Milan neighbourhoods
Navigli
The last two open canals: a neighbourhood by day, nightlife by night.
- Market
- Wed · Thu · Sat · 4 markets see below ↓
- Transport
- M2 Porta Genova, M2 Sant'Ambrogio; trams 2, 3, 9, 10, buses 47, 74
- District
- 6
What it's like
The Navigli area is tightly wrapped around two canals: the Naviglio Grande, which brings water from the Ticino river, and the Naviglio Pavese, which runs south. They meet at the Darsena, Milan's old port, reopened and turned back into a basin in 2015.
Until the 1970s it was a working-class and artisan quarter, with tenement houses facing the towpath and washhouses still in use.
Since then it has become first a district of artists and galleries, then the centre of the city's nightlife: in the evening the towpath fills with tables until late.
By day it is still a lived-in neighbourhood, with its market, its shops, its courtyards, and, on the last Sunday of the month, more than three hundred stalls of the big antiques market along the Naviglio Grande.
The market
Borsi
District 6 · Porta Ticinese - Conchetta
Calatafimi
District 1 · Porta Ticinese - Conca del Naviglio
Darsena
District 6 · Porta Ticinese - Conchetta
Tabacchi - Baravalle - Gi
District 5 · Porta Ticinese - Conca del Naviglio
See the area's markets in detail →
Covered markets
Farmers markets
Green space and the outdoors
Dog areas
- via Ronzoni · 574 m²
- via Argelati · 1755 m²
- parco Robert Baden Powell · 550 m²
- parco Giussani Don Luigi · 1092 m²
- parco ex Sieroterapico · 625 m²
- parco Papa Giovanni Paolo II · 1567 m²
Playgrounds
- via Alzaia Naviglio Grande · 139 m²
- giardino Ambrogio Fogar · 226 m²
- via Gola · 98 m²
- giardino Rossi Attilio · 1548 m²
- via Arena n. 4 · 155 m²
- via Argelati · 323 m²
Where to eat and drink
On the towpath the food is mostly street food and apericena; for something more careful it pays to step into the inner streets like via Casale or via Corsico, where historic trattorias and serious cocktail bars such as Rita remain.
For shopping there is the Papiniano market on Tuesday and Saturday, one of the largest in Milan, and the Fiera di Sinigaglia on Saturday for second-hand and vintage. The big antiques market is on the last Sunday of the month.
Getting there
The M2 reaches the Navigli at two points: Porta Genova, with the railway station beside it, and Sant'Ambrogio towards the Darsena.
Many trams pass through (2, 3, 9, 10) and the Darsena is a ten-minute walk from the Duomo. The area is almost entirely pedestrian on weekend evenings.
M2 Porta Genova, M2 Sant'Ambrogio; trams 2, 3, 9, 10, buses 47, 74
Frequently asked questions
What are the