Do you find Milan boring and dull? (best, place, people)
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Milan is seen mostly as the financial and fashion capital of Italy, without the history and charm of Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples or even some smaller Italian cities like Siena or Verona or Palermo. I visited, and it seemed interesting enough, but i get the impression it's seen as dull, a place people work rather than have fun, like Frankfurt or Zurich. It does lack Roman ruins and a glorious history, but I'm wondering if people perceive it as rather staid and boring? I guess it has the fashion glamour, but it also seems strangely ignored in the reason. I guess it's like a smaller Paris. Are the Milanese in general more 'northern' in temperament? I only visited for an afternoon - a very busy one, I might add - so didn't get a true flavour. It's a pretty nice city, but yeah, isn't as stereotypically Italian as Rome, Florence, even Genoa.etc let alone the smaller cities.
Milan is seen mostly as the financial and fashion capital of Italy, without the history and charm of Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples or even some smaller Italian cities like Siena or Verona or Palermo. I visited, and it seemed interesting enough, but i get the impression it's seen as dull, a place people work rather than have fun, like Frankfurt or Zurich. It does lack Roman ruins and a glorious history, but I'm wondering if people perceive it as rather staid and boring? I guess it has the fashion glamour, but it also seems strangely ignored in the reason. I guess it's like a smaller Paris. Are the Milanese in general more 'northern' in temperament? I only visited for an afternoon - a very busy one, I might add - so didn't get a true flavour. It's a pretty nice city, but yeah, isn't as stereotypically Italian as Rome, Florence, even Genoa.etc let alone the smaller cities.
I was once attracted to Milan, Italy. It had elements that I perceived as interesting - the fashion industry, an economic engine, more working types of people. I thought it might be an interesting gem of a city, that gets overlooked, and maybe might be a great destination city to try to live and work in.
But, when I actually visited Milan, it didn't strike me as very interesting. I mean, I liked it. But, I didn't feel 'wow, I'd love to live here' feel. It seemed very normal, and the people seemed very normal. I mean, normal is good too, but I guess I was expecting too much based on some of the titles that get attributed to Milan.
I was once attracted to Milan, Italy. It had elements that I perceived as interesting - the fashion industry, an economic engine, more working types of people. I thought it might be an interesting gem of a city, that gets overlooked, and maybe might be a great destination city to try to live and work in.
But, when I actually visited Milan, it didn't strike me as very interesting. I mean, I liked it. But, I didn't feel 'wow, I'd love to live here' feel. It seemed very normal, and the people seemed very normal. I mean, normal is good too, but I guess I was expecting too much based on some of the titles that get attributed to Milan.
I know what you mean. There's nothing wrong with it, but for a city of it's size and stature it actually seems fairly ignored by tourists, comparatively speaking. I guess it doesn't have the Italian flair that people expect. I did like the big arcade with the glass ceiling (forgot the name), the big square and the huge cathedral which I went up (pretty amazing experience). For shopping it is great. It's skyline also seems to be rising at quite a pace. In parts it looked like Manhattan or Madrid, actually. More the street feel than the skyscrapers. The street-cars, buildings.etc are sort of reminiscent of maybe Lyon or some of the Swiss cities, I would imagine.
I have been to Milan last summer.
I'd also heard before that it's a dull city and there's nothing to see. So I did not have high expectations, especially after Rome which I visited a few days earlier.
In fact, I really liked the cathedral -- it's certainly one of the best in Europe. The rising skyline also looked nice.
Other than that, it's just an average European city. Quite developed and modern, vibrant and bustling, but probably lacking some charm. Too businesslike.
Even the famous La Scala turned out to be a standard building, nothing special, at least from outside.
Actually, I was surprised to know than Milan has no river running through it. It's rare for big European cities I guess. If Milan had some nice river, let alone the seaside, it would add some flavor to the city.
I always thought of it as the Düsseldorf of Italy Some nice buildings, but in the end the majority of people just go there for business, fashion shows and/or trade shows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Postman
I visited, and it seemed interesting enough, but i get the impression it's seen as dull, a place people work rather than have fun, like Frankfurt or Zurich.
Zürich is an amusement park compared to Milan and Frankfurt At least with the right amount of cash...
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is also worth visiting - it's one of the oldest buildings in Milan. Milan was for some time the unofficial capital of Western Roman Empire. But the museums are not so interesting. Those Leonardo Da Vinchi drawings are mostly impossible to see in that dim light.
They have also the museum of 20th century art. Some paintings there are intersting, but it's not Pompidou.
As a center of opera Milan has a tough competition with New York, London, Zurich, Paris, Munich and other cities.
It's not as flamboyant as some other Italian cities, but round the centre the Duomo is superb, the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele is the loveliest shopping arcade I've ever seen and the streets around are very quaint.
I think 'boring' and 'dull' are harsh words - perhaps it doesn't offer the experience most tourists going to Italy are looking for, but it's one of Europe's largest metro areas - I'm sure there's plenty to see and do, like all large cities in Europe. I'd opt to live in Milan over most other places in Italy anyway - I value economics over culture, and Milan seems like a cultured place regardless.
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Some nice buildings, but in the end the majority of people just go there for business, fashion shows and/or trade shows.
