HOTEL AMORE Guide: Big Black Book on Food in Milan
You will get a biased view, I lived there in my early 20s and feel so much nostalgia
Milan is one of my favorite cities. I spent two years there in the beginning of my twenties, working in a fashion agency, so being in Milan is always like a throwback and the city will always hold a special place in my heart!
It’s not as pretty as Rome or Noto: It’s a place of hidden beauty. Come to the backyards, this is where the magic happens! Have you heard of the table book “Entryways of Milan” from Taschen? It’s a visual collection of all the beautiful doors in the city, and every time I look through it I feel all the Milan magic. Last time I was there I had made notes of where all the doors were from the book and went to see them - I am a real door fan.
I don’t know how I managed to put this guide together for you during this week, we shot a big campaign, a smaller editorial, had everyday work stuff and lot of bureaucratic, great fun things (currently working on trying to change my name with the officials, it’s like mission impossible) BUT it makes me so happy to put together these guides which I somehow always find time for somewhere (currently it is 6:15am in the morning haha)! I would be very thrilled if this is of inspiration for you. Enjoy! <3
Where to Stay
You can find it all in Milan: from the most expensive luxury boutique hotels to cute Airbnbs in great locations at reasonable prices. Personally, I often opt for the latter because I prefer to allocate my travel budget to exploring the city, dining out, sightseeing, and shopping. However, everyone has different preferences, so I'm providing you with various options to pick and choose from :)
Good to know: Milan is a very compact city. When I lived there and used to attend all the fashion shows, crossing the city from South to North took about 25 minutes at most by bike. Maybe that was because I biked really fast, but to be honest, I am not really known to be a very fast biker - you can get bikes from BikeMe, it’s great. Milan has quite a good train system too and you can get around easily! By car it usually takes longer, Milan has a lot of one-way streets as well as streets where cars aren’t allowed (they have video cameras and it’s costly if you get caught, speaking from experience hehe).
My favorite areas are Brera, Porta Venezia, Porta Nuova, Isola. I also like Tortona, it’s the Southern design district - but when I was a student, I lived in Naviglio, which is cute but does also feel very studenty which was perfect back then, but now I would stay in a different area.
For the hotels: I did not look for best rates, but am giving you the rates of the websites of the hotels. Might be worth to check somewhere else too! The range goes from luxury to budget :) Enjoy! I didn’t stay at all the hotels, but did quite an extensive research to find the gems in which I would stay next time.
This five star hotel designed by Michele Bönan, is quite new to the city. It shares the country yard which is actually called Piazza del Quadrilatero, with the beautiful concept store Antonia (more about shopping in the next edition), as well as the hotel spa, a pool and a gym. The hotel has 73 suites and is based in the absolute centre of the Quadrilatero d’Oro, so it could not be more central (I mean - depending where you want to spend your days). The location used to be the studio of the amazing architect Mario Bellini from 1980 to 1990!
From 1.300€ per night.
This small boutique hotel is a beautiful and colorful oasis, designed by the hotelier Neri Baccheschi Berti, whose family is renowned for beautiful hotels. Moroccan tiles, mirrored walls, a green entry, a minimalist mezzanine floor and mid-century armchairs, from a Milanese auction: It’s quite a special place and only has seven suites, which makes it quite personal.
From 410€ per night.
They have a pool on the 8th floor and a big roof terrasse! A pool in a city hotel is such a vibe - imagine you walk all day and then you can just float in the pool in the evening, great.
From 297€ per night.
This is not the prettiest place, but I stayed here when I had an extra night in Milan and did not want to spend a fortune. The location is really great, very central and in a beautiful old house. The owners are extra sweet and it’s not expensive (but also really not luxurious, it’s really to save a dime and spend money on dinner). I would stay here again!
From 97€ per night.
Favorite Places for Dolci
I've decided to omit breakfast from the options because, in Italy, breakfast often consists of just espresso and a cornetto (croissant) or something similarly sweet (love Italy, but don’t love their breakfast. I am a muesli-kinda girl). Interestingly, in Milan, there are now quite a few trendy cafes emerging with offerings like Kuign-Amann, which wasn't the case when I lived there. Hence, I've called the breakfast category 'Dolci' and it encompasses places for coffee as well.
This place exists since over 25 years, and it’s so charming. Almost everything is sweet, of course, but I also heard the ham-and-cheese toasts are incredible. I mean look at it. They have a small and cute garden in the back and it was pretty packed when I went!
This incredibly beautiful place is actually owned by Prada. Originally founded in 1824, you can get traditional Italian baked good such as their signature trademark panettone cake, but also beer and wine at night. There are two locations, both are very beautiful and you have lots of chic Italians standing by the bar, drinking their espressos.
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