From October onwards, Milano will always be that bit bluer: on Saturday, October 12th, the grand opening of all the stations of the new M4 blue metro line. From Linate airport as far as San Cristoforo, the brand-new trains will cross the city horizontally, passing through the centre.

To celebrate the opening in style, Milano will hold a party up&down the line: featuring underground concerts by artists and bands in the station mezzanines from San Babila to San Cristoforo, plus street-level events at the Coni Zugna, California, Bolivar, Gelsomini and Segneri stops.

The evening will all be about live entertainment: 14 theatres, cinemas and cultural spaces along the new line will offer shows with free admission (upon reservation). From theatre and arthouse cinema to previews, classical music and jazz, a program designed to involve full participation in the city party.

Inter will kick off the second match of their 2024/25 Champions League campaign at home on Tuesday, October 1st against Red Star Belgrade. In this brand-new format of football’s most prestigious club competition, in which the number of teams will increase from 32 to 36, Inter will also face RB Leipzig, Manchester City, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Stella Rossa, Young Boys, Munich and Sparta Prague.

Make sure to tune in at 21:00 on Tuesday, October 1st to watch Inter welcome the fiery Serbian champions in San Siro’s cauldron.

As for Milan, San Siro will have to wait until the end of the month to see them play in the Champions League. They will be taking on Club Brugge, the Belgian champions, on October 22nd at 18:45. Other upcoming Milan opponents this year will include Liverpool, Bruges, Stella Rossa, Girona, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava.

The final of this year’s UEFA Champions League will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31st, 2025.

In October in Milano everyone will enjoy jazz thanks to JazzMi.

Milano turns into a jazz festival with twenty-eight days of concerts and special events revolving around music, such as documentary screenings, exhibitions, meet-ups, tours and musical workshops. From the two main hubs, Triennale Milano and Blue Note Milano, the programme extends citywide into venues, theatres, museums and clubs. 

Amongst the most anticipated events are virtuoso guitarist Pat Metheny’s celebration of his 50 year-long career and 20 Grammy Awards, performing an extraordinary solo show, and Bill Frisell’s Four, a meditative journey that spans 13 melody-centred tracks focused on loss, friendship and personal renewal.

Hot on the heels of the exciting Picasso and Munch exhibitions in September, other major shows will open in October. From the great masters of modern art to the most awesome outsiders. Here are the exhibitions not to be missed at prestigious venues such as Palazzo Reale and Fondazione Prada.

From October 5th, 2024 to February 16th 2025, Mudec – Museum of Cultures will host one of the most eccentric twentieth-century artists: Niki de Saint Phalle. Her iconic and colourful sculptural figures, famous worldwide, transport visitors into her vibrant, joyful and provocative universe.

At Palazzo Reale, Enrico Baj returns to the spotlight in his beloved Milano with a retrospective that explores the irreverent and experimental art of one of the greatest Italian twentieth-century innovators. BAJ chez BAJ, from October 8th, 2024 to February 9th, 2025, celebrates the surrealist genius and political commitment of the master, a chance to rediscover an unconventional artist.

If you love art that challenges conventions, this exhibition is for you. Jean Dubuffet, pioneer of Art Brut, celebrates spontaneous, non-academic and unconventional art. With Dubuffet and Art Brut: Outsider Art at Mudec – Museum of Cultures, from October 12th, 2024 to February 16th, 2025, you can immerse yourself in this fascinating world, discovering a new way of envisioning creativity.

Jean Tinguely's satirical and dynamic machines invade the Pirelli HangarBicocca space. With his complex mechanisms and his playful approach to sculpture, Tinguely redefines kinetic art, transforming movement into sound and spectacle. A humorous and stimulating exhibition, from October 10th, 2024 to February 2nd, 2025.

At the end of the month, Fondazione Prada will host Meriem Bennani with her solo show For My Best Family, a powerful and satirical reflection on family dynamics and contemporary technology. With videos, installations and surreal storytelling, this exhibition will transport visitors on a unique and surprising journey. From October 31st, 2024 to February 24th, 2025.

Digitalization affects all of us but are society’s technological developments actually serving people? Milano Digital Week returns for its seventh year to come to terms with the challenges of technology over 5 days.

This year’s theme, The New Language of the City: Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Expressions, touches on an undeniable truth: AI is impacting everyone's life, as well as that of the city.

Over 140 events, six themes and a Central Knowledge Hub at Palazzo Giureconsulti, alongside nine others dedicated to specific topics, including Media and Digital Art, Healthcare Digitalization, Training Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence, Startups and New Media.

Browse the program below and reserve your spot. We recommend Discovering the Milano Portrayed in Literature on October 11th, the exhibition-performance Artificial Dreams at MEET, and the 360-degree headset experience at Palazzo Giureconsulti.

If Milano Fashion Week in September brings the finished work of the great fashion brands to the catwalks, another event in October promises to reveal what goes on behind the scenes.

ApritiModa returns on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th October: fashion ateliers, manufacturers, workshops and factories will open their doors to the public (reservation only), a unique opportunity to see up close what makes great Italian fashion so sought-after in the world. 

You will be able to enter the Dolce&Gabbana Casa headquarters in via Broggi 23, in an experiential journey specially designed for ApritiModa to discover all the processes, from design to production. The workshops of the Teatro alla Scala in via Bergognone will also open, for a close look at the work of costume designers, set designers, carpenters, and sculptors, and small ateliers such as that of Osti Ricami Alta Moda: inside every drawer of the historic archive there are stories, passions and glittering designs all to be discovered.

Discover all the places open in Milano and book your place from October 7th: enter into the beauty and artisanal genius of Made in Italy.

The last day of October is the dominion of witches and ghouls: it’s Halloween! This celebration, stemming from Samhain - the ancient Celtic festival marking the end of summer and the new year - brings us millennia-old traditions enriched by our own modern rituals, such as ‘trick or treat’ for kids and the carving of pumpkins that light up the night with scary faces. 

We’ve prepared a spine-tingling tour for you through Milano’s haunted palaces, churches with impressive ossuaries and malevolent ghosts. Do you have the courage to embark on this journey? 

For those who want to celebrate the season without the heeby-jeebys, traditional Milanese autumn dishes are a great alternative. Here are all the Milanese autumn recipes.