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Milano by tram
Hop on the #10 from Porta Ticinese to Central Station and discover the city
Milano is a city of trams. Yellow, green and orange electric street cars have been in use for almost a century. Many lines are still served by the same beautiful, creaky and exceptionally sturdy 1928 trams, which continuously criss-cross the city day and night, some of which can be admired as far as San Francisco. But there’s also the ultra-modern and extra-long Sirio trams going from North to South of Milano and back, and the orange 1970s jumbos.
We think that the experience of discovering the city on a tram offers an added and unique charm to your visit! As a first escapade, we propose a new route on an old tram: the #10 which goes from Porta Ticinese to Viale Lunigiana, behind the Central Station.
The trip starts from the Darsena, the new heart of Milanese night scene, with the new quay and covered market, plus a string of bars and cafés that are always animated after 6pm. It can be admired from the wooden bench of your ATM 1500 series tram.
Riding along Via Coni Zugna, get off for a green and/or design stop at Via Solari, where Parco Solari opens with its swimming pool that hosts aperitivos in the summer, but you can also go to the Tortona Design District, to dive into new styles and trends.
Hop back on #10 and get off at Piazzale Baracca, gateway to Corso Magenta and the Last Supper on one side, the shops of Corso Vercelli on the other. Not far away there’s the San Vittore Prison protagonist of countless novels, movies, songs. All around Baracca, there’s fancy cafés and pastry shops: you might as well recharge with calories for the remainder of the trip.
The tram then crosses some of the most beautiful neoclassical and liberty neighborhoods of bourgeois Milano: Piazza Conciliazione, Via Ariosto, and Via Pagano. You can stare in awe at the leafy palazzos as you do your tramming. The hustle and bustle of Duomo and the city center seem far behind.
You then reach Arco della Pace, a majestic arch concocted by the Habsburgs and Napoleon that presides over a large esplanade and the Sempione Park. On the back of the arch, a strip of bars, cafés and restaurants that make Corso Sempione one of the favorite destinations of the city for an evening cocktail and a laugh with friends.
The ride continues along Corso Sempione, a wide boulevard with trees and the RAI television tower. The tram turns right on Via Procaccini and after Piazza Gramsci enters Chinatown (Via Lomazzo).
Get off at Via Bramante. You can either head towards Via Paolo Sarpi where all kinds of Asian and Italian gastronomic options are on offer, or visit the nearby ADI Design Museum, showcasing the history of Italian (i.e. Milanese) design. When you’re done, there’s the preternatural 18th century architecture of the Monumental Cemetery to visit, while hushedly walking along the mausoleums of the wealthy and famous by the cypress trees.
Although the terminus is in Viale Lunigiana, the best way to finish your trip on the #10 is to get off at Stazione Centrale, with its skaters, two subway lines and the architecture hosting trains departing for all Italian and European destinations, and more recently the exceptionally indulgent Mercato Centrale. It has fine delicatessen and small restaurants featuring the absolute best in Italian food culture from the Alps to Sicily. All this tramming must have made you hungry, time to reward yourself for being in Milano.
