IMPORTANT: due to the coronavirus emergency, all shops will be closed with the exception of supermarkets and stores selling food and/or essential goods. All shopping centres will be shut on weekends. Bars and restaurants will also be closed to the public with the exception of take-away services (permitted until 22:00) and home deliveries (permitted 24/7). All cinemas will be also be temporarily closed.
If you want to spend a great day out with shopping, entertainment and good food, without wasting precocious time zig-zagging across the city, here’s a guide to the shopping centres in Milan; one-stop destinations offering you retail opportunities of all kinds and eateries to suit every moment of the day and every taste.
The futuristic CityLife Shopping District is the largest and most innovative urban commercial district in Italy; it was created by the acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid as part of the redevelopment project for the former Fiera di Milano trade fair area. With one hundred stores covering 32,000 m2, City Life is not only a place where you can shop-till-you-drop but also an alluring venue for leisure and lifestyle options: there are 80 shops, 1 supermarket, 20 restaurants and bars, plus, 7 cinema screens. The restaurants offer cuisine from starred chefs to more casual dining with focaccerias, piadinerias, ethnic and fusion cuisine, not to mention great places for seafood. The restaurants are open until 23:00.
In addition to a large number of clothing, shoe and accessory stores, you can also shop for high-tech devices at the Bicocca Village shopping centre, near the Bicocca University, or treat yourself to a film at the multiplex cinema.
Plus, of course, there are lots of bars and restaurants for your gourmet treats: a huge choice of eateries perfect for a quick lunch or takeaway.
You can even opt for a gourmet trip around the world moving from Italian and Mediterranean cuisine to Spanish, Austrian Mexican or Japanese. Alternatively, you can check out the All You Can Eat restaurant which offers Japanese, Chinese and Italian dishes or the stylish Fiorfood, a new restaurant concept created by the Coop supermarket.
This project’s speciality lies in its daily menus: dishes are freshly prepared to a high standard of cuisine with ingredients from the FiorFiore Coop produce line, re-elaborated into simple but tasty dishes perfect for self-service. The opening hours of the restaurants are: 12.00-15.00 / 18.00-24.00
Located near Piazzale Accursio, Piazza Portello is not a classic retail centre as it showcases a new shopping experience with a hypermarket, shops, bars and restaurants overlooking piazzas and arcades. Piazza Portello covers an area of 25,000m2. In addition to the hypermarket, and a wide range of retail shops, you can savour the excellence of Italian food and wine or opt for a pizza, some Japanese cuisine or a cool artisan gelato.
Built in 1988 northwest of Milan, the Bonola Shopping Centre was the first of its kind in the city.
In addition to circa sixty retail spaces it offers a wide range of fast food eateries (including a McDonald’s) and takeaways for both Italian and Japanese cuisine, plus, of course, restaurants and pizzerias.