Piazza Duomo is undoubtedly the heartbeat of the city where your Milan adventure begins. Given its central location right in the city centre, it is easily accessible by all manners of transportations. Most of Milan’s key attractions are located around the square, including the Duomo Cathedral, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade and La Scala Theater. Excellent place to just walk around or people-watch while sipping your hot latte macchiato.

I spent the week between Christmas and New Years Eve in Milan. I absolutely loved it. It is a great city for walking, difficult to go more than a few blocks without seeing some magnificent architecture. The Duomo does not disappoint in any way. I actually walked the 256 steps up to the top and the views are spectacular. Next time, though, I will take the elevator. LOL.

My wife and I were in Milan for the purpose of viewing the Last Supper by da Vinci this summer. As soon as we viewed it, we walked over to the Piazza del Duomo. It is an expansive square in front of the Duomo and the Galleria. Being in the Piazza with all of the tourists is one of the things I enjoy most about Milan.

The heart of Milan - the Piazza Duomo owes its current appearance to the architect Giuseppe Mengoni, whose project expanded the square to its current size in 1865-1873. Since that time, there have been only one fundamental changes - the monument to King Victor Emmanuel, installed at the end of the XIX century. By the way, it was Victor Emmanuel II who laid the first stone in 1865 for the construction of the gallery named after himself, which became the second landmark of the square. The gallery, which became an equally important place for Milan, was built by 1867. Unfortunately, during its construction, Mengoni died after falling from the scaffolding. Despite the importance of the gallery, the dominant feature of the square is the cathedral, which is the third largest in the world after Rome's San Pietro and Seville. The cathedral was built on the site of the early Christian Basilica of St.Thecla, where in 367 Bishop Ambrose of Milan baptized the father of the church, Augustine. Both they and the Virgin Mary and many other saints are depicted in thousands of sculptures of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nascente. This time I managed to visit the roof of the cathedral, which offers a magnificent panorama of the Piazza Duomo. If climbing roofs is not part of your plans, then you can sit in a cafe in the leader of the Italian retail La Rinascente on the left side of the cathedral.

This is the heart of Old Town Milano, where people meet up, shop, visit the amazing cathedral. Great place for people watching. We met up with our friends here each morning before exploring Milan on our own >> often by the monument to King Victor Emmanuel. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a great place to hunt for gelato, restaurants, high end shops, and cafes. We were cautious about our belonging, but really did not find any threats. Plenty of warning on pick pockets, scams, etc Arrive early if you want to capture the blue sunny sky with the cathedral silhouetted in the foreground. Otherwise come in the afternoon for great lighting, as the cathedral faces west for nice photos. A lot of action for people watching.