Milan is a very small city but very cosmopolitan, influences from abroad abound, Bars, Discos and other Entertainment hotspots are a mixture of Italian, Latin America, African and Asian flavours!

This list is neither an endorsement of the establishments mentioned anywhere in the website. MMG, is not related either directly or indirectly with any of them. Information may change without prior noticed. If you know any changes please inform us so we can share it with others.

This list will be updated regularly, if your favourite spot in not yet listed just send an email to “ info@mymilanguide.com “. You can even add an article and some photos.

Soon, the MyMilanGuide.Com will be embarking on a Bar Tour, wherein the Staff and volunteers are going to make the rounds and check if the place is “ExpatFriendly” meaning people can communicate basic stuff, type of crowd, music and styles, plus other innovative features such as on site poll!!!

To Everyone Cheers!!!  

Public Transport

Milan boasts an incredible network of trams, buses and three highly efficient "metro". It may be a good idea to leave your car at one of the car parks next to the metro stops and get around the city only by using public transports.

 They are quite convenient and represent a real opportunity to make the most of your visit. Timetables and line routes are shown at all tram and bus stops while in the metropolitan railway stations, panels indicate the destination and the waiting time for the next train. The ordinary ticket is valid for 75 minutes and entitles you to change as many buses and trams as you may need while it allows only one journey on the metropolitan railway. There are various kinds of tickets and passes to meet the specific requirements of different travellers such as tourists, businessmen and occasional users. If you are a tourist you may discover Milan and its beautiful spots on board of a picturesque tram of the twenties. You can choose what to see and when to get off, visit what you like and then catch a later tram to continue your sightseeing. The tourist tram is also multilingual thanks to earphones available on board.

Address: Via Carducci 13
Metro Porta Romana. It is a very nice bar where the aperitivo is a must, you can appreciate the fantastic scene.

Address:cnr Via Ripamonti 13/ Via Vannucci
Metro Porta Romana. It is always very crowded and it offers aperitves buffet.

Address:Via Larga 8
Metro Duomo. It offers Brazilian cocktails for an exotic aperitivo.

Address:Largo La Foppa 5
Metro Moscova. It is a cool bar, look at the 12 windows!!

Address:Via Giuseppe Verdi
Metro Cordusio or Duomo. It is near La Scala Theatre, so if you are lucky you can meet a famous composer! You can go there at lunchtime too because it serves "pasta" and "secondi".

Address:Via Cusani 4
Metro Cairoli or Lanza. Small bar but good aperitives and excellent for a coffee break.

Address:Corso Garibaldi
Metro Moscova. It is famous for its brunches especially for the "cotoletta alla milanese" but also for coffee break and aperitivo.

Address:Via Brera 32
Metro Lanza or Montenapoleone. It is also a "gelateria", ice cream shop.

Address: Via Lambro 7
Metro Porta Venezia. Very fashion and cool local.

Caffé della Pusterla  

Biffi  

Address:Corso Magenta 87
Metro Conciliazione. This is an historic café very comfortable, the right place to relax yourself.

"Negroni" Recipe  

INGREDIENTS: 1 oz Gin; 1 oz Campari; 3/4 Sweet Vermouth

Put all the ingredients in an ice filled shaker. Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a burnt orange. To make a burnt orange, cut the orange peel and holding it between your thumb and index fingers squeeze the peel quickly and firmly between your fingers. In this way a flame will come from the oils released by the peel, and it will add a note of orange to the cocktail.

"Negroni" is a pre-dinner cocktail to stimulate the appetite for dinner. It was invented in the 1900s and its name comes from Camillo Negroni who always ordered the same drink in Florence.

The best area for nightlife in Milan are the Navigli canal district, Porta Romana, Corso Porta Ticinese and Brera district.

NIGHTLIFE in Milan  

Milan, is not just fashion and business. The people of Milan, takes their entertainment and dinning very seriously.

There are several areas to go out in Milan, are: around the Brera gallery, Como District and the Navigli area. Milan offers lively bars, restaurants and night clubs, moreover some of them include live music, especially jazz music and some local bands.

Clubbing starts at about 11.00 pm running to about 4 am, but if you want to be ready, start your nightlife with the happy hour aperitifs, from about 18.00 on in one of the most famous bars and cafés.

The Milanese clubs the cost of a drink is about 7euros and several clubs have introduced a pay-as-you-leave-system.

