Milan, Italy — Activities
Milan Culture
Milan's cultural scene boasts excellent music and theater performances all year round. Top venues include the prestigious, world-famous La Scala and Piccolo Teatro.
Culture events in Milan are listed in the weekly Corriere della Sera (http://milano.corriere.it), the free monthly Milano Mese (available from the tourist office and hotels) and the free English-language HelloMilano (www.hellomilano.it) (available from hotels, bars and the Duomo tourist office). Tickets are available from Ticketweb (tel: 199 158 158; www.ticketweb.it) and Ticketone (tel: 892 101; www.ticketone.it).
Music
Auditorium di Milano
Milan's respected symphony orchestra, the Orchestra Verdi, founded in 1993 and conducted by Riccardo Chailly, frequently performs concerts in the Auditorium di Milano. Performances usually take place Monday, Thursday and some Tuesday nights, with big events on Saturdays and matinees on Sunday.
Corso San Gottardo 39, Largo Gustav Mahler
Tel: 02 8338 9401.
Website: www.laverdi.org
Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi
Another illustrious venue for classical concerts in Milan is the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi, where the Cantelli Orchestra performs. The conservatory was founded in 1808 in a former Lateran convent. Many key Italian musicians studied here - although, oddly enough, the young Giuseppe Verdi was rejected. There are two concert halls: the smaller Sala Puccini for chamber music, and the bigger Sala Verdi for symphonic and choral music.
Via Conservatorio 12
Tel: 02 762 110.
Website: www.consmilano.it
Teatro alla Scala
Opera lovers know the Teatro alla Scala, La Scala for short, the world over. The main ticket office remains under the Piazza Duomo, admittance from the stairs of the Duomo Metro. The home of classical ballet in Milan is also at La Scala, which is also the base for its renowned ballet school, the Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala, Via Verdi 1.
Via Filodrammatici 2
Tel: 02 88791.
Website: www.teatroallascala.org
Theater
Piccolo Teatro di Milano
Milan has become a driving force behind Italian drama since the foundation of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano by Giorgio Strehler and Paolo Grassi in 1947. The company puts on a wide repertory of international, classical and experimental drama in three different theaters. Audiences can choose between programs for the Teatro Grassi, Via Rovello, the experimental theater Teatro Studio, Via Rivoli, and the Teatro Strehler, Largo Greppi.
Largo Antonio Greppi 2
Tel: 8488 00304 (Italy only) or 02 4241 1889.
Website: www.piccoloteatro.org
Dance
CRT Teatro dell'Arte
CRT (Centro di Ricerca per il Teatro) at Teatro dell'Arte is Milan's main advocate for contemporary dance. Classical ballet in Milan is performed at La Scala.
Viale Alemagna 6
Tel: 02 8901 1644.
Website: www.teatrocrt.it
Milan Tours
Walkingtours
Autostradale runs a one-and-a-half-hour walking tour that takes in Milan's city center, including Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and La Scala, and includes entrance to La Scala. It departs daily at 1000 and 1130 from the Piazza del Duomo. Other private guided tours can be booked from the Centro Guide Turistiche di Milano, Via Marconi 1.
Autostradale
Tel: 02 8058 1354.
Website: www.autostradale.it
Centro Guide Turistiche di Milano
Tel: 02 8645 0433.
Website: www.centroguidemilano.net
Bustours
The only way visitors to Milan can see Leonardo da Vinci's TheLastSupper without having advance reservations is to take the three-hour Autostradale bus tour. The tour departs from Piazza del Duomo at 0930, lasts three hours and includes the cathedral, Sforza Castle and entrances to Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan (where The Last Supper is hanged), the Brera National Gallery and the Scala Museum.
Tel: 02 8058 1354.
Website: www.autostradale.it
