On arrival in Milan, we made our way straight to the San Siro to watch AC Milan v Universitatea Craiova, in a Europa League qualifier.
Visiting the San Siro has always been on the wish list, I grew up watching football Italia.
The first World Cup I remember was the amazing Italia 90, and I’ve seen many of the great Ac Milan teams over the years.
It was a delightful coincidence that they had a summer fixture enabling me to fulfil one of my dreams to see them play in the San Siro!
Peak summer is not usually a time of year when football is played and the referee had scheduled water stops during the match because it was so hot.
The heat and humidity in the stadium was very intense, like being sat in a steam room for the crowd, and towards the end of the match, it was walking pace for the players.
Even so, the dedicated fans were out in force for their first home European tie for three years.
Milan eased to a 2-0 win, in the absolutely electric atmosphere of the famous San Siro.
The stadium was amazing, and the loyal supporters and the atmosphere they created was a dramatic sight.
Add a match at the San Siro to your Milan adventure travel itinerary for another incredible life and travel experience. Just incredible with a full San Siro!
Follow a local expert for a bit of exercise and laughter on the Milan City walking tour.
It was the perfect way to maximise time and see the city on our first visit, we let the local guide take us on a tour to get some top tips and give us some insights.
We booked a place on the Frog Free Walking Tour Milano the day before we arrived.
They organise a great tour with a local guide taking you through the main Milan highlights, she told a few stories and shared her Milan wisdom, it lasted around two hours.
A surprisingly popular tour the day we visited with about twenty others, there were some funny characters from all over the world in our group, which made the tour a great laugh as well as an interesting walk around the historical sights.
The walking tour was an ideal introduction to the City, we saw the main sites and heard some interesting facts and history( without it being boring), I intend to do this more often when visiting new places on future travels.
Try to do this at the start of your visit to Milan, you will meet new people, share your travel experiences, and get some ideas for things to add to your own Milan adventure.
Our next highlight of the trip was highly, highly, highly recommended as a must do in Milan from the frog tour guide.
Explore a little further and stop off in the Navigli district, for a traditional early evening Aperitivo snack and refreshments.
We chose Navigli on the recommendation of our tour guide, many peoples favourite bar/restaurant district of Milan.
The restaurants line the canal area, once you’ve taken in the picturesque surroundings you can have a relaxing Negroni outside to people watch, or explore more with a summer evening stroll.
Aperitivo is the most magical couple of hours in the Italian day, early evening when people meet to chat and enjoy a selection of classic Italian drinks and nibbles.
The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, and the Aperitivo is a buffet style selection of delicious meats, plump olives, homemade pizzetta and salads with a cocktail of your choice.
People window shop the Aperitvo options in each bar walking along the long Navigli canal, while every waiter explains why theirs is the best.
You are welcomed to go into each bar and size up the selection of Aperitvo before you commit, so check them out they vary a lot in selection and quality.
Our priority was a nice seat outside to enjoy the atmosphere and watch the sunset slowly over the Canal.
Take a wander and have a taste in the different bars, then after the nibbles, there are cocktail specials to keep you there for the evening.
If you do stay out dancing on your own Milan adventure, you are spoilt for choice with many cool nightlife options to continue the night.
The food was amazing, and the Navigli district was very special on a hot summer night.
It’s an integral part of the Italia experience, you can’t go to Milan and not enjoy an Apertivo!
As we turned the corner on our walking tour we had our first view of Milan’s most famous sight, the mesmerising Cathedral and Piazza del Duomo.
A very impressive place to hang out, get your cameras at the ready for the most visually epic area of Milan.
We wandered through here most days to explore the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II one of the most visually spectacular shopping malls I’ve ever seen.
This was one of our favourite places and we re-visited a few times, It just felt great to be there trying different coffee shops and exploring the unique stores and restaurants, but most of all seeing peoples reaction to its greatness.
Within the building beneath the mega glass roof are many of the worlds top shopping brands.
You will really enjoy the stunning architecture and sheer creative genius that surrounds you, even if you don’t decide to spend your entire travel budget on some stylish new threads.
We splashed out and enjoyed an ice cream to refresh, after our own Milanese shopping experience.
Milan Cathedral and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II are both major landmarks of Milan.
(definitely not just a cathedral and some shops)
Random and sounds a bit weird, but it was a unique travel experience and that’s what fitness world explorer is all about.
You will need some luck and a massive coincidence to have the same Milan adventure we had.
We wanted an active start to the day to try and counterbalance the stupid amounts of delicious food we were eating, a morning run was planned to explore the city, get some fresh air and work off some fuel before breakfast.
When we set out there was a little cloud in the sky and the temperature was pleasant compared to the intense humidity we had experienced so far but we hadn’t seen any rain for weeks during our entire time in Italy.
The Plan was to take a steady 5k loop from our hotel to the Parco Sempione, the large city park in the historic centre of the city.
A nice early morning jog taking in the sights, the gardens of the Sforza Castle and to the Arch of Peace, two of the main landmarks of Milan.
The run route was fantastic the roads were quiet and it’s a steady flat route around the park with plenty to see.
Once we were out running dramatic dark clouds started to gather rapidly and the sky opened for what seemed like a years worth of rain in 10 minutes, it was like being stood in the shower.
The run back was more like a 2k steeplechase dodging huge puddles that were not there 10 minutes earlier.
People didn’t exactly have a choice but nobody seemed to mind getting soaked, it was a much-needed downpour to cool off all of Milan.
Why was it a highlight of the trip? There are lots of great things about Milan but this was just Funny!
For me, travel is about different experiences in different places, seeing and experiencing memorable new things.
It was a serious downpour with booming thunder that lasted for around an hour. It really caught us by surprise and we were struggling to catch our breath from laughter rather than the training effect of the run.
Not so much a travel tip or place to go more of a travel experience story.
Getting soaked to the bone in a gigantic thunderstorm, on a morning run through the streets of Milan was a highlight.
Check out the explorer Instagram page to see the video I took from our hotel after our swim back haha!
All in all, an incredible football, food and fitness bonanza in magnificent Milan.
We stayed at the Milan Marriott hotel and the AC Hotel by Marriott Milano, both had superb fitness facilities so we combined some solid weight sessions with our outdoor training during the stay.
They are amazing hotels but we didn’t spend much time in them when the city sights are so incredible it’s easy to avoid the temptation to spend time relaxing in the luxury hotel room.
Fitness World Explorer top tip: use Milan as your explorer base, travel to other nearby cities and landmarks easily by train.
We travelled to Lake Como, Bologna and Bergamo.
Thanks Milan
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/milit-milan-marriott-hotel/
The next Italian adventure read https://fitnessworldexplorer.com/hiking-in-cinque-terre-monterosso-al-mare-to-vernazza/
About the author
Lee Murrin
The Personal Trainer and Worldwide Traveller behind Fitness World Explorer.
He has worked in his passion as a Personal Trainer and coach for 16 years.His travels have taken him worldwide to 78 different countries on many adventures.
[email protected]
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