The simplest and plainest place to have a drink in Milan is a drinking fountain - there are loads of them around the city!
There are plenty of bars and cafés in Milan of all kinds - from fancy old-fashioned ones, where you can enjoy a formal hot drink, to avant-garde modern places, and youthful spots for a happy hour/late-night drink. Some also offer some food too. These are only a few of the places where you can stop for a drink:
b:free cocktailbar, tel 0236707972, via Lecco, 21, near Corso Bueno Aires, in Porta Venezia (metro line M1). If you want to visit a real Aperitivo bar in true Italian fashion, this is a worthy hot spot.
Exploit Café, near the San Lorenzo Columns, in Porta Ticinese Avenue. If you want to visit a real bar in true Italian fashion, this is a worthy hot spot.
Bar Bianco, # Viale Enrico Ibsen (Parco Sempione), tel 3336323027, inside the Sempione Park. It's cash only at this bar, but with Gucci clad clubbers and their well suited companions, money seems easy to come by. The life of a party can always be detected in here.
Roialto, Via Piero della Francesca 55, 20154 Milan, tel +39 02 3493 6616. It's bland facade conceals a real gem of a cocktail bar/restaurant. It is a very popular spot for after-work drinks, or perhaps a pre-club drink if you're going dancing somewhere like the Gattopardo.
Honky Tonks, Via Fratelli Induno, 10 Fiera (near Sempione Avenue), ☎ 00 39 023452562. Mon-Sat 6PM-2AM. Not exactly a country cowboy bar as the name might imply, a more accurate description would include the smoky lounge feel and the jazz music being played. The drinks are well made and they also serve Tex-Mex style food. �
Bar Magenta, in Via Carducci. This popular bar is best visited with a bunch of friends during apperitivo, a time when free appetizers are given out, usually around 7PM. It was said that Bar Magenta coined the now very popular “aperitivo”, and having a drink in here is a classic experience.
Dom Cafè, in Corso Como.
Il Saloon, in Niccolini St, Chinatown area.
Frescobar, in Bramante St, Chinatown area.
Birrificio Lambrate, in Adelchi St, near Lambrate Station, . Features with its own branded beers.
Cicco Simonetta ? A bohemian pub hosting comics, musicians, and €3 beer on Mondays.
Brasserie Bruxelles, Viale Abruzzi,33 near Buenos Aires Ave, ☎ +39 2 2941 9148, . Open daily 6PM - 02AM. Is a bar specialising in beer from Belgium. 5 beer on draught and 50 in the bottle. �
Rita, Via Angelo Fumagalli, 1, ☎ 02 8372865. It is the perfect place for a cocktail and Edo, the barman and the owner together with the chief Luca, is the grandmaster. They have strict code for preparing cocktails: no syrups are admitted, only fresh fruit. It is also a perfect place to eat. �
Fashion Café, Via San Marco ((Brera district)). Fashionable Armani-style place for aperitivo and drinks. �
Caffè Cova, Via Montenapoleone 8 (Metro: San Babila/Montenapoleone), ☎ 02-7600-5599, . Founded in 1817, this pasticceria (pastry shop) relocated to its current place in the exclusive Montenapoleone street 1950, and is a good place for a cake/tart with a hot drink, such as coffee. At Christmas, enjoy the traditional Panettone cake. �
Emporio Armani Caffè, Via Croce Rossa, no. 2 (Metro: Montenapoleone). Found on the ground floor of the Armani Megastore, this café is all Armani themed. It's a good place to stop for a drink after a day of shopping, since it is really close to the ritzy Via Manzoni and Via Monte Napoleone. �
Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar, Corso Venezia, no. 15 (Metro: San Babila). A Dolce & Gabbana themed bar, it is situated in the posh Venezia avenue, right in the top fashion district. Good place to enjoy a Martini cocktail in Dolce & Gabbana surroundings after some shopping or sightseeing. �
Zucca, Piazza Duomo, no. 21 (Metro: Duomo), . An Art Deco/Liberty bar right at the entrance of the Galleria Vittorio, which serves several forms of drinks. It's right in the heart of all the major sights, being right next to the Duomo and Galleria, and also close to the Montenapoleone shopping district and the Castle quarter. �
Bar Jamaica, Via Brera, no. 32 (Metro: Lanza), ☎ 02-876723, . A small, trendy and artsy bar in the bohemian Brera district, which in summer times uses its verandah for open-air drinks. �
Shu, Via Molino delle Armi ((Metro: Missori)), . A trendy café in the funky Porta Ticinese area, which serves cocktails, and also a notable happy hour (with many different plates). Go there for a swanky, hi-tech feeling and drink + snack. �
Gucci café, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele (Metro: Duomo). If you enjoy cafés where you can sip fashionably at a coffee in the city's stunning glass Galleria, right in the heart of Milan, after some sightseeing or general shopping, then the Gucci café is the place to go. �
Café Trussardi, Piazza della Scala, no. 5 (Metro: Duomo/Cordusio/Montenapoleone), ☎ 02-8068-8295, . Monday-Friday: 07:30 - 22:00; Saturday: 12:00 - 22:00. Located very close to the Il Ristorante Trussardi Alla Scala, the café is a better place for a more casual drink or less formal meal. The menu includes some salads, sandwiches, meat, fish, cheese and vegetable plates (and many more dishes), and also fresh fruit juices, and desserts such as Zuppa inglese (Italian form of trifle), Tiramisu and ice cream. Right in the centre of the city, it is near to the famous La Scala opera house, the Duomo, the Sforzesco Castle, and also to the fashion quadrilateral streets (i.e. Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga, etc.) It is owned and named after Trussardi, the fashion label. Remember that it is not open on Sundays!Prices range from €10 to €28 (according to the official menu). �
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Milan
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Milan - updated May 2024
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