That is why you receive a ticket at the door that you can use for the cloakroom and it permits you to buy drinks and food. Do not loose this ticket because the fine is very high.

Several clubs offer you dinner too, before the nightlife starts. This is an opportunity to join together food and live jazz music which is often played during dinner. At least but not the last think about your style because the most important point of going out in Milan is to look your best!

However if you want to have an alternative scene and less expensive, you should try the Centri Sociali with cheap or sometimes free entertainment as concerts and film showings. They also contain bars and vegetarian restaurants.

DISCOS  

Rolling Stone
Address:Via Corso XXII Marzo 32
www.rollingstone.it
Bus 45, 73 Tram 12, 27. It is the right place for those who love rock music, and rock concerts.

Magazzini Generali  

Address:Via Pietrasanta 14
Bus 90, Tram 24. Metro Lodi. This is a dance club, an exhibition space and a concert venue. Many important artists have performed there, for example Wyclef Jean.

Hollywood  

Address:Corso Como 15
www.discotecahollywood.com
Metro Garibaldi.Very frequented by celebrities such as models, fashion designers, football players, and stars of tv.

Il Gattopardo Café  

Address:Via Piero Della Francesca
Metro Bullona. It is placed in a deconsecrated church and tou could dance in the nave.

Casablanca Cafe

Address:Corso Como 14
Metro Garibaldi. This is a disco bar and restaurant that offers commercial house music.

Tocqueville  

Address:Via Tocqueville 13
Metro Garibaldi, Tram 11, 29, 30, 33. The scene remember the 70s decor, it offers commercial house music. Very frequented by VIPs.

Nausicaa  

Address:Via Tirano 14
It offers commercial, hip hop, and latin music.

Alcatraz  

Address:Via Valtellina, 25 (closed from Monday to Thursday)
www.alcatrazmilano.com
It is all in one: discotheque, pub, restaurant and concert hall. There are international
concerts in a place which was an industrial factory before.

Old Fashion  

Address: Viale Alemagna 6 (closed on Sunday)
Metro 1 or 2; Tram 1; 27; 18; bus 57; 61; 70; 94
www.oldfashion.it
It is situated in the same building of the Triennale in Parco Sempione. It is an elegant
disco-pub and it is crowded in summer. It has a garden and an open-air dance floor,
as well as a restaurant.

Nuova Idea International Disco  

Address: Via de Castilia Gaetano 30
www.lanuovaidea.com
It was founded in 1975 as a gay disco and since that time there
are people from all over the world celebrating the nights.  

PUBS  

Old Fox Pub  

Address:Via Cesare da Sesto 23
It is a typical english pub that offers draught beers and cocktails

Musical Box  

Address: Piazza Chiaradia 9
Very nice pub with beers and cocktails.

The Cambridge  

Address:Piazzale Susa
English pub.

Aliby  

Address:Via Crispi 2
It is a disco pub from about 22.00 pm til on. It offers aperitives too at 18.00 pm.

Frog café  

Address:Via Savona
It is an ethnic pub. Very good cocktails

Antik  

Address:Via Ascanio Sforza 47 Navigli
English pub. It offers cocktails beers and also happy hour.

Europe Café  

Address:Via Vigevano 13
Typical european pub, draught beers and cocktails.

El Beverin  

Address:Via Brera 29
Nice atmosphere and nice people, singers and actors frequent this pub.

The Biz Café  

Address:Via Corso XXII Marzo 23
This is an American bar, it offers happy hour too.

Movida  

Address:Via Ascanio Sforza 41 Navigli
American pub. Nice atmosphere happy hour too.

Arcobaleno

Address:Via Ascanio Sforza
It is an Irish pub in Navigli. Very nice pub good beers.

Mas  

Address:Ripa di Porta Ticinese 11
Spanish pub very cool.

Extra NightLife Series  

MyMilanGuide.Com is scouring Milan to bring you as many bars, pubs, and other entertainment venues in the city.

While we try our best to be as accurate and up to date, dates, times, performers list and other details may change without prior notice. If you happen to see any corrections please do inform us by emailing our editors “ info@mymilanguide.com”.

MyMilanGuide.Com does not endorse publicly endorse any of those listed, nor is commercially related with them.

