Where to Be in Milan: Garibaldi & Corso Como
If Ticinese and Brera show you the old, cobblestoned Milan, the area around Porta Garibaldi shows you where the city is going.
In the space of a few streets you get the tallest towers in Italy, an award-winning vertical forest, a park planted among the skyscrapers, and then, just behind it all, the historic Corso Garibaldi with its boutiques and old trattorie. It is the neighbourhood that best captures Milan's double identity.
Area overview
Location: Just north of the centre, between Brera and Isola.
Main transport: Porta Garibaldi, one of the city's biggest transport hubs, with the M2 green line, the M5 lilac line, trams and mainline trains.
Distance to Duomo: around 15 minutes by metro.
Atmosphere: modern, polished, businesslike by day and lively by night.
This is the face of the redeveloped Milan, built up dramatically over the past fifteen years around the Porta Nuova project, and it has become one of the most photographed parts of the city.
What to see
Piazza Gae Aulenti is the natural centre, a raised circular square with shallow reflecting pools, ringed by glass towers including the UniCredit Tower, the tallest building in Italy. It is a favourite spot for photos, especially when the towers mirror in the water.
A short walk away stand the two towers of the Bosco Verticale, the Vertical Forest, whose balconies hold hundreds of trees and thousands of plants. It is one of the most admired pieces of modern architecture in the world and looks different in every season.
Between the buildings lies the BAM, the Biblioteca degli Alberi, a contemporary park of tree groves, winding paths and open lawns. It is a genuinely lovely place to sit, and a reminder that this district was designed with green space in mind.
Then there are the two contrasting streets. Corso Como is small but famous, a pedestrian stretch of bars and clubs that is one of the hubs of Milan nightlife, and home to the well-known 10 Corso Como concept store and gallery. Running the other way, Corso Garibaldi is older and more elegant, lined with boutiques and restaurants, and it leads you gently down toward Brera.
A little further north sits the Cimitero Monumentale, a vast monumental cemetery that doubles as an open-air museum of sculpture, and is far more beautiful and moving than that description makes it sound.
Food, drink and nightlife
This is one of the city's key nightlife areas, concentrated around Corso Como and spilling into the surrounding streets. Expect cocktail bars, aperitivo spots and late-night venues, busiest at the weekend. For something calmer, Corso Garibaldi and the streets toward Brera offer more relaxed restaurants and wine bars. Piazza Gae Aulenti itself has a cluster of cafes and eateries with outdoor seating and a view of the towers.
Shopping
Corso Garibaldi is the main shopping draw, a walkable street of Italian boutiques, homeware and design shops. Nearby Corso Como adds a fashion-forward, concept-store feel. For everyday shopping, the Porta Garibaldi and Isola sides have supermarkets and practical shops, so daily life is easy to run here.
Housing and cost of living
This is one of the more expensive parts of Milan, especially the new-build apartments right around Porta Nuova, which command premium prices for the location and the views.
If you love the area but want something a little more attainable, neighbouring Isola has a trendier, slightly more affordable feel while keeping you a short walk from all of this. As a rough guide, a room in a shared flat in the wider area tends to sit somewhere around 800 to 1,100 euros a month, though the modern towers themselves run well above that. Treat any figure as a ballpark and always check whether bills are included.
Transport and accessibility
Connectivity is this neighbourhood's superpower. Porta Garibaldi brings together two metro lines, trams and a major railway station with regional and national trains, which makes getting anywhere in the city, or out of it, remarkably easy. The area is flat, modern and very walkable, and well set up for cycling too.
Who this area is good for
People who like modern city living, striking architecture and being at the centre of things, with nightlife and transport on the doorstep. Professionals especially, and anyone who values convenience and design over historic character. It is less suited to those seeking quiet, old-world charm or the lowest possible rent, though Isola next door softens both of those.
Key takeaway
Garibaldi and Corso Como are Milan looking firmly forward, all glass, greenery and clean lines, with just enough of the old city tucked behind to keep it grounded. It is the easiest place in Milan to feel the energy of a city reinventing itself, and one of the most enjoyable areas to explore on foot, camera in hand.
