Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/04/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi John, Milan is a typical big Italian city, with (mostly) very wide streets and heavy traffic. Most of the architecture is from the 18th and 19th centuries, some very nice Art Nouveau houses too, quite a few of the 20th century buildings show the hand of Mussolini and his cohorts - bombastic architecture. The main square in the old city centre (Piazza del Duomo) in Milan is wonderful (if they've now taken the scaffolding off the cathedral). The shopping arcades, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - excellent place for a decent coffee - are fascinating and right next to the cathedral. Lots happening there on the 1st of May too (Labour Day Demonstration) if you're there then, a 21mm or 28mm (or even wider) will come in useful, the main railway station is impressive too, inside and out. The Sforza castle (Castello Sforzesco), a colossal red-brick edifice, with a picturesque fountain in front of the main gate where people gather to enjoy the sun, is well worth a visit. Plenty of very nice parks, my favourite ist just off the Corso Venezia close to the Porta Venezia. Just off the Corso Magenta (for Leica M8 fans :-) ) is the church Santa Maria delle Grazia which houses da Vinci's Last Supper painting. For photography, there is a difficulty I encountered, the houses are all quite high and leave much of the city in shadow if you miss the right time of day to be there, if you're there in May, this could be a problem because the sun is still quite low - May can also still be pretty cold in the mornings too. Although I'm a born pedestrian, my problem with Milan is that there's a lot of walking through very boring wide streets to get to anywhere interesting, by the time you're there you're tired out - next time I'll try public transport, there are plenty of trams and buses. Plenty of restaurants of all classes, but stay away from the Indian restaurant I went to just off the Corso Buenos Aires (Piazza Gulielmo Oberdan) - it's rubbish. Cheers Douglas John Payne wrote: > 1 month until trip, any ideas for photos in Paris and Milan and Heidleberg? > Any travel tip are much appreciated. Does, don'ts, airport security, > etc... > Thanks in advance. > John Payne > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >