Everything you need to know before heading to Milan for the first time.

Tap your phone to a subway turnstile to whisk through neighborhoods, grab dim sum or pizza for lunch, and window-shop endlessly, whether your budget is Hermès or H&M. This is Milan, but it could also be Paris, or Madrid, or New York. After five years of living in Italy’s fashion and commercial capital, I know the spots that prove it’s the country’s modern cosmopolitan city, but also show it’s still Milanese. Places to eat risotto, to see buildings festooned by the city’s Belle Époque past, or to browse decades of Italian design icons. While Milan’s Italianness doesn’t hit with postcard-perfect skylines or towering marble statues like some cities do, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there; you just need to know where to go a

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