Le Scimmie:  

very typical live jazz (& blues) pub in the navy area, small but with a lot of feeling (and an expensive restaurant ;-)

Blueshouse  

(via S. Uguzzone, northern city border), the house of live blues in Milan, almost mid-empty during weekadays it becomes incredibly overcrowded in the weekend

Rolling Stone  

(Corso XXII Marzo): easy access disco (mean: no formal suite or similar) with special nights; live concert for international but not so known artists (ie: Steve Earl in october)

Binario Zero  

(Farini zone): 3 years old easy trendy club, not too formal and with a good live music program (on 2 floors)

Alcatraz  

(via Valtellina): mega-disco, the latest attraction in Milan

Plastic  

(viale Umbria): one of the most trendy club in Milan

Dynamo  

(Greco): the slogan is 'clubbing is not dead', a very special easy access club on 2 floors with a good kitchen upstairs and a sophisticated atmosphere in the basement ... jazz and new sounds oriented

ATM  

(around Moscova): absolutely the most trendy place in Milan since 4 years ago; it is essentialy a people-watching bar

Bloom:  

away from the city-center,  there's this alternative live-pub; it has born as blues oriented but now it is really a multi-cultural place where meeting different kind of people

The Live

A very big club, no trendy people, just pure and powerful live rock !! this is my all times favorite place ! Outside the city (20 minutes away on motorway A4 - exit Trezzo sull'Adda):

Cuore

(via G. Giacomo Mora) a typical example of italian 'snob' place, very sophisticated furniture, very trendy people ... nothing to do but drinkin' and people watchin' ... a MUST for a real trendsetter :-)

Le Trottoir  

The Brera area.
For the 'Happy hour' (discounted drinks & lots of snacks) I suggest you Joe Pena (via Savona) but go there in advance otherwise you'll get nothing ;-)

Zythum:  

I put this in Nightlife cause it is a restaurant AND a disco bar; the restaurant part is very original serving 'fusion food' with one and only one dish from some countries: New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Brasil, Greece & so on ... they made beer on their own and they serve several cocktail beer-based (example: mojito beer). This is not a cheap place (35 euros average), it is trendy but relaxed one and they play some jazz-fusion music while you're eating and drinking.

Nidaba Theatre

A very small and (of course) crowded live music pub in the Navigli zone: pls consider youi have to change your suite after a night spent here: you'll surely smell due to smokers (even if air conditioning is well-working).
 

Theater

Dress Code: Almost everywhere you can see a friendly entrance
Directions: Just few web address:

Le scimmie @ www.scimmie.it

Blueshouse @ www.blueshouse-milano.com

Live @ www.liveclub.it

Bloom @ www.bloomnet.org

Zythum @ www.zythum.it, but always under construction .

Lagostina, Crusinallo-Omegna, Lake Orta  

The discount factory outlet for the famed homewares designer. Get 30–50% off here and at similar outlets on the same road – Bialetti (No. 106) and Fratelli Piazza Effepi (No. 242) – and Alessi (Via privata Alessi). Look for slight irregulars (sformati ) for bigger savings.

Armani Factory Store, Vertemate

Well worth a visit, especially for the massive discounts (30–50%) on men’s and women’s clothing.

Vineria Cozzi, Bergamo

Old-fashioned wine bar with glass cases and a marble cutting board in the front, and a more private back room and tiny, plant-filled courtyard to the side. Dabble with a little wine tasting of your own and some splendid little snacks.

Caffè del Tasso, Bergamo  

This historic café on the main piazza has been a local living room (and site of rebellious debates) since the 16th century.

Papageno Pub, Bergamo  

Little round tables and Guinness on tap just a few steps off the main square.

Lubiam, Mantova

One of Italy’s top tailors of men’s suits since 1911 – this warehouse outlet holds a staggering array of choices (over 1,000 suits, 1,500 jackets etc) at 35% off the usual prices.

Oblò, Mantova

Popular pub with friendly proprietors, good beers, great panini , a non-smoking room and a loyal local clientele. The music is loud, but it’s not a raucous place.

Sperlari, Cremona

Wood-floored shop from 1836 selling its own sweets, torrone (nougat), cordials, liqueurs, candied fruits and “cherries with spirit”.

Concerts and Opera at Fondazione Teatro Ponchielli, Cremona  

Fancy hearing a string quartet composed entirely of Stradivarius instruments? Cremona’s Teatro Ponchielli is about the only place in the world where this happens regularly.

