Trip to Italy: Day 2 (Milan)

In Milan, we stayed at BB Aparthotel Desuite, which we booked via Booking.com. The area doesn’t look particularly fancy, but it appeared to be safe—mostly residential apartments. It's conveniently located near a grocery store and just two Metro stops from Milano Centrale. The apartment was in excellent condition: clean, modern, and seemingly new. We really liked it and recommend it. Just note that it’s not a traditional hotel—the lobby is open during specific hours, and you’ll need to notify them if arriving outside of check-in hours (2–6 p.m.).

To get around Milan, we bought the 3-day ticket for 15.5 EUR, though a 24-hour pass is also available for 7.6 EUR. For more information, download the ATM Milano app, where you can also purchase electronic tickets.

In the afternoon, we booked tickets to the Duomo. The stair tickets were sold out, so we purchased lift tickets instead. The view from the top is absolutely worth it, and it’s fascinating to be able to walk on the roof of the cathedral.

Milano Duomo

View from top of The Duomo

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Trip To Italy: Day 1 (Turin)

To get from Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) to Turi we took the Flibco bus to Turin. It costs 22 EUR, departs about every hour, and stops at Porta Susa near downtown in Turin.

From there, we took the metro to Porta Nuova. The daily pass for metro/bus cost 3.7 EUR, which you can buy at the station. We stayed at the Best Western Crystal Palace, which is right across from Porta Nuova station.

The receptionist recommended having lunch on Lagrange Street, which offers several options. We ended up eating at Pastificio Defilippis, which turned out to be a great choice. We then visited the Basilica di Maria Ausiliatrice, which hosts the remains of San Giovanni Bosco.

Basilica di Maria Ausiliatrice

Next, we stopped at the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista, which hosts the remains of Pier Giorgio Frassati (soon to be canonized) and the Shroud of Turin, which unfortunately was not currently on display.

Cattedrale di San Giovanni Batttista

The next day, we took a stroll along the Po River and visited Parrocchiale della Gran Madre di Dio.

Parrochiale della Gran Madre di Dio

To head back to Milan, we took a train from Porta Nuova to Milano Centrale using Trenitalia.

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