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Northern Italy

Northern Italy

No Rome, no Florence, no Venice — and one ticket you have to buy three months before you go.

Before you go — what this guide is not

There is no Rome, Florence or Venice here, and no Tuscany or Amalfi coast. We have not been, so there is nothing we can honestly tell you about them. What we have is the north: Milan, Como, Brescia, Turin, Cuneo and Genoa — six cities, five of which almost never appear on a first Italian trip.

That is a recommendation, not an apology. This is the part of Italy that still works as a place people live in, where a cathedral square at nine in the morning is full of commuters rather than tour groups, and where the food is regional enough that crossing from Piedmont into Liguria changes what is on the menu.

Budget tips

  • Trains, not a car. Milan to Turin is under an hour, Milan to Genoa about ninety minutes, Milan to Como forty minutes. A car is a liability in all six of these cities and an expense between them.
  • Everything here is cheaper than the Italy people picture. Northern cities price for their own residents; the tourist premium starts further south.
The Duomo and the square in full sun
The Duomo and the square in full sun

The one booking that decides the trip

Leonardo's Last Supper is the hardest ticket in this guide and the usual reason a Milan plan collapses. It is on a refectory wall at Santa Maria delle Grazie, fifteen minutes at a time, a maximum of forty people per slot.

  • Tickets go on sale quarterly, at noon Italian time — and they are gone in minutes. Not hours. The releases run September for November to January, December for February to April, March for May to July, and June for August to October, so the window opens roughly two months before the block it covers. Know your release date and be at the keyboard for it.
  • If you missed the release, there is a second chance every Wednesday at noon, when the museum puts out additional tickets for the following week. It is the least-known thing on this page and it is how most late plans actually get in.
  • Arrive thirty minutes early or forfeit the slot. The museum says so plainly and it is not a suggestion.
  • €15 full price, which the museum now publishes as one figure rather than the old €13 plus a €2 booking fee. €2 for 18 to 25, free under 18 — but a reservation is compulsory for everyone, infants included. Paid radio guides are sold with the ticket at the desk; the museum does not publish a price for them, so do not budget one.
  • Aim three to four months out, and build the rest of Milan around the slot you get rather than the other way around.
  • If you miss it, go anyway — the church itself is free, and the photograph of it on this page is from outside, where most people's is.
Santa Maria delle Grazie in brick and stone
Santa Maria delle Grazie in brick and stone

Milan — go up on the roof

A third of our Italian photographs are Milan, and most of those are from one place: the terraces on top of the Duomo, where you walk among the spires and the statues with the city underneath.

  • Rooftop only: €16 by stairs, €18 by lift. Cathedral and rooftop together: €22 by stairs, €26 by lift. Checked 17 September 2026.
  • The museum is not in the €22 ticket, whatever the category heading on the ticket site implies. Cathedral plus museum is its own €10 ticket, and the pass that genuinely bundles cathedral, museum, archaeological area and crypt with the rooftop by lift is €32. The museum is closed on Wednesdays.
  • The lift only reaches the first level. The second level of the terraces, and the whole way down, is stairs regardless of which ticket you hold — so the lift buys you less than the four-euro difference suggests.
  • Take the stairs if the knees allow. It is about 250 steps, it is two euros cheaper, and you arrive among the buttresses instead of stepping out of a box.
  • The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II next door is free and the glass dome is worth the neck-ache. The archaeological level under the cathedral is worth the detour too, but it is not free — it rides on the €15 Culture Pass or the €32 one, not on the plain rooftop ticket.
  • Beyond the Duomo: the Sforza Castle, the Roman columns at San Lorenzo, Sant'Ambrogio, and the Arco della Pace lit at night. All free to look at.
The crowd up on the roof of the Duomo
The crowd up on the roof of the Duomo

Genoa — and the weekend the palaces open for nothing

This is the best thing in this guide and the least known. Genoa's merchant families built a street of palaces so grand the city kept an official list — the rolli — of which ones were fit to lodge a visiting head of state. Forty-two of them are UNESCO World Heritage.