I Portici del Comune, Cremona  

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, Milan's newspapers tend to devote a lot of ink to club schedules and cultural events. If you don't trust your command of Italian to plan your nightlife, check out the tourist office in Piazza Duomo -- there are usually piles of fliers lying about that announce upcoming events. The tourist office also keeps visitors up-to-date with Milano Mese, a periodical it distributes for free with schedules of events, as well as listings of bars, clubs, and restaurants.

The Performing Arts  

On the other side of the Galleria from the Duomo is Italy's premier opera house, Teatro Alla Scala, Piazza Scala (tel. 02-887-91) known to everyone as "La Scala." The calendar of events and online ticket office can be found at www.teatroallascala.org. Tickets go on sale about 3 months before a performance, so if you want to attend, say, the Oct. 16, 2006, performances of Don Giovanni, keep an eye out for tickets to be released in late July. Purchase tickets online (all major credit cards accepted) or at about a dozen travel agencies around the city, and at various travel agencies throughout the country. For a complete list, visit the website.

The adjacent museum, Il Museo Teatrale Alla Scala (tel. 02-8879-2473), pays tribute to the leading Italian lights in opera and ballet, often hosting exhibits of costumes worn at La Scala performances long ago. Also of note for scholars is a library of more than 40,000 musical works. The museum and library are open daily from 9am to 12:30pm and from 1:30 to 5:30pm. Entrance is 5€ ($6.25).  

Movies  

In Italy, English-language films are almost always dubbed into Italian, providing English speakers with an opportunity to bone up on their Italian but taking some of the fun out of a night at the movies. Fortunately, there are always a few theaters that screen English-language films in the original version 1 night a week: Anteo, Via Milazzo 9 (tel. 02-659-7732; Metro: Moscova), on Monday; Arcoboleno, Vle. Tunisia 11 (tel. 02-2940-6054; Metro: Porta Venezia), on Tuesday; and Mexico, Via Savona 57 (tel. 02-4895-1802; Metro: Porta Genova), on Thursday.  

Pubs  

A publike atmosphere, induced in part by Guinness on tap and a very crowded aperitivo hour (about 6-8pm) where you can load up on free pasta and other munchies, prevails at Liberty-style Bar Magenta, Via Carducci 13 at Corso Magenta (tel. 02-805-3808), in the neighborhood from which it takes its name; it's open Tuesday to Sunday (Metro: Cadorna). One of the more popular La Brera hangouts, with a young following, is El Tombon de San Marc, Via San Marco 20 at Via Montebello (tel. 02-659-9507), which, despite its name, is an English pub-style bar and restaurant open Monday to Saturday (Metro: Moscova).

If you're not quite young and up to partying with those who are, a pleasant alternative to Milan's youth-oriented venues is Bar Margherita, where there's jazz on the sound system (and sometimes live on stage) and a nice selection of wines and grappa; they also lay out a good selection of munchies-on-toothpicks (crostini, frittata wedges, and other canapés) around dinnertime. It's in La Brera at Via Moscova 25 (tel. 02-659-0833) and is open Monday to Saturday 7am to 2am (Metro: Moscova).

Among the Navigli nightspots (growing in number all the time) is El Brellin, an intimate, canal-side piano bar (on Sat) with its own minicanal on Vicolo della Lavandaia, off Alzaia Naviglio Grande 14 (tel. 02-5810-1351), open Monday through Saturday (Metro: Genova FS). Birreria La Fontanella, Alzaia Naviglio Pavese 6 (tel. 02-837-2391), has canal-side tables outside and the oddest-shaped beer glasses around -- that half-a-barbell kind everyone seems to order is called the "Cavalliere." It's open Tuesday to Sunday 7pm to 3am (Metro: Genova FS).  

Night Owls' Favorite Haunts  

While Brera is always happening and the Navigli certainly packs a (mostly suburban) crowd, for a more authentic Milanese experience, check out the other (northern) end of Corso di Porta Ticinese: the San Lorenzo district. There are great bars and cafes between there and metro stop Sant'Ambrogio.  

Jazz Clubs  

Since Capolinea got ousted (Warning: the club's name is still there at Via Lodovico il Moro 119, but it's not the old jazz club where the greats came to play; rather it's some pathetic mimic of it slapped together by the next-door neighbors who forced the original owners out of this space), the best venue on the jazz club scene is Le Scimmie, which has its own bar-boat moored in the canal. It's in the Navigli at Via Ascanio Sforza 49 (tel. 02-8940-2874; www.scimmie.it), and operates Wednesday to Monday (Metro: Porta Genova), with shows starting at 10:30pm.  

