And that is precisely the allure of this cosmopolitan city often overlooked by travelers yearning for the splendors of Italy. What a blind spot.
Milan, long a global center of fashion and textiles and the gateway to the Italian Alps and Lake Como, "is a city that sneaks up on you," says gallerist, collector, and patron Nina Yashar. "You think you know it, and then you stumble upon a tiny gallery, a rooftop with a hidden view, or a perfect pastry shop. It is a place where history and innovation meet effortlessly."
The canniest luxury travel experts have spotted the. moment. "Design is the new art, which was the new food," says Embark Travel founder and CEO Jack Ezon, who journeys the world peering around the corner for what's coming next. And what he and others see in the city that this year cohosted the Winter Olympic Games is a new generation of luxury hotels and design brands flocking in -notably The Carlton, a sumptuous hotel on the Via della Spiga; and RH's new outpost in the Porta Venezia district, a 75,000-square-foot gallery set to open in a historic palazzo during April's Design Week. Better yet: The buzz in Milan has a distinctly untouristy feel. "Milan rewards curiosity and time, not checklist visits," says Britt Moran, cofounder with Emiliano Salci of Dimorestudio and Dimoremilano.
"This is a city that you can't 'discover' in five days," adds interior designer Paolo Moschino, who with partner Philip Vergeylen created the aforementioned Carlton.
"Milan is incredibly elegant, but everything is behind doors. It takes time, but then when you start, you find things that you didn't think existed!" Although their studio and showrooms are based in London, Vergeylen says he'd moveto Milan in a heartbeat. "There's an energy in Milan," he says. "It's what London had 15 years ago."
The historic Brera neighborhood is Milan’s artists' quarter, with galleries tucked al cobblestone streets.
Rustic time at Bowral …
