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[Real]
Frequently Asked Questions
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« I would like more information
on Milan. I live in Alaska and plan on visiting Milan this winter.
I will be traveling by myself but I plan on meeting a friend who
lives there. I would like to read about this city and know a little
before I travel. I have never traveled abroad before. »
HI! Thanks for your message :-)
To have an idea of the town, you could visit our broader twin
site CiaoMilano.
It carries a lot of information, although not as much as the printed
key
to Milan ...
A magazine in English, with plenty of info for expats, is The
Informer. They have a site.
The WebGrrls International also has an Italian web
site based in Milan.
That's all for now. If you need more info, don't hesitate.
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A trip to Milan
« Here are the comments
I've sent friends about our recent trip to Milan. I hope they
are of some use.»
THEY CERTAINLY ARE! Thanks indeed for
your cooperation, Steve. Your comments
can be read by clicking here.
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The Last Supper
« A friend of mine wants
to visit Milan in September. She wants to know if the "Last Supper"
is open to the public - or is its closed for restoration. »
THE LATEST RESTORATION of The Last Supper,
painted by Leonardo da Vinci in what five centuries ago was the
friars' dining room at Santa Maria delle Grazie, was recently
completed.
Visits (Tue - Fri 9am - 9pm, Sat 9am - 12pm, Sun 9am - 8pm) must
be booked by phone (from abroad call +39 02 89421146, from
Italy call 199199100) and last 15 mins.
Entrance fee is Lire 14,000 (free for under 18 and senior citizens
over 60). Payment by credit card is accepted.
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What's on at La Scala
« Vous serait-il possible
de me donner par courrier électronique le programme à
La Scala pour le 14 et 15 mars.
Je vous remercie à l'avance. »
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Alfa Romeo (1)
« Buon giorno. I will visit
Milano next week. I want infomation of car-musium (Alfa Romeo,
Fiat....). Prease reply »
CONTRARY of what you might think, there's
not very much available in our town as far as car museums are
concerned. The few words we can devote to this subject in the
printed
"key to Milan" follow:
« AN OVERVIEW OF MILAN'S history museums wouldn't be
complete without a mention of the vintage car collections on the
outskirts of town. The most important of these is Museo storico
Alfa Romeo (Via Alfa Romeo, Arese; call in advance, [+39]
02 93392119), a 4,800 square meter exhibition space which
offers you a thorough insight into the history of this famous
Milan-based car manufacturer.
The more compact Museo Quattroruote instead (c/o Domus,
Via Grandi 5/7, Rozzano, call in advance, [+39] 02 824721)
was opened in 1978 by the Milan-based car magazine Quattroruote
(or 'Fourwheels'), Italy's most authoritative in the field. There
are about 30 old cars here.»
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Alfa Romeo (2)
« I hope you can help us
locate the mailing address of the Alfa Romeo factory in Milan,
Italy. I've scoured all the internet sites and cannot find it. »
SOMETIMES the Internet is not enough ;-)
Had you purchased "a key to Milan" ( the
printed guidebook), you would had read on page 150 that:
« AT THE VERY HEART of an industrial triangle which
set the pace of economic growth for the entire country, Milan
was - in the 60s - the undisputed hub of Italian industry. The
70s and the 80s witnessed a slowdown of industrial production
and the growing economic influence of the service sector. Milan
is fast becoming a service oriented economy, and the heavy industries
which used to characterize entire sections of the city are disappearing,
Alfa Romeo's 'Portello' - which closed down in 1984 - and Pirelli's
`Bicocca' plants having been only prime examples.»
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Alcatraz for concerts
« Mi scusate, ma io non
posso parlare italiano molto bene (sono australiano). Io vorrei
andare a Milano a vedere i Pet Shop Boys in concert all' "Alcatraz".
Ma io non si dove se lo trova! Voi avete un indirizzo, o numero
telefonico, o website?. »
THE VENUE can be easily reached by a trolley-bus
(no. 90 or no. 91, respectively clockwise and anti-clockwise on
a circular route), You can board it very close to the Stazione
Centrale (the central railway station). Ask to get off in the
area of Via Valtellina.
The phone number is [+39] 02 69016352. The Alcatraz website is
this.
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Driving Italian style
« Italians drive 3 feet
from your rear bumper, and the signs NEVER give you enough warning,
so when you see a sign and want to stop, and you look in your
rear view mirror, there is ALWAYS a car ready to enter your trunk.
