Milan neighbourhoods
Milan neighbourhoods
What each of Milan's neighbourhoods is like: character, market, green space, how to get there.
Each page pulls together the character of the neighbourhood, its street market, green space and transport. For the administrative map of the 9 districts and 88 NIL, see the how Milan's neighbourhoods are divided guide.
Affori
District 9 · 1 market
A former town in the north, with an aristocratic villa, a park and the M3.
Baggio
District 7 · 2 markets
The far west of Milan: an old village with a strong identity.
Barona
District 6 · 1 market
Where the housing estates end, the rice fields begin.
Bicocca
District 9
A city within the city, built on the former Pirelli factory.
Bovisa
District 9 · 3 markets
Former factories and gasometers, now between the Politecnico and an unsettled future.
Brera
District 1 · 2 markets
The artists' quarter: the picture gallery, the academy and the most photographed streets.
Calvairate
District 4 · 1 market
A historic working-class quarter, built around one of Milan's first big housing estates.
Chiaravalle
District 5
A rural village inside Milan, built around a Cistercian abbey.
Città Studi
District 3 · 4 markets
The Politecnico's quarter, where life revolves around the university.
CityLife
District 8
Three skyscrapers, a large park and luxury homes on the old trade-fair grounds.
Comasina
District 9
A dormitory quarter on the far north, under regeneration for twenty years.
Forlanini
District 4 · 2 markets
The Milan that fades towards Linate: a big park and scattered districts.
Gallaratese
District 8 · 2 markets
A 1970s satellite quarter, known for a building by Aldo Rossi.
Giambellino and Lorenteggio
District 6 · 3 markets
Working-class Milan as ever: housing estates, courtyards and a strong sense of neighbourhood.
Gorla and Precotto
District 2 · 2 markets
A millers' village on the Martesana canal, nicknamed little Paris.
Gratosoglio
District 5 · 2 markets
Public housing on the southern edge, where the city ends and the fields begin.
Greco
District 9 · 1 market
A country village, later surrounded by railway, factories and new districts.
Isola
District 9 · 1 market
The working-class quarter behind Garibaldi, now hemmed in by skyscrapers.
Lambrate
District 3 · 1 market
A former town with a village feel, now loved by artisans and creatives.
Lodi and Corvetto
District 4 · 2 markets
A working-class quarter in the south-east, with an identity that holds on.
Maggiolina and Maciachini
District 9 · 2 markets
A quiet island of small villas, gardens and igloo-shaped houses.
Navigli
District 6 · 4 markets
The last two open canals: a neighbourhood by day, nightlife by night.
Niguarda
District 9 · 3 markets
The hospital, Parco Nord and an old village on the far northern edge.
NoLo
District 3 · 1 market
North of Loreto: from forgotten periphery to the neighbourhood of the moment.
Porta Nuova
District 9
The skyscraper district, built from scratch on old rail yards.
Porta Romana
District 5 · 3 markets
The south-east axis towards Rome, between neighbourhood life and big building sites.
Porta Venezia
District 3 · 3 markets
Liberty façades, historic gardens, corso Buenos Aires and a very open community.
QT8 and Monte Stella
District 8
A post-war experimental quarter, with a mountain of rubble at its heart.
Quarto Oggiaro
District 8 · 3 markets
An emblem of Milanese public housing, now in long-running renewal.
San Siro
District 7 · 2 markets
The stadium everyone knows, and a large housing estate behind it.
Tortona and Porta Genova
District 6
The old factories behind Porta Genova, now Milan's design district.
Via Sarpi and Chinatown
District 1 · 2 markets
Italy's oldest Chinatown, on a pedestrian street full of food.
Vigentino
District 5 · 1 market
South of Porta Romana, between warehouses, housing estates and the first fields.
Villapizzone
District 8 · 2 markets
A former village in the north-west, with a key station and a well-known solidarity community.