What should I pack for Milan?

The thing most visitors get wrong is the plug adapter. Italy uses Type L outlets with three round pins in a row, spaced 10mm apart. The generic 'European' adapter you likely packed fits Type C or F sockets. Italy's Type L has narrower pin spacing. They're not compatible. You'll discover this at 11 PM in your hotel near Stazione Centrale, phone at 4%, no shops open. Buy a dedicated Italy adapter before you fly, or a universal model that explicitly lists Type L. Italy runs on 230V, so leave American hair dryers and curling irons at home unless the label near the plug reads '100-240V.' Your phone and laptop chargers are almost certainly dual-voltage already, but check the fine print before the flight.

Milan Cathedral turns away visitors in tank tops, shorts above the knee, and bare shoulders. It happens every 15 minutes during peak summer. The vendors standing outside piazza del Duomo sell thin scarves for €10-15, roughly double what you'd pay at the Zara on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, about a 3-minute walk from the cathedral. Pack a light long-sleeve shirt and trousers or a skirt that hits the knee. You'll need the same coverage at Santa Maria delle Grazie if you've booked to see Leonardo's Last Supper. Mind you, Milan is Italy's fashion capital. The Milanese dress with visible intention even for a Saturday grocery run. You won't need designer anything, but you might feel conspicuous in athletic shorts and flip-flops along Via Montenapoleone. A pair of clean dark shoes and a collared shirt will get you through dinner in Brera, where two people eat well with wine for €60-80.

Good shoes matter here. The marble pavement around the Duomo gets slick after rain. Brera's side streets are laid with old cobblestones that punish thin soles after half a day of walking. The Navigli canal district, where you'll likely end up for an evening Aperol spritz, has stone towpaths worn smooth and uneven over centuries. Flat-soled shoes with real grip are the right call. For summer visits from June through September, expect daytime highs of 30-33°C with humidity that turns metro platforms into something close to a steam room. Pack cotton or linen, but bring a layer for the aggressive air conditioning inside the Galleria and most restaurants. A compact rain jacket tends to earn its luggage space. Milan gets about 100mm of rain in both May and October, and summer thunderstorms roll in fast off the Po Valley with little warning. Winter visitors from December through February need a proper coat. Morning temperatures near the Navigli canals sit around 0-2°C, and the January fog is a damp, bone-level cold that cuts straight through wool.

Skip packing sunscreen, umbrellas, and most toiletries. A farmacia in Milan carries Italian sun cream from brands like Bionike and Rilastil for €8-12, often with better UV filters than American drugstore equivalents. Umbrellas appear at every tabaccheria and newspaper kiosk for €5-8 the moment it starts raining. Esselunga, Milan's main supermarket chain with locations near most metro stops, stocks everything from deodorant to laundry pods at prices that will surprise anyone used to CVS. Worth noting, though. Italian pharmacies don't put ibuprofen on open shelves. Ask for 'Moment' at the counter (the local brand name) and expect around €4 for a box of 12. If you depend on a specific prescription, bring it from home with the original packaging. Farmacia hours outside the centro storico still tend to follow the old pattern, closing from 12:30 to 15:30 for lunch.