  • Via Garibaldi is the street, and walking it costs nothing. Several palaces house museums you can pay into on any ordinary day.
  • But Rolli Days is the answer. Twice a year the private palaces open to the public — frescoed ceilings, marble staircases, courtyards nobody normally sees. The spring edition ran 27–29 March 2026 and is gone, but the autumn edition is 16–18 October 2026, under the title Abitare il cambiamento, and 2026 is the twentieth anniversary of the UNESCO listing. The historic aqueduct is in the program for the first time.
  • Check the mechanics before you go. Genoa had not published the list of open palaces or the booking arrangements for the October edition as of mid-September, and which palaces need a reservation has varied between editions. The event has been free to enter; do not assume every palace is walk-up.
  • The rest of Genoa is the opposite of grand and just as good: the caruggi, the alleys of the old town, barely wide enough for two; the fish market; the striped black-and-white cathedral; and the old port with its crane and its aquarium.
  • Eat the focaccia. It is a different food here from the thing sold under that name elsewhere, and it is a breakfast.
A frescoed vault in one of the Rolli palaces
A frescoed vault in one of the Rolli palaces

Turin — eighteen kilometers of arcades

  • Turin is built to be walked in the rain. The center has something like eighteen kilometers of porticoes, and the grand cafés under them have been serving the same thing since before Italy was a country.
  • The Mole Antonelliana is the landmark and holds the National Cinema Museum. Museum €18, panoramic lift €9, both €23 — and the lift up through the middle of the dome is the part to pay for.
  • The Egyptian Museum is the serious one — the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside Cairo, in a city most people have never considered visiting.
  • Piazza San Carlo, the Galleria Subalpina and the Palazzo Reale are all a short walk apart, and the squares are free.
The Galleria and the old Cinema Romano sign
The Galleria and the old Cinema Romano sign

Como, Brescia and Cuneo — the three that surprise people

  • Como is the lake without committing to the lake. Forty minutes from Milan, a marble cathedral on the waterfront, and a funicular up to Brunate for the view back down. A day trip rather than a stay.
  • Brescia has Roman ruins in the middle of it — a temple and a theater, UNESCO listed, standing in the ordinary street grid of a working Lombard city. It is the most unexpected hour in this guide.
  • Cuneo is arcades and nothing else, and that is the point: a single enormous colonnaded street, a Saturday market under it, and no tourists at all. It is where you go if you want to know what Piedmont is like when nobody is performing.
The waterfront and the hills across the lake
The waterfront and the hills across the lake

When to come

  • Late March or mid-October if Rolli Days matters to you, and it should — it runs twice a year, and October 2026 is the nearer of the two. Our March photographs are cool and gray and the cities carry it well.
  • July is when we did Turin, Cuneo and Genoa, and the Ligurian coast is the right place to be hot. Milan in July is not.
  • December we have done twice in Milan. The Duomo square at night with the lights up is genuinely worth a cold evening.
Red roofs of the city from the castle
Red roofs of the city from the castle

How long?

Five days from a Milan base covers all of it — two for Milan itself, and day trips to Como, Brescia and either Turin or Genoa. Give Genoa two days and a bed of its own if you can; it is the one that rewards staying. And the natural extension is north rather than south: Como sits an hour from the Swiss border and Lugano and the Alps beyond it.

Would we send you here?

Not if this is your first time in Italy. If you have never seen Rome or Florence, go and see them — and we will be honest that we cannot plan those from our own experience the way we can plan this. What is above is the second Italian trip, or the one for somebody who has had enough of standing in line, and for that person it is much the better week.

Knowing which of those two trips you are actually asking for is the part we do.

Northern Italy in photographs

151 images from Milan, Genoa, Turin, Como, Brescia and Cuneo, taken on our own trips.

