I know there are many Italians on this forum, and also some members living in Milan (Milano), but I was surprised there is no recent datasheet, so I figured I could write a mini-one.
I spent 3 months in Milan late 2017, early 2018, so most info should be up to date. I have also visited the city around 5 times before living there.
The city: I guess it needs no introduction, often dubbed a fashion capital, one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in Italy.
When to visit: Can only agree with everyone else; fall or spring. If you are not too old and decent looking/well-dressed students are going to be a large part of your potential target audience.
Areas Daytime:
Duomo
The area around the Duomo (city centre) can be insanely crowded during weekends, large majority of people being tourists. If you just want density this is where you should be, but again keep in mind you will find people from all walks of life. I would argue it can almost be too crowded and hectic at times. Also keep in mind most tourist girls who are there short term are in this area to shop shop shop.
If you walk from Duomo to the canal-area (Naviglio) there will be a lot of people on the streets as well. There are some shops along this way where they sell fashion that is not as massmarket as near the Duomo, so you will have a lot of girls shopping in this area (it has been described to me as more hipster, but I am not sure).
Parco Sempione
Nice big park near centre, if weather is nice there is always going to be a lot of people in this park. Check out the area at the end of the park called Arco della Pace as for some reason there is often a lot of girls wanting to take photos there. In the middle of the park there is a certain area with a lot of sketchy people, you will notice when you get there trust me!
You might also want to check out areas around any of the universities, or if you feel lucky with the office ladies; Porto Nuova.
Aperitivo
As in many places in Italy aperitivo is a big thing. In short this is a kind of after work where you pay for a drink but also get some snacks. Prices can be anywhere from 5EUR to 20EUR (normally 10-13EUR), and “snacks” can be anything between peanuts to a full buffet with hot dishes. I think it is a bit frowned upon to go to one of these and treat it like a proper meal (they give you tiny plates for a reason) but guess it is not a bad idea if you are on a budget!
Social circles are the way to go in Italy of course, this becomes painfully obvious if you visit any area popular for aperitivo. Anyway, given that space is often very limited it can be a good place to start since an opener like “is this seat taken” makes total sense.
One of the most popular areas for aperitivo is in Moscova, in the surrounding area of a bar called Radetzky. You can also check out the area around Arco Della Pace or the canal-area Naviglio for big aperitivo crowds.
Nightlife:
Many girls in Milan do not like clubs, and this is for a good reason. Ratios can be terrible, guys get drunk and touchy borderline harassing. In many of the popular more upscale clubs like Just Cavalli if there are models in the club they will be safely tucked away in the VIP-area (for most nights you can book a table in this area for around 800-1200EUR. I did not do much clubbing in Milan for this reason. I do not recommend you check out Hollywood or any of the other bars/clubs in that area late at night (rarely have I seen so many thirsty and drunk guys in the same spot). The Club is a very mainstream place where they are famous for making sure there is always a long line outside to make it seem popular. The venue is not that bad, but again it can be really bad ratios (mostly a younger crowd as well). I heard good things about a place called Volt but did not have a chance to visit, apparently, they have a very strict door policy.
My advice is that you try and sniff out if there are any student parties going on, or if not I would just avoid the clubs altogether (maybe bottle game, but I would not do this unless I had someone lined up anyway). The canal-area Navigli will always have a lot of students and drunk people any weekend nigh, so I recommend a visit as well.
Just a quick mention; for an overpriced drink in a really cool bar check out The Doping Club. I am a sucker for cool interior design and in this place they have spent a lot of time (and presumably money) to make it unique.
The girls:
Yes, there will be models, lots of them. And no, you are probably not going to fuck them if you are in Milan for the weekend! A very large part of the Milan nightlife is one you will never see unless you have connections. Fashion launch-events, private parties etc. is where most models spend their evenings (they are not coming to Milan to line up to get inside a student disco).
With this said I was dating 2 different girls during my months here, 1 model from Kazakhstan and 1 Chinese girl working in the fashion industry. They both (and another 2 dates I met from Tinder) told me the same thing; they had a “no dating Italian men”-policy. From my understanding they had all been burnt in the past and/or had some story about a “crazy guy” that just would not stop calling or showed up at their door. So playing the not creepy or pushy borderline uninterested card worked pretty well for me here.
As for the local girls I found most of them friendly and surprisingly curious about foreigners (cannot comment on the ease of lay). I think most foreign guys here will date other foreigners regardless.
In summary I would not come to Milan for hooking up, as mentioned in another thread it makes a lot more sense to go to Barcelona (more tourists in a party mindset). If you have your shit together, dress well, look good and spend time on the ground building up a social circle sure you can probably have decent success, but this is the case in any city in the world!
I spent 3 months in Milan late 2017, early 2018, so most info should be up to date. I have also visited the city around 5 times before living there.
The city: I guess it needs no introduction, often dubbed a fashion capital, one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in Italy.
When to visit: Can only agree with everyone else; fall or spring. If you are not too old and decent looking/well-dressed students are going to be a large part of your potential target audience.
Areas Daytime:
Duomo
The area around the Duomo (city centre) can be insanely crowded during weekends, large majority of people being tourists. If you just want density this is where you should be, but again keep in mind you will find people from all walks of life. I would argue it can almost be too crowded and hectic at times. Also keep in mind most tourist girls who are there short term are in this area to shop shop shop.
If you walk from Duomo to the canal-area (Naviglio) there will be a lot of people on the streets as well. There are some shops along this way where they sell fashion that is not as massmarket as near the Duomo, so you will have a lot of girls shopping in this area (it has been described to me as more hipster, but I am not sure).
Parco Sempione
Nice big park near centre, if weather is nice there is always going to be a lot of people in this park. Check out the area at the end of the park called Arco della Pace as for some reason there is often a lot of girls wanting to take photos there. In the middle of the park there is a certain area with a lot of sketchy people, you will notice when you get there trust me!
You might also want to check out areas around any of the universities, or if you feel lucky with the office ladies; Porto Nuova.
Aperitivo
As in many places in Italy aperitivo is a big thing. In short this is a kind of after work where you pay for a drink but also get some snacks. Prices can be anywhere from 5EUR to 20EUR (normally 10-13EUR), and “snacks” can be anything between peanuts to a full buffet with hot dishes. I think it is a bit frowned upon to go to one of these and treat it like a proper meal (they give you tiny plates for a reason) but guess it is not a bad idea if you are on a budget!
Social circles are the way to go in Italy of course, this becomes painfully obvious if you visit any area popular for aperitivo. Anyway, given that space is often very limited it can be a good place to start since an opener like “is this seat taken” makes total sense.
One of the most popular areas for aperitivo is in Moscova, in the surrounding area of a bar called Radetzky. You can also check out the area around Arco Della Pace or the canal-area Naviglio for big aperitivo crowds.
Nightlife:
Many girls in Milan do not like clubs, and this is for a good reason. Ratios can be terrible, guys get drunk and touchy borderline harassing. In many of the popular more upscale clubs like Just Cavalli if there are models in the club they will be safely tucked away in the VIP-area (for most nights you can book a table in this area for around 800-1200EUR. I did not do much clubbing in Milan for this reason. I do not recommend you check out Hollywood or any of the other bars/clubs in that area late at night (rarely have I seen so many thirsty and drunk guys in the same spot). The Club is a very mainstream place where they are famous for making sure there is always a long line outside to make it seem popular. The venue is not that bad, but again it can be really bad ratios (mostly a younger crowd as well). I heard good things about a place called Volt but did not have a chance to visit, apparently, they have a very strict door policy.
My advice is that you try and sniff out if there are any student parties going on, or if not I would just avoid the clubs altogether (maybe bottle game, but I would not do this unless I had someone lined up anyway). The canal-area Navigli will always have a lot of students and drunk people any weekend nigh, so I recommend a visit as well.
Just a quick mention; for an overpriced drink in a really cool bar check out The Doping Club. I am a sucker for cool interior design and in this place they have spent a lot of time (and presumably money) to make it unique.
The girls:
Yes, there will be models, lots of them. And no, you are probably not going to fuck them if you are in Milan for the weekend! A very large part of the Milan nightlife is one you will never see unless you have connections. Fashion launch-events, private parties etc. is where most models spend their evenings (they are not coming to Milan to line up to get inside a student disco).
With this said I was dating 2 different girls during my months here, 1 model from Kazakhstan and 1 Chinese girl working in the fashion industry. They both (and another 2 dates I met from Tinder) told me the same thing; they had a “no dating Italian men”-policy. From my understanding they had all been burnt in the past and/or had some story about a “crazy guy” that just would not stop calling or showed up at their door. So playing the not creepy or pushy borderline uninterested card worked pretty well for me here.
As for the local girls I found most of them friendly and surprisingly curious about foreigners (cannot comment on the ease of lay). I think most foreign guys here will date other foreigners regardless.
In summary I would not come to Milan for hooking up, as mentioned in another thread it makes a lot more sense to go to Barcelona (more tourists in a party mindset). If you have your shit together, dress well, look good and spend time on the ground building up a social circle sure you can probably have decent success, but this is the case in any city in the world!