Location: Province of Varese
Day 1 - 11 Feb 2022
Malpensa Airport
Content: I flew in directly from SFO to MXP airport via United airlines. I’m a loyal member of United ✈️ and usually take the SFO to EWR to MXP route. From MXP airport you have to take the train into the actual city of Milan, which takes about an hour and costs about 20 euro
Location: Milano
Day 1 - 11 Feb 2022
Duomo Hotel & Apartments
Content: There are a lot of different places to stay in Malon, but I prefer to stay in the city center. It’s super easy to get around and all the buses and trains lead to the center. I stayed at this Airbnb style hotel for a few days and it was a great hotel. Super central to everything, and still quiet at night
Location: Milano
Day 2 - 12 Feb 2022
Duomo di Milano
Content: Rise and shine! This is probably the number one tourist attraction in all of Milan. It’s a beautiful cathedral and you should buy tickets in advance, especially if you want to climb your way to the top. You can either climb your way to the top or take that elevator all the way up but I highly recommend going early so that it’s not crowded
Marchesi 1824
Content: After you make your way down from the Duomo, Head directly to this café for food and the best Italian aesthetics you’ve ever seen. Marchesi 1824 is owned by the Prada group and has the best pastries in all of Milan
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Content: I would mostly just spend my afternoon in this area. There’s a lot to see and shop around this area. All of the namebrand stores are in this area as well, so you’ll probably find every high-end luxury brand ever known to man
Location: Milano
Day 3 - 13 Feb 2022
Fondazione Prada
Content: I wanted to go to a different part of the city so I took the train south east of the city center to visit the Prada foundation gallery and art museum
Bar Luce
Content: The best part of the museum, is that there is a café and restaurant attached to it. Bar Luce was designed and inspired by Wes Anderson and when you walk in, you’ll feel like you’re transported immediately to the grand Budapest Hotel. Definitely worth checking out especially if you’re a Wes Anderson fan, and is a one of a kind place
Tartufotto by Savini Tartufi
Content: This is the best truffle pasta I’ve ever had in my entire life. It’s a little bit north of the city center, by only about a 10 minute walk, and is 100% the best restaurant for truffle lovers. Make sure to make a reservation online in advance
Location: Province of Cuneo
Day 4 - 14 Feb 2022
Langhe
Content: If you’ve been following me by now, then you’ll know that I am a huge wine lover. It’s super easy to take a day trip or quick staycation to northern Italy to the Piedmont region to taste some of the finest wines in all of Italy
Location: Alba
Day 4 - 14 Feb 2022
Hotel Calissano
Content: We stayed at this hotel for two nights and it was perfect. It’s only about a 2 Hour Dr. from Malon and breakfast is included, free Wi-Fi, and is closely located to all the vineyards and restaurants
Location: Cerretta
Day 4 - 14 Feb 2022
AZ. AGRICOLA Ettore Germano
Content: We had two tastings planned for the afternoon and the first one was at this winery. There are over six generations of families from this winery still making wine today. They are best known for their Barolo wine and red wine. They had two cute little dogs on the vineyards 
Location: Castagnole delle Lanze
Day 4 - 14 Feb 2022
Dogliotti 1870
Content: This was the second winery we went to that was also really good. All of these are very intimate, especially during winter, when it’s slow season and you actually get to meet and discuss with the winemakers themselves
Location: Alba
Day 4 - 14 Feb 2022
Ventuno.1 Ristorante e Bottega
Content: The town of Alba is pretty small, but this was one of the top rated restaurants in the area. Some of the best pasta and meatballs I ever had
Location: Barolo, Piedmont
Day 5 - 15 Feb 2022
Barolo, Piedmont
Content:  In the morning on our second day, we drove to the commune of Barolo. It’s a tiny village mostly focused on winemaking, but rich with a lot of history. It was kind of a foggy day but we walked around and it was still beautiful
Location: Barolo
Day 5 - 15 Feb 2022
Castello Comunale Falletti di Barolo
Content: There’s also a castle in the area that’s definitely worth checking out. There’s a lot of history about how it’s been around since the 1800s and it makes for a great view point for photos
Marchesi di Barolo
Content: We did another wine tasting order last winery and this one was by far the best. This is one of the oldest wineries producing Burolo, and they showed us how the wine was stored. These were some of the biggest wooden barrels I’ve ever seen in my entire life
Location: Alba
Day 5 - 15 Feb 2022
Hotel Calissano
Content: We went back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for dinner
Cortiletto d'Alba
Content: We had dinner at this amazing restaurant, That apparently has a Michelin star we later found out. But we had no idea when we originally made the reservation. I had homemade three meat ravioli with butter and sage and it was to die for 🍝  
Location: Milano
Day 6 - 16 Feb 2022
Hotel Ritter
Content: I drove back from Piedmont early in the morning to check into a new hotel in the city center for our last night. I was continuing on to another city so just wanted a no-frills place to stay which is the perfect place for a solo traveler
GROM
Content: I mostly just laid low on my last day and walked around the city center. Obviously couldn’t leave Italy without having gelato and Grum is one of the best in the country. I think they have locations all over Europe but they started in Italy
Marchesi 1824
Content: The pastries here are so good I had to go back a second time before I left
Trattoria del Pescatore
Content: I think at this point I was basically just a bowl of pasta and pizza so I figured why not have more before leaving Italy. This restaurant was pretty busy and is on the list of restaurants to try in Milan according to TripAdvisor. They’re famous for their spaghetti vongole which is just spaghetti with clams and a white wine sauce. So good
Location: Segrate
Day 7 - 17 Feb 2022
Milan Linate Airport
Content: There are two airports in Milan and if you’re flying into or out of Milan from a neighboring country, I highly recommend flying out of LIN airport. It is so close, I think only about 15 to 20 minutes to the city center versus MXP which is an hour away but that’s the closest airport for international Overall Milan is such a great area for people that enjoy art, fashion, food, history, and wine. Here are some tips for visiting in the future: 🇮🇹 Buy tickets to the main attractions in advance. You’ll save time and money 🇮🇹 eat all the pasta and pizza that you can and I encourage you to try all the different dishes of northern italy. Its very different from southern italy 🇮🇹 it can get cold during winter, so the best time to go is usually early spring or fall. That’s usually when airline tickets will be cheaper 🇮🇹 Italy is a big country with a lot to offer. Don’t just stay in one city, try and Rent A Car or take a train to visit any of the other cities or villages in the area