Milan is an awesome town to visit, featuring the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, La Scala Opera House, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, and, of course, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (not to mention great fashion stores!) The Canal District, however, is a hidden gem. This is where young Milanese come to party after dark. Even if that is not your scene, come check it out during the day, and you will find a new appreciation of how Milan can mix the old and the new like no other cities.
We will start our quick tour at Colonne di San Lorenzo and Basilica di San Lorenzo.
The Roman columns are dated from 2nd or 3rd century, and were moved here in the 4th century when the Basilica was constructed. Turn around on the Google Street View above and you will see the Basilica directly behind you, with a statue of Constantine The Great in the middle of the square. After its initial construction, this church has gone through various destruction, reconstructions, additions, and remodeling, to reach its present form.
If you have already been to the Duomo, this church probably won’t impress you. The 4th century mosaic inside the Saint Aquilino Chapel here is worth a look, and the ceiling over its high altar is also fairly ornate.
From here, turn left and walk down Corso di Porta Ticinese to head south. After passing an ancient gate with three archways, continue down the same street for a long block, filled with trendy shops and simple eateries catering to younger crowds. Before the end of the block, you will also see a nice church on the left (Basilica di Sant’Eustorgio); if you have time, it is worth a quick stroll inside.
Soon, you will arrive at Porta Ticinese.
Originally part of a medieval wall surrounding Milan, you will more likely be stopped by trams, cars, and Vespas than sentries guarding the city when you approach this gate today. Milan knows this is a great selfie spot, so art installations are often placed here to invite folks to linger a bit longer.
From here, turn right on Viale Gorizia, and you will approach the canals.
What you see above is actually the harbor area (or Darsena, which, incredibly, ranked among top 10 harbors in Italy at one time, even though Milan is nowhere near an ocean). There are two canals that feed into this harbor, and if you turn around on the Google Street View above, you will see one of them; it is called Naviglio Pavese. See the floating barges (after zooming in a little)? They are restaurants! This district is filled with bars, cafes, and restaurants, and is packed to the gill on summer nights with young locals.
On Google Street View above, turn back to the harbor, and you will see a green structure across the water to the right. It houses a market that has both specialty food and prepared-food stalls. Here are a few photos from our last trip.
A short block west is the start of the other canal, Naviglio Grande. Head down Ripa di Porta Ticinese to the next stop.
Across the canal is Santa Maria delle Grazie al Naviglio. Though this church lacks curb appeal, if you love stained glass windows, this is the place for you. The bridge crossing the canal in the Google Street View above might be covered by advertisement; move across the river and hopefully you can see its unobstructed form.
As mentioned above, there are plenty of food and drink places in this area. For a true Milano experience, our suggestion is La Magolfa (Via Magolfa 15).
Looking for a high-end place where waiters speak fluent English and cater to every need of tourists? This is not that. If you don’t want to pay a lot of euros to get an authentic meal sitting next to locals, this is a good bet. The service is efficient, and when the restaurant is mobbed, down right transactional, but there is a reason locals swamp to this place. The food is good, the price can’t be beat, and Milanese know a good deal when they see one.
My wife and I came here first on a Friday night in the pouring rain, and got a table right away. The food was so good, we returned the next night; it was a fair evening and the place had a line out the door. I had to chase down the head waiter to get a number, and we listened carefully to numbers called out in Italian to get our table! If you get here on a busy night, bring your sense of humor (plus persistence) and be ready to practice a little Italian, and you will be in for a true local dining experience.
Remember I mentioned that this district is mobbed with young people on summer night? Here’s a video we shot near the harbor on a Saturday night (in May 2015). As you may be able to hear from our commentaries, before we filmed this, we were on a street (on one of the canals) much more packed than this!
GETTING HERE: from Duomo, take Tram # 3 to Colonne Di S. Lorenz stop (it may drop you off one small block pass the Roman columns). Bus # 94 also stops at Colonne Di S. Lorenz (on Via Molino delle Armi).