shop founded in 1824. We recommend trying their Panettone along with a cappuccino or macchiato.

Next, make your way over to Santa Maria Della Grazie to see the Last Supper. You must pre-buy your tickets, as they spots are very limited. This proved a bit tricky for us – there are many sites selling entries at higher price points to unknowing tourists, but if you book directly through Vivaticket, the tickets should be 12 euro/person and should go on sale about 3 months ahead. Unfortunately for us, by the time we tried to book our tickets, they were sold out. We ended up booking a tour through Viator for 30 euro/person.

The whole viewing experience, overall, was disappointing, as the process is very rushed (you are only allowed 15 minutes inside) and there was not very much information regarding the history of the painting. We will say, however, that seeing the Last Supper up close was worthwhile. It has been upkept very well and showcases Da Vinci’s talent as an artist. It was also nice to appreciate the artwork without hoards of tourists snapping photos (no pictures allowed).

Next, head back towards the Duomo for lunch at Luini Panzerotti. The fried mini calzones, or panzerotti, here are outstanding and cheap. The line may be long, but it moves quickly, and the calzones are so worth it! I would recommend about 2 per person for a good size lunch. We ordered 3 and split them, but were a bit hungry after. Cash only and closed on Sundays!

After finishing up the calzones, head over to the Sforza castle to get a peek at Michaelangelo’s unfinished Pieta (5 euro/per person, no pre-booking needed). There are other museums featured here such as the Museum of Ancient Art, the Decorative Arts Museum, the Painting Gallery, etc. We skipped over these, for a little break, but you can explore as long as you like.

Around 6-7 PM, head over to the Navigli district. This area is located along one of Milan’s only canals and is full of young people enjoying drinks and the many snack buffets set up at all the cafes. There are also several art shops and galleries, perfect for browsing. Highly recommend Vetusta Insigna, 5 euro for wines, 7 euro for cocktails, with excellent snack board included (mini sandwiches, olives, chips, cheese, etc). Their regular menu looked great as well.

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Grab a gelato at Orso Bianco, a tiny family run gelato shop in the area, for dessert before making your way back to your hotel for the evening.

Day 3: Day Trip To Verona

I recommend booking an early train to Verona, to make full use of the day. We pre-bought our tickets a few weeks in advance via Trenitalia (about 14 euro/per person). It’s about a 15 minute walk to the city center from the train station in Verona, but you can take a bus as well (1-2 euro/ride). Most of the buses go to the city center, but if unsure, you can ask the driver. Get off at the Piazza Bra.

Walk around the Piazza, checking out the Roman Arena, if time allows. There was a long line for us so we skipped. Walk past the house of Juliet, if you would like – a bit touristy, but cool to see nonetheless. Cross over the bridge and make your way to Pizzeria da Salvatore for lunch, Verona’s oldest pizzeria. Be prepared to wait a while for your pizza, but know it will be worth it!

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In the afternoon, we recommend booking a wine tour. We booked a half day tour with Pagus Wine Tours of the Soave/Amarone region. We were picked up around 2 PM near the Castelvecchio and taken to two small family-owned wineries, one specializing in Soave and the other in Amarone. Both had fairly generous tastings with snacks included. We paid about 90 euro per person, but really enjoyed our guide, Laura, and all the wines were tried were spectacular.

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We opted to stay the night in Verona, so after being dropped off from the wine tour, we headed to Piazza Erbe and had dinner at a local favorite, Caffe Monte Baldo, where we had some excellent pastas and wines by the glass, before returning to our hotel.

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Where to stay:

We make great use of points when we travel for our flights and hotels. We use the IHG Chase Card, the American Express Platinum Card, and the Aviator Mastercard during the year on our regular purchases to gain points. We used our IHG points to stay at the Crowne Plaza in Milan for 2 nights, and the Crowne Plaza in Verona for 1 night. The IHG card offers 1 free anniversary night per year, so we used a combination of points and our free night to book these stays. We were very pleasantly surprised with our hotels. We were offered a room upgrade and two free beverages at the bar. The rooms were clean and spacious. Both hotels were slightly outside of the city, but the hotel in Milan was literally right outside of a metro stop, making it very easy to get around. The hotel in Verona did offer a shuttle to the city center a few times a day, but we did have to take a taxi (easily available in the Piazza Bra) back at the end of the night (about 10 euro) and to the train station (12 euro).