Please Don’t Tell: Top Secret Spots in Milan

Milan has ample iconic sights that all travelers to the bustling, modern city get to see. But few have visitors get the inside scoop to experience truly awe-inspiring secret spots in Milan that most guidebooks won’t show you.

Here is a list of some fascinating secret places you can’t miss in Milan:

Leonardo’s Vineyard

Leonardo’s Vineyard, or “La Vigna di Leonardo,” is one of the hidden places in Milan that can’t be found on most tourist maps.

It’s here that the famous painter grew grapes for making wine while working across the road in the Santa Maria della Grazie convent refectory painting “The Last Supper.”

San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore

This 16th-century chapel is one of Milan’s hidden gems. It’s arguably the city’s most beautiful church with vivid frescoes and Bible-themed artworks.

It is adjoined to the oldest and largest female monastery in Milan, the convent of the Benedictine nuns, which is now being used as an archaeological museum.

Brera Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden of Brera is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hidden places in Milan. If ever there was an earthly paradise to find peace of mind, this is it.

Created more than 250 years ago to be a secluded oasis of green, this garden still remains exactly the same and is a privilege to behold in today’s world.

San Bernadino alle Ossa

If you want to experience the most unique and unusual parts of Milan, then San Bernadino alle Ossa is a must-see. Intriguing and a little morbid, this is a chapel like no other.

Its interior walls are adorned with thousands of human bones and skulls of victims who reportedly died during a great plague.

Cloisters & Palazzos of Università degli Studi di Milano

Milan is home to some of the oldest universities in the world. With buildings that date back even earlier than when it opened in 1920, the Universita degli Studi di Milano is just a few minutes walk from the Duomo di Milano.

While here you can explore the numerous cloisters and palazzos that make up this university in Milan.

Basilica di Santo Stefano Maggiore

Most of the old buildings in Milan are chapels, former monasteries, and churches. Many of them have been transformed into museums and concert halls in recent decades.

But the Basilica di Santo Stefano Maggiore church, which is over 1,000 years old, remains the same to this day.