A weekend in Milan just might be the thing you need. I know that for my friend Alex and I, it was just the getaway we needed this past November. I live in Spain and she lives in Prague, so it was the perfect meetup destination. Furthermore with cheap flights, it was affordable as well!
How I got there
I always say that travel doesn’t have to be as expensive as we often think. This trip proves that once again. I found ridiculously cheap direct flights on Ryanair. Going there, I flew out of Madrid and it was 14.99€. Heading back, I flew into Zaragoza because it´s closer to where I live. That flight was only 15.99€. So basically, I flew round trip to Milan for around 31€.
A stressful part of travel can be figuring out how to get to and from the airport at odd hours. My flight into Milan landed at 23:20 and it took off at 6:50 a.m. Such is the life when you have a job and time constraints. Luckily, our hostel was within walking distance of the train station. From there, there are tons of buses that go to and from the airport at basically all hours. I was able to go to and from with no problems. I rode with a company called Terravision. It was 9€ round trip.
A blogger meetup
As mentioned above, this weekend in Milan was to meet up with my friend Alex. I originally met her around 10 years ago when we went to university together and both studied journalism. About 6-8 months ago, she messaged me telling me that she was planning to move to Europe. Like me, she had also started a travel blog (East Coast Contessa). So we have been reconnecting about blogging and moving overseas.
Well of course us being travel bloggers, we had to meet up once she moved over here! I did a quick search of flights out of Spain in November on Skyscanner and Milan seemed to be the best for the both of us. So we bought our tickets and got to planning our trip.
By the way, these pigeons were crazy. If you follow me on Instagram, you likely saw me not dealing/letting them land on me.
The hostel
We stayed in the Ostello Bello Grande. It was such a cute hostel! Hostels are another way that I keep my travels affordable. In Europe, I typically pay 10-25€ a night when staying in a hostel. It of course depends on the city and what is happening in that city. However overall, staying in hostels really allows me to travel to more places.
This hostel was located right next to the central train station. The only drawback was that some locals told us that the area around the hostel isn’t the safest at night. Neither of us had any issues. However it’s something to be aware of if you’re arriving late, leaving early or planning to go out at all.
The front desk was super cute and welcoming. It definitely set the mood for the whole place.
The common areas were nice and inviting as well. They had a cute little bar where we got some aperol drinks. This was also where food was served. We enjoyed both breakfast and dinner in our hostel since they were included in our stay.
We stayed in one of the dorm rooms. It had an attached bathroom, which had it’s upsides and downsides. It’s always more convenient to have an attached bathroom. However when there are 6-8 people in your room, it can be hard to share. Furthermore if you’re feeling sick, it’s a bit more uncomfortable when you’re sharing the space with people you don’t know.
Overall, I would still always recommend staying in the dorms. The beds were comfy and we had locker space to securely store our stuff.
Exploring Milan
Since we only had a few days to explore Milan, we of course saw the Duomo. This is the big cathedral in the center of the city. It’s truly an amazing view as you ascend from the metro station.
There are lots of pigeons in front of the Duomo. This was when I also learned that I don’t do too well with pigeons landing on me.
So basically they have these guys that give you food to put in your hands so that the pigeons land on you. Of course these guys are looking for a tip, so just say no thank you if you don’t want to pay.
I tried several times to let them land on me and just could not. However my friend Alex looked so very graceful.
The rooftops tour
One of the coolest experiences in Milan is exploring the rooftop of the Duomo. Europe is basically full of cathedrals, so I’ve visited my fair share of them over the past several years. However this was the first time that I explored the rooftop of one. It was simply amazing to see all the intricate detailing. Despite the rain, we captured some good photos.
The best view of the Duomo
Sometimes when I travel, I go to a place for the view and the ambiance. Terraza Aperol was one of those places. The drinks here are expensive, so know that before you make your decision. However the photos we got were rather incredible. You can read all about it here.
A day trip to Cinque Terre
The other great thing about Milan are all the day trips that you can take to other parts of Italy. One of those in Cinque Terre, a region along the coast with some of the most picturesque towns. On our second full day in Milan, I took a train down there with a new hostel friend. Alex was supposed to come, but she wasn’t feeling well and stayed back at the hostel.
I wrote all about that experience as well, which you can read about here.
The weather was quite different from the rainy and cold Milan. I would definitely recommend that you look at the weather forecast before going.
Well that was our weekend in Milan. I know that much like lots of places I explore in Europe, I’ll probably be back at some point.
Would you like to spend a weekend in Milan?
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We were guests of the Ostello Bello Grande hostel. All opinions are my own.