Red roofs of the city from the castle — Northern Italy · March 2023 Red roofs of the city from the castle The castle gate and the steps up to it — Northern Italy · March 2023 The castle gate and the steps up to it The round Duomo Vecchio beside the new cathedral — Northern Italy · March 2023 The round Duomo Vecchio beside the new cathedral The dome of the old cathedral from inside — Northern Italy · March 2023 The dome of the old cathedral from inside A shaft of light across the Roman temple interior — Northern Italy · March 2023 A shaft of light across the Roman temple interior The old and new cathedrals side by side — Northern Italy · March 2023 The old and new cathedrals side by side The main square with the crowd out — Northern Italy · March 2023 The main square with the crowd out The castle walls and the path up — Northern Italy · March 2023 The castle walls and the path up The hills beyond the city from the ramparts — Northern Italy · March 2023 The hills beyond the city from the ramparts The columns of the Roman Capitolium — Northern Italy · March 2023 The columns of the Roman Capitolium Inside the castle walls — Northern Italy · March 2023 Inside the castle walls The Capitolium and the excavated forum below — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Capitolium and the excavated forum below
Show the other 138 photographs
The marble front of Como Cathedral — Northern Italy · January 2018 The marble front of Como Cathedral A licorice stall at the market — Northern Italy · January 2018 A licorice stall at the market The lake between the hills in the haze — Northern Italy · January 2018 The lake between the hills in the haze A painted house front in the old town — Northern Italy · January 2018 A painted house front in the old town The funicular track climbing out of town — Northern Italy · January 2018 The funicular track climbing out of town A church tower on the hillside above the lake — Northern Italy · January 2018 A church tower on the hillside above the lake Boats out on flat gray water — Northern Italy · January 2018 Boats out on flat gray water The cathedral front from the square — Northern Italy · March 2023 The cathedral front from the square The painted vaulting inside the cathedral — Northern Italy · March 2023 The painted vaulting inside the cathedral The dome of the cathedral from below — Northern Italy · March 2023 The dome of the cathedral from below The waterfront and the hills across the lake — Northern Italy · March 2023 The waterfront and the hills across the lake The nave of the cathedral — Northern Italy · July 2023 The nave of the cathedral A church front on the main square — Northern Italy · July 2023 A church front on the main square Decorations strung above the arcaded street — Northern Italy · July 2023 Decorations strung above the arcaded street A narrow street between tall houses — Northern Italy · July 2023 A narrow street between tall houses Northern Italy · July 2023 The main street lit in the evening — Northern Italy · July 2023 The main street lit in the evening Market stalls under the arcades — Northern Italy · July 2023 Market stalls under the arcades Arcades and awnings along the street — Northern Italy · July 2023 Arcades and awnings along the street An oval staircase in a palace, seen from above — Northern Italy · July 2023 An oval staircase in a palace, seen from above A red-carpeted staircase spiraling down through a palace — Northern Italy · July 2023 A red-carpeted staircase spiraling down through a palace The Teatro Carlo Felice and the Garibaldi statue on Piazza De Ferrari — Northern Italy · July 2023 The Teatro Carlo Felice and the Garibaldi statue on Piazza De Ferrari A narrow alley between tall houses in the old town — Northern Italy · July 2023 A narrow alley between tall houses in the old town A frescoed vault in one of the Rolli palaces — Northern Italy · July 2023 A frescoed vault in one of the Rolli palaces Rooftops running down to the sea — Northern Italy · July 2023 Rooftops running down to the sea A painted church nave and its columns — Northern Italy · July 2023 A painted church nave and its columns The fountain lit at night on Piazza De Ferrari — Northern Italy · July 2023 The fountain lit at night on Piazza De Ferrari On Piazza De Ferrari, the Garibaldi statue behind — Northern Italy · July 2023 On Piazza De Ferrari, the Garibaldi statue behind A neoclassical facade across the street — Northern Italy · July 2023 A neoclassical facade across the street The glass-roofed shopping gallery — Northern Italy · July 2023 The glass-roofed shopping gallery The city from a palace terrace — Northern Italy · July 2023 The city from a palace terrace Washing strung out above the old town roofs — Northern Italy · July 2023 Washing strung out above the old town roofs The port and the modern towers beyond — Northern Italy · July 2023 The port and the modern towers beyond A frescoed and gilded church ceiling — Northern Italy · July 2023 A frescoed and gilded church ceiling A medieval stone tower at night — Northern Italy · July 2023 A medieval stone tower at night A palace front floodlit after dark — Northern Italy · July 2023 A palace front floodlit after dark The fish laid out on the market slab — Northern Italy · July 2023 The fish laid out on the market slab A painted ceiling and hanging lantern — Northern Italy · July 2023 A painted ceiling and hanging lantern The galleon moored in the old harbor — Northern Italy · July 2023 The galleon moored in the old harbor The striped front of San Lorenzo cathedral — Northern Italy · July 2023 The striped front of San Lorenzo cathedral The triumphal arch across the square — Northern Italy · July 2023 The triumphal arch across the square A palace courtyard with its planting — Northern Italy · July 2023 A palace courtyard with its planting Fountains playing in front of the palaces — Northern Italy · July 2023 Fountains playing in front of the palaces Yachts moored in the marina — Northern Italy · July 2023 Yachts moored in the marina The victory arch on its square — Northern Italy · July 2023 The victory arch on its square The Duomo lit at night — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Duomo lit at night The Galleria dome and the Christmas tree beneath it — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Galleria dome and the Christmas tree beneath it The Galleria arcade full of people — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Galleria arcade full of people Statues and pinnacles on the roof of the Duomo — Northern Italy · December 2017 Statues and pinnacles on the roof of the Duomo A rose window and buttresses from the roof walk — Northern Italy · December 2017 A rose window and buttresses from the roof walk The city from the roof of the Duomo — Northern Italy · December 2017 The city from the roof of the Duomo The roof ridge running away between the pinnacles — Northern Italy · December 2017 The roof ridge running away between the pinnacles Walking the marble roof of the Duomo — Northern Italy · December 2017 Walking the marble roof of the Duomo The Madonnina on the topmost spire — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Madonnina on the topmost spire Flying buttresses seen from the roof — Northern Italy · December 2017 Flying buttresses seen from the roof The nave of the Duomo toward the altar — Northern Italy · December 2017 The nave of the Duomo toward the altar The excavated baptistery under the Duomo — Northern Italy · December 2017 The excavated baptistery under the Duomo Roman foundations below the Duomo floor — Northern Italy · December 2017 Roman foundations below the Duomo floor The huge columns of the Duomo nave — Northern Italy · December 2017 The huge columns of the Duomo nave Carved marble on an interior wall — Northern Italy · December 2017 Carved marble on an interior wall The Galleria lit for Christmas — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Galleria lit for Christmas The statue of Constantine in front of San Lorenzo Maggiore at night — Northern Italy · December 2017 The statue of Constantine in front of San Lorenzo Maggiore at night A baroque church on a narrow street — Northern Italy · December 2017 A baroque church on a narrow street The round church of San Carlo al Corso — Northern Italy · December 2017 The round church of San Carlo al Corso Pinnacles against the sky from the roof — Northern Italy · December 2017 Pinnacles against the sky from the roof Santa Maria delle Grazie in brick and stone — Northern Italy · January 2018 Santa Maria delle Grazie in brick and stone The cloister at Santa Maria delle Grazie — Northern Italy · January 2018 The cloister at Santa Maria delle Grazie Brick and marble on the church wall — Northern Italy · January 2018 Brick and marble on the church wall The Sforza Castle walls at dusk — Northern Italy · October 2022 The Sforza Castle walls at dusk The Arco della Pace lit at night — Northern Italy · October 2022 The Arco della Pace lit at night The fountain in front of the Sforza Castle — Northern Italy · October 2022 The fountain in front of the Sforza Castle The castle gateway and its courtyard — Northern Italy · October 2022 The castle gateway and its courtyard An equestrian statue in the castle museum — Northern Italy · October 2022 An equestrian statue in the castle museum The Duomo floodlit against a black sky — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Duomo floodlit against a black sky The Duomo and the square in full sun — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Duomo and the square in full sun The entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele — Northern Italy · March 2023 The entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele The glass and iron dome of the Galleria from below — Northern Italy · March 2023 The glass and iron dome of the Galleria from below Rooftops and the Madonnina from the terraces — Northern Italy · March 2023 Rooftops and the Madonnina from the terraces The crowd up on the roof of the Duomo — Northern Italy · December 2024 The crowd up on the roof of the Duomo In front of the Duomo — Northern Italy · March 2023 In front of the Duomo The Duomo lit, the New Year stage going up — Northern Italy · December 2017 The Duomo lit, the New Year stage going up The castle and its fountain after dark — Northern Italy · December 2017 The castle and its fountain after dark Pasta, twirled on the fork — Northern Italy · December 2017 Pasta, twirled on the fork Replica instruments built to Leonardo’s designs — Northern Italy · December 2017 Replica instruments built to Leonardo’s designs With the audio guide under Leonardo's machines — Northern Italy · December 2017 With the audio guide under Leonardo's machines Two pizzas and a bottle of balsamic — Northern Italy · December 2017 Two pizzas and a bottle of balsamic On the Duomo roof among the spires — Northern Italy · December 2017 On the Duomo roof among the spires The spires behind, from the roof terraces — Northern Italy · December 2017 The spires behind, from the roof terraces Inside the basilica, the whole nave at once — Northern Italy · December 2017 Inside the basilica, the whole nave at once Two scoops of gelato in a tub — Northern Italy · December 2017 Two scoops of gelato in a tub Lights over the street, the crowd walking up — Northern Italy · December 2017 Lights over the street, the crowd walking up At the castle fountain — Northern Italy · October 2022 At the castle fountain Tram tracks and the arch at the end of the street — Northern Italy · October 