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From Milano to Monza by bicycle
From the Martesana Canal to the Park of the Royal Villa of Monza, the stops on your one-day itinerary
Monza is known around the world for its racing circuit and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, but it’s actually a mightily green place where you can appreciate nature and culture at a humane pace.
Monza, a city of 120,000 people, is the perfect destination for a day trip outside Milano city limits. You can reach it and explore it by bicycle, starting from the Duomo that keeps the Iron Crown, donned by Lombard Kings, Holy Roman Emperors and Napoleon himself. Villa Reale (Royal Palace) is surrounded by one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Italy: bike wherever the shade is!
A long cycle path touching farmhouses and on houses along the water: Martesana lets you experience another, semi-rural and less hectic, Milano. People come here to jog, ride a bike or have an outdoor meal. From Martesana you can reach the very vast Parco Nord, Milano’s veritable green lung which also contains an open-air velodrome!
Cycling north, you arrive in the historic center of Monza. In Piazza Duomo, you’ll be awed by the splendid Duomo with its two-tone marble facade, large rose window, mullioned windows, spires and finely decorated aediculae. Inside, one the most precious treasuries of the world: the famous Iron Crown, made of gold and decorated with precious gems. According to tradition, the iron band inside the crown is made from one of the nails of the Crucifixion. Through the centuries, kings and emperors were crowned with this dazzling goldsmith masterpiece, from Charlemagne to Napoleon. Other precious finds are on display in the nearby Museum and Treasure of the Duomo.
Park your bike and walk on the elegant shopping street the leads to Arengario, the ancient 13th-century city hall, with a bell tower and a loggia balcony from where communal decrees were announced in the Middle Ages. At the time, the Arengario also housed markets and merchants, today it’s Monza’s meeting place before you hang out with friends.
Just pedal a few minutes outside the historic center to get to the Royal Villa of Monza. Built between 1777 and 1780 and designed by Giuseppe Piermarini (the same architect of Milano’s Teatro alla Scala), its halls hosted Eugene of Beauharnais, then the Habsburgs and finally the Savoy monarchs (one of them, Umberto I, was shot dead in Monza by an anarchist in 1900).
Visit the exquisite interiors, the Royal Gardens and the rose garden, the "Serrone", which often hosts art exhibitions. Then, cycle along the paths of Parco di Monza, more than 700 hectares of meadows and woods, secular trees, mills and farmhouses.
For returning to Milano, you can bike your way back or you can put your bicycle on a train for Milano Porta Garibaldi and travel comfortable: the Monza railway station is near the city center, trains are frequent and the trip only takes a quarter of an hour.
