Milan hides unusual places, secret places to discover. This city is always to be discovered. In the Lombard capital there are some places where it seems to be not in the city but somewhere else.
Places that cross borders and take us far away… Which of these unusual places in the city did you not know and give you the idea of being somewhere else?
The Brera district
The Brera district is a very picturesque area of Milan indeed. Walking through its streets seems to be in another city. Full of charm and romance, far from the noise of traffic with its pedestrian streets, in Brera it seems like being in Paris.
Citylife
Citylife is a high Milanese neighborhood that gives us the idea of being in some American super metropolis, maybe New York, Chicago with these huge skyscrapers towering over everything. It is really a peculiar area, even in the surroundings you can find unusual corners, the Castello Pozzi for example.
You are there walking among the skyscrapers and you come across this very beautiful building, home of the Pozzi fashion house. The castle also houses an installation that gives the idea of being in Alice’s Wonderland, the house of cards.
The work is called “Love Art 4 All” and can be seen at the corner of Via Berengario and Via Benedetto Brin 1, inside the castle’s garden. And at night the cards light up!
The working-class neighborhood of Via Lincoln
In the Risorgimento area there is a very special area, named “the rainbow district,” we are not talking about Porta Venezia but Via Lincoln. Once designed to house workers and railroad workers. The colorful little houses are reminiscent of Burano, the Venetian island, but also of some London neighborhoods. The colorful cottages with small outdoor gardens look very British.
The village of journalists
The village of journalists transports us to a fairy-tale place. In the Maggiolina district, in fact, there are “gnome houses,” shaped like igloos. It is called “of the journalists” because the very representatives of this industry were the first to settle there in the early 1900s. Very rich neighborhood architecturally not only because of these quaintly shaped little houses, but also because of the ornate buildings that can be glimpsed from time to time. Take a walk there if you happen to be there!
The Navigli
Another area that takes us far from Milan is the Navigli. The nerve center of Milanese nightlife, the Navigli transports us to some northern city where waterways run through the city. Perhaps Amsterdam, Copenhagen. Or our Serenissima, Venice, with its canals. In short, the Navigli is another somewhat unusual place.
North Park
If we want to find another place where it doesn’t feel like we are in Milan, it is Parco Nord. A big green lung in the city full of activities to do, hidden corners and very busy. A bit Central Park with the buildings silhouetted behind the foliage of the trees?
St. Alexander Square
It could not miss this little corner among the unusual places in Milan where it seems to be in Rome. Behind the Duomo, parallel to Via Torino, Piazza Sant’Alessandro transports us to the capital. The Baroque church that overlooks it is a little gem.
Piazza Governo Provvisorio
Another gem we would like to include in the unusual places in Milan is Piazza Governo Provvisorio.
We are in the Turro area. We were there one afternoon passing by chance and the feeling is that of being somewhere else. The phrase, it doesn’t feel like being in Milan, often annoys some people. But really walking down this street, very green, no asphalt, the café dehors, the murals, the pastel buildings. It really feels like walking in another city. The noise is almost zero, few cars passing by. Take a walk there and then tell us your opinion. And if you go, ice cream break at Gele‘ which has great ice cream.