Porta Nuova

Milano has a nice city center; you can admire without doubts art and architecture in every street of it. However this is not the city of Italy that is really famous among tourists for its attractions from the past times but rather from the recent history. Not occasionally it is labelled as the Italian capital of industry and of course, fashion. It is the second most populated city in the country and the main economical and business center in Italy. Due to all this, I warmly advise you once you are there not to miss the new business district, the Porta Nuova (literally: "New Gate").

I would say it is like a second Canary Wharf in an Italian way. You can see there more and more high-rise buildings mainly with glass façades, nice newly build squares with fountains and sculptures in the middle and many, but really many people in suits (this isn't valid for weekends) walking up and down on the streets. As you are in Italy, there are of course nice restaurants, bars and cafes almost at every building of this new "quartiere". And yes, even here in the business district you can have your coffee at the bar for 1 EUR. Coffee? Rather say: real Italian espresso.

It is located very close to both the Central and the Porta Garibaldi railway stations, so if you arrive or leave from one of them, then it is a good choice to start or end your Milano trip here. We did the first option.

I have to highlight one of the buildings here: il Bosco Verticale (literally: "Vertical Woods"). It consists of two towers with facades "covered" by trees, that are growing from the balconies (or terraces) of the buildings. Of course, even the architecture of the building itself is nice but many people admire the idea of the designer to adapt the greenery in the middle of a business district. The plants actually look like artificial forests around the towers having extension vertically and horizontally as well. But I guess a picture says more than thousand words in this case.

I wouldn't say it isn't unique and innovative, but from my point of view the Unicredit tower is more impressive, and not only because it is the highest building in Milano with its 231 m height. There is quite a big probability to see workers that are cleaning façades from outside as it has pretty big glass surface, one can say. And so we did and I started to wonder that it has to be a lifetime experience to clean the glass facade of it. There is also a nice square at the entrance of the buildings and a fountain. Close to these business buildings are also some new-built administrative buildings which have followed the modern architecture to make this business district seem like an "island" inside the city of Milano.

I hope I made you think to pay a visit here, so you can judge yourself which skyscraper is more astonishing or how the area has improved since our visit, as the works were still in progress the, so I believe you will see more unique and innovative buildings than we did.