Free Milan comes in two kinds: squares and gardens. The squares cost nothing because they are the city's public floor, from piazza del Duomo, the main square of Milan, to the smaller ones around it. The gardens are older than you might expect: the Orto Botanico di Brera dates from 1774 and Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli from 1784, with Parco Sempione following in 1893, Giardini Perego in 1928, Basilicas Park in 1956, and Piazza della Scala going back to 1858. This list is for the visitor who would rather walk than queue, wants an hour outdoors between paid sights, or has spent the budget on dinner and still wants a good day. Opening hours matter more than you would think. Parco Sempione stays open to 23:30 in summer, while the botanical garden in Brera closes on Sundays. Read the hours before you set out, wear decent shoes, and expect to sit on a lot of benches.
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1 piazza del Duomo
Piazza del DuomoThe main square of Milan, where any free day in the city should begin
Start your free Milan in piazza del Duomo, the main square of Milan, and make it number 1 of these 12, because the rest of the city makes more sense once you have stood here. Skip any café terrace that charges you for the view. The view is free, and you take it in best by standing still at the edge of the square for ten minutes and watching the city cross it. The address is Piazza del Duomo, with no street number, and you will not need one. Come early or come late. Midday is for people who have to be here; you are choosing to be.
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2 Piazzale Loreto
A working square in Milan for visitors who come curious rather than with a camera
Put Piazzale Loreto, a square in Milan, on your route as stop 2 of these 12, and come with a question rather than a camera. It is not a pretty square, and it does not pretend to be. Don't bother with a guided walk to explain it to you; do your reading before you go, then stand there and let the place answer back in its own way. Ten minutes is enough for most visitors, and those ten minutes cost nothing. It is the stop on this list that asks the most of you and gives the least in photographs, and that is exactly why it belongs here.
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3 Parco Sempione
Late summer opening, to 23:30 from June to September
The gates of Parco Sempione open at 06:30 every morning, and from June to September they stay open until 23:30. This urban park in Milan dates from 1893, and it is built for exactly what you should do in it: walk, sit, and let time pass. Locals head here after work in summer, when that late closing turns a free park into the longest evening in town. Bring your own water and something to sit on. Winter hours are shorter: from November to February the park closes at 20:00, so plan any cold-weather visit for daylight and save the long evenings for warmer months.
Dates from 1893
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4 Piazza Mercanti
2c01 Piazza dei Mercanti, Milano, 20123A small square in Milan that rewards standing still
At 2c01 Piazza dei Mercanti, in the 20123 postcode, Piazza Mercanti is a square in Milan that rewards anyone who slows down. Skip the tour groups. Walk in on your own, stand in the middle, and look up and around before you take a single photograph. It is a square to cross slowly, and it reads better on a weekday morning than on a weekend afternoon, when you will be sharing it with everyone else. It costs nothing, takes a quarter of an hour, and suits a pause between bigger plans. If you visit one free stop from this list, make it this one.
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5 Piazza della Scala
3 Piazza della Scala, Milano, 20121A square in Milan dating from 1858
At 3 Piazza della Scala, in the 20121 postcode, Piazza della Scala is a square in Milan that has been part of the city since 1858. No guided walk is worth the money here. The square rewards anyone who reads it on their own, on foot, from one corner to the other and back. Sit for a while if you find a free bench and watch who passes through. Combine it with the other central squares on this list for a free morning. Of every square here, this is the one that most rewards a second visit after dark.
Dates from 1858
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6 Orto Botanico di Brera
Via Brera, 28A botanical garden dating from 1774
The Orto Botanico di Brera has operated as a botanical garden since 1774, making it the oldest green space on this list. From April to October it opens Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00; from November to March the hours shift to 09:30 to 16:30. It closes on Sundays and public holidays, which catches weekend visitors out every time. We'd come on a weekday morning, when the paths are quiet and you can read the plant labels without anyone at your shoulder. Check the garden's official website before you go, because a closed gate is the one way this visit can go wrong.
Dates from 1774
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7 Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli
Bastioni di Porta VeneziaAn urban park from 1784 with Italian national heritage designation
Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli, dating from 1784, is an urban park in Milan protected as Italian national heritage. The hours are broad: from April to September it is open 06:00 to 24:00, and from October to March 06:00 to 22:00. For a morning run it beats the hotel gym, so be there at opening, do a few laps, and you will have earned breakfast. In the evening it softens into something slower, a place for a walk after dinner. Bring a book, find a bench, give it an hour. It asks nothing of you, and on a hot afternoon that is the whole appeal.
Dates from 1784 · Italian national heritage
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8 Piazza Cordusio
Via Dante, Milano, 20121A square in Milan on Via Dante, best taken at walking pace
On Via Dante, in the 20121 postcode, Piazza Cordusio is a square in Milan you will cross whether you plan to or not. Of these 12 stops it is the one to walk through rather than walk to. Skip the overpriced coffee and keep moving: look up at the corners as you pass and let the square show you how the city fits together. It works best as a connector between the other central squares on this list, part of a loop rather than a destination in itself. Five slow minutes here are worth more than half an hour of standing about.
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9 Piazza San Babila
Piazza San Babila, Milano, 20122A square in Milan's 20122 postcode, for a pause between walks
Treat Piazza San Babila, in the 20122 postcode, as a pause rather than a destination: it is a square in Milan that does its best work as a point to catch your breath between the longer walks on this list of 12. Skip the shopping-bag circuit that pulls most people through this part of town and instead find a corner out of the flow, watch the city go about its business for a few minutes. It costs nothing, needs no booking, and fits any time of day. If you are building a free walking loop through the centre, put this square on it and leave it there.
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10 Giardini Perego
Via dei Giardini, Milano, 20121Public gardens from 1928 that open every day, public holidays included
From 07:00 every day, public holidays included, the gates of Giardini Perego on Via dei Giardini, 20121, swing open. These public gardens in Milano date from 1928, and they are smaller and calmer than the big parks. Locals prefer a garden this size on a hot afternoon, when a short walk and a shaded bench beat a long hike across open lawns. Closing time moves with the season: 19:00 from November to February, and 22:00 from May to September, so check the official website before you go. Bring a book and plan to stay longer than you meant to.
Dates from 1928
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11 Piazza San Sepolcro
Piazza San Sepolcro, Milano, 20123A quiet square in Milan's 20123 postcode
Your own footsteps are often the loudest thing that echoes across Piazza San Sepolcro, a square in Milan in the 20123 postcode. Skip the busiest squares if what you want is ten minutes of quiet in the middle of the city, and come here instead. Of these 12 stops it is the one most likely to feel like yours alone. There is nothing to buy and nothing to queue for, so sit, look around, and let the morning go at its own speed. It pairs well with the other central squares on this list, but it deserves a stop of its own rather than a glance on the way past.
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12 Basilicas Park
An urban park from 1956 that stays open to 23:00 from May to September
Basilicas Park in Milan dates from 1956, which makes it the youngest garden on this list. The gates open at 06:30 all year, and the park stays open until 23:00 from May to September, pulling back to 21:00 from October to April. Locals have long used it for a walk after dinner, when the heat of the day has passed and the paths have quieted. Skip the crowded central squares at that hour and come here instead. It is a good place to end a free day in Milan, and a better place to end this list.
Dates from 1956
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