Music & Dance Clubs  

The dance scene changes all the time in Milan, but at whatever club is popular (or in business) at the moment, expect to pay a cover of 10€ to 15€ ($13-$19) -- sometimes more for big-name live acts. Models, actors, sports stars, and the attendant fashion set favor Hollywood is an institution for the young fashion crowd and those who want to be a part of it: It's small, chic, and somewhat centrally located in La Brera at Corso Como 15 (tel. 02-655-5574 or 02-659-8996, or 02-679-8896 after 10:30pm); it closes Mondays and July 23 to September 7 (Metro: Garibaldi). Across the street, at Corso Como 14, is Casablanca, (tel. 393 846 1607) which has a nice, Moroccan-flavor lounge in the back and caters to a slightly more mature clientele. For something a little funkier, try Plastic, Viale Umbria 120 (tel. 02-733-996), where the people are a bit more colorful and the music more alternative. It's only open Friday to Sunday.  

Grand Café Fashion

Corso di Porta Ticinese 60 at Via Vetere (tel. 02-8940-0709 or 0336-347-333), is a multipurpose nightspot halfway to the Navigli with a restaurant open from 9pm and a disco nightly from 11:30pm. Despite the name, it's become a sort of populist alternative for those tired of sharing the dance floor with models and wannabe's. Watch for thematic evenings like Latino Mondays and, er, lap-dance Sundays (Metro: Porta Genova).

Milan's most venerable live music club is Rolling Stone, Corso XXII Marzo 32 (tel. 02-733-172), in business since the 1950s. Most of the performers these days are of a rock bent, and the club is as immensely popular as ever. Cover charges, which vary widely depending on who's performing, are less expensive for women than for men, and more expensive on weekends than on weekdays; it's closed Sundays and Mondays (Tram: 12, 27, 45, 60, 66, 73, or 92).

Note: There are no specific club hours in Milan. Opening and closing times vary with the seasons and with the crowds, with openings anywhere from 7 to 11pm and closings anywhere from 1am to dawn, later on weekend nights.  

Gay Clubs  

Milan's largest gay club is Nuovo Idea, Via de Castillia 30 (tel. 02-6900-7859; www.dinet.it/nuovaidea); it attracts a mostly male crowd of all ages and offers everything from disco to polkas, in a huge techno room. It's open Thursday to Sunday (Metro: Gioia). Recycle, Via Calabria 5 (tel. 02-376-1531), is a women-only club Friday to Sunday 9pm to 2am, sometimes later (mixed crowd welcome Wed-Thurs nights).

Via Sammartini along the train station's left flank (Metro: Central FS) is a good street to hit. Next Groove, at no. 23 (tel. 02-6698-0450), is a mixed gay and lesbian disco bar of the phone-on-the-table sort and thematic evenings; it's open daily. Next door at no. 25, After Line Disco Pub (tel. 02-669-2130) is a bar-restaurant where a giant-screen TV and strobe light are switched on after dinner to turn it into a lesbian discotheque; it's open Tuesday to Sunday.

In Milan eating out in one of the numerous places mentioned in the food guides can be both a joy and entertainment. This is because the food is generally of high standards, and the atmosphere very pleasant. In such a big city the number of restaurants is naturally enormous, ranging from the very famous restaurants to the less expensive trattorie or pizzerie.

 Fast-food is on the increase except for the youngsters, it is still fundamentally alien to the Milanese when they want to spend a pleasant evening tasting either the traditional Milanese cuisine accompanied by some excellent Italian wine or else the most innovative international flavours which can be tried in the more recent Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Thai or African restaurants.
Although saffron is still the distinctive ingredient of almost all dishes alla Milanese, today the Milanese cuisine is no longer as lavish and over-elaborated as in the past and often its main ingredients are freshness, simplicity and good quality.

If the weather allows to eat out in the open air, you will be surprised to discover how every conceivable open space is filled with tables and chairs, providing the ideal setting for a special evening; no doubt you'll end up, like most Italians, relaxing at the table even when dinner is over for the sheer pleasure of making and entertaining friends, watching passers by and enjoying the nice summertime atmosphere.