My 3rd journey this year took me onto the lovely location of Milan, Italy! I was so happy to spend my birthday there and here is a short blog to document what I got up to!

If I’m being completely honest, the real reason I wanted to go to Italy was to visit Lake Como or Amalfi Coast, the scenery? Stunning. The views? Stunning. The landscape? Stunning. The Instagram reels that flooded my explore page? Stunning! Honestly it was Instagram that sold Lake Como to me as I found myself scrolling away at the many places you could explore, however I am a lover of a good activity so decided on Milan as my place to spend for the duration of my trip.

Duomo Di Milano

Our first stop on the Milan expedition was too the Duomo Cathedral, probably what most people associate with Milan apart from the hi-life and the luxury shopping. This was quite easy to get to as it is accessible via most modes of transport; tram, train, metro, cab etc. We purchased the ticket that gives you access to the cathedral, and to climb up to the top for an oversight of Milan.

To our disappointment, we reached the top and it must have been in repair/refurbishment mode as all we saw was scaffolding and pipelines all over, not the most spectacular of views unfortunately but still had to take a good pic or two for the memories. If you haven’t read my Barcelona travel vlog, I mention how after taking a lift up to the Sagrada Familia you had to climb down 7 mins worth of stairs, seems like I did not learn my lesson from the last time, you have to climb back down another set of stairs – wear comfy footwear!

The ticket your purchase gives you access to different areas, the top of the cathedral, the Duomo museum and inside the cathedral, but note your shoulder and legs have to be covered in order to enter.

QC Termemilano

Probably the highlight after going to Lake Como was the QC Termemilano which is a day spa/wellness center to the extreme! Honestly, it’s like a spa day set up in a maze, with multiple outdoor pools, saunas and day beds and an indoor rain room

This was different to any other spa that I’ve been too, it has multiple rooms with different experiences to tailor to every need. It really is a multi-sensory experience to not forget!

One of the rooms involved a room which had artificial rainfall come down at the click of a button, and thunder and lightning sound effects – why did I feel like I was on a film set please?

The spa offers you other perks such as massages, food and drink and treatments, but these are of course at an additional cost. Overall, would HIGHLY recommend this place.

Lake Como

Lake Como was one of the main reasons why I wanted to venture into Italy. Instagram reels really does know how to sell an area ey!

If you didn’t know, Lake Como also known as Lario, is the third largest Italian lake (after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore).

One thing that was great was that it was really easy to get there. From Milan central station there are various trains you can get and it is only 2 or 3 stops away. We purchased the ticket which includes train and ferry travel, as that is the main mode of transport to explore other towns such as Bellagio and Lecco.

The scenery there is beautiful, as we explored on our ferry ride. Mountains and mountains of lovely mansions and pool houses which made me question why I live in London and not in luxury (God can change my story lool). Apart from admiring the beautiful scenery and boat ride, Lake Como has more of a calm and soothing vibe to it. I’m not sure of any activities that could be done there, but there are loads of bars, restaurants and desert places for you to explore. It was giving – romantic luxury!

Only thing to notice is that it is very far out from Milan, and trains are not frequent. I would say to set off very early in the day so you can get a full days’ worth of exploring before the last train back to Milan Central.

Tips:
-Milan is very easy to navigate around. They had a great tram/metro and train system and it is easy to get to places from central stations. Of course, Google maps was our best friend, but if you were in need of directions, locals there were very friendly!
-I went there with basically no understanding or ability to speak any Italian, and that wasn’t great as a lot of people could not speak English. I think with every country you visit, no matter how much understanding of English they may appear to have – it’s always good to have basic understanding of their language

-I found Milan to be quite small in comparison to other cities, if planned out well, it can definitely be done in a day or two. Once all the main tourist spots are explored, I would advise to branch out and explore a wider city such as Lake Como. Alternatively, you can visit Varenna or Bellagio.
Many people do day trips to Italy, whilst that can be tiring and packed, you can get the majority of stuff complete if you have a good itinerary in place.