Despite the driving, we loved the Italians, all of whom were very
nice to us. They dress beautifully, even the kids, and they all
look GOOD. »
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From Switzerland
« [...] Would also
be interested in the best (scenic and / or econmical)
travel route from Geneva, Switzerland to Milan, Italy. »
ASSUMING THAT you drive and have some
time for short stop-overs, our advice would be Lausanne - Martigny
(beautiful art exhibitions at the Gianadda Foundation] - Crans
Montana [one of the best ski resorts the world over] - Brig -
Simplon Pass [panoramic highway across the Alps] - Domodossola
- Lake Maggiore [splendid villas and gardens around Stresa: don't
miss the Borromean Islands] - than highway to Milan [toll].
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From Courmayeur
« All our transportation
needs are taken care of except from Courmayeur to Milano. Is there
a shuttle, bus, taxi, etc ? »
YES, THERE IS a daily bus, leaving Courmayeur
around 5pm and reaching Milan around 8.30pm. If such a timetable
doesn't fit, you might take a local bus from Courmayeur to Aosta,
which is connected to Milan by train - more frequently. You can
ask at the tourist info at Courmayeur (Pazzale Monte Bianco, fax
from abroad +39-0165-842072). Buses from outside Milan stop in
the city center in front of the Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle).
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Free rooms ?
« We drove from Malpensa
to Lake Maggiore. We stayed in Stresa the 2nd night and Arona
the first night. The area was beautiful but the weather was bad
for practically the entire time we were in Italy. While taking
a picture of the lake in Stresa, there was a hotel behind me,
right across the road from the lake, with a sign that said, "Free
Rooms." I inquired about the "free rooms" and found that meant
vacant rooms ... »
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Free guidebook
« I come to visit Milan
with a groupe of 15 persons in february. Please send me "a key
of Milan" free of charge if possible in german or in english. »
UNFORTUNATELY a key to Milan is produced
in a free market economy. Although we are keen to reply to every
message we get, we can't afford to consider printed outcomes of
our job as donations.
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Relevant to me ?
« I am an English student,
and will be spending a semester on exchange in Milan. Would your
guide be particularly relevant to me ? Also what does it
offer that other guides do not ? »
IF YOU SPEND more than three days in Milan
(and are a good reader), you're very likely to put the "key" to
very good use and discover there's nothing like it. No other guidebook
blends such a lot of practical information (more than 1200 addresses,
each of them commented), items on art galleries (written by some
of the best Milanese critics) or - say - industrial archaeology
with accurate listings of trattorie and pizzerie.
We might say that no Italian English language guidebook written
and produced on the spot could have lasted fourteen years and
five editions, hadn't it been useful for its readers.
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Ordering from abroad
« I live in England and
will be visiting Milan in April. I recently visited your web site
and found it very informative.
I have tried to obtain a copy of "a key to Milan" in England (London
and Manchester) but have been unable to do so. Could you please
provide the ISBN for the book so that I can order it ? »
THE ISBN is 88-203-2298-6. There are two
bookshops in London which are supposed to know how to obtain a
copy of our guidebook: The Italian Bookshop by Messaggerie,
7 Cecil Court, t. 171- 240- 634, and The Travel Bookshop,
13 Blenheim Crescent, t. 171-229-5260.
Otherwise, here are the instructions
to order through the Internet
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An unlisted hotel
« Just wanted to say I
bought the book and it helped me to have a great time in Milan.
It was very thorough, interesting and helpful. I also wanted to
mention to you the hotel where I stayed, which is not listed in
your guide but is definitely worth a visit. It's called the Antica
Locanda Leonardo, located at Corso Magenta, 78. The phone
is [+39] 02 463317. It's just half a block from The Last Supper
and very close to Conciliazione Metro. All the rooms have recently
been redone, with new furniture and brand new bathroom fixtures. »
THANKS for your kind words as well as
for your suggestion. Hope you don't mind if we share your advice
with other readers :-)
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All rights reserved
copyright © 1996-2003
Monica Levy, Roberto Peretta
copyright © 1996, 2002
Ulrico Hoepli SpA, Milano
[Want to purchase
the guidebook ?]
[Instructions on how
to do it]
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[Real]
Frequently Asked Questions
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