2022 Tram tracks and the arch at the end of the street Gelato at the Arco della Pace — Northern Italy · October 2022 Gelato at the Arco della Pace The Galleria front across the piazza — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Galleria front across the piazza Dessert on the terrace above the piazza — Northern Italy · March 2023 Dessert on the terrace above the piazza A caprese stack, tomato and mozzarella — Northern Italy · March 2023 A caprese stack, tomato and mozzarella Cheesecake and a chocolate curl — Northern Italy · March 2023 Cheesecake and a chocolate curl Outside the lounge bar above the piazza — Northern Italy · March 2023 Outside the lounge bar above the piazza The Duomo from a side street, café umbrellas out — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Duomo from a side street, café umbrellas out The Duomo front, floodlit — Northern Italy · March 2023 The Duomo front, floodlit Pastries on the street at night — Northern Italy · March 2023 Pastries on the street at night Empty tram tracks toward the Galleria — Northern Italy · March 2023 Empty tram tracks toward the Galleria A tram crossing the square at night — Northern Italy · March 2023 A tram crossing the square at night Under the glass of the Galleria — Northern Italy · March 2023 Under the glass of the Galleria On the roof terraces, the city behind — Northern Italy · March 2023 On the roof terraces, the city behind A spire framed from the roof walkway — Northern Italy · March 2023 A spire framed from the roof walkway Three spires, close — Northern Italy · March 2023 Three spires, close Looking down on the Galleria roof — Northern Italy · March 2023 Looking down on the Galleria roof The city in haze from the roof — Northern Italy · March 2023 The city in haze from the roof Stained glass above the altar — Northern Italy · March 2023 Stained glass above the altar The nave, looking toward the altar — Northern Italy · December 2024 The nave, looking toward the altar The patterned floor down the nave — Northern Italy · December 2024 The patterned floor down the nave The altar under the rose window — Northern Italy · December 2024 The altar under the rose window In the nave, the benches roped off — Northern Italy · December 2024 In the nave, the benches roped off The Christmas tree in the piazza at dusk — Northern Italy · December 2024 The Christmas tree in the piazza at dusk The castle at the end of the street — Northern Italy · December 2024 The castle at the end of the street A service under the dome — Northern Italy · December 2024 A service under the dome Pizza, two of them, at the table — Northern Italy · December 2024 Pizza, two of them, at the table The fountain lit, people watching — Northern Italy · December 2024 The fountain lit, people watching The castle reflected in the park water — Northern Italy · December 2024 The castle reflected in the park water Feet up in front of the Arco della Pace — Northern Italy · December 2024 Feet up in front of the Arco della Pace The Arco della Pace lit in the mist — Northern Italy · December 2024 The Arco della Pace lit in the mist The tree and the Duomo, late — Northern Italy · December 2024 The tree and the Duomo, late Painted ceramics on the table — Northern Italy · December 2024 Painted ceramics on the table The tree under the Galleria dome — Northern Italy · December 2024 The tree under the Galleria dome The city and the Alps beyond, the Mole on the skyline — Northern Italy · July 2023 The city and the Alps beyond, the Mole on the skyline The walkway out to the rooftop test track at Lingotto — Northern Italy · July 2023 The walkway out to the rooftop test track at Lingotto The curved brick front of Palazzo Carignano — Northern Italy · July 2023 The curved brick front of Palazzo Carignano Colossal statues in the Egyptian Museum — Northern Italy · July 2023 Colossal statues in the Egyptian Museum A baroque church front on the square — Northern Italy · July 2023 A baroque church front on the square Tram lines running down the empty avenue — Northern Italy · July 2023 Tram lines running down the empty avenue The wooded hill above the river, a church on top — Northern Italy · July 2023 The wooded hill above the river, a church on top A narrow street with a lamp hung across it — Northern Italy · July 2023 A narrow street with a lamp hung across it The gilded dome of a palace chapel — Northern Italy · July 2023 The gilded dome of a palace chapel The Galleria and the old Cinema Romano sign — Northern Italy · July 2023 The Galleria and the old Cinema Romano sign Inside a nineteenth-century café, chandeliers down the room — Northern Italy · July 2023 Inside a nineteenth-century café, chandeliers down the room At the marble counter with the pastry case behind — Northern Italy · July 2023 At the marble counter with the pastry case behind

Six cities. The trip is the harder part.

Notice what this guide never tells you. It does not name a hotel or say which of these to sleep in. It gives you no way into the north from wherever you were before, no view on whether it pairs with Switzerland or with the south, and nothing about what the week becomes if the Last Supper slot you wanted is already gone.

Those answers change with your budget, your dates and who is traveling with you. Working them out, and booking them, is the job.

Tell us about your trip

The day above is free and yours to use. What it cannot do is decide where this fits in a two-week trip, which hotel works with your arrival time and your walking pace, what needs reserving months ahead, or what happens on the day it rains. That is the part you would be hiring me for, and planning starts at $750.

Or read the questions we are asked most — what a trip includes, how far ahead to book, deposits and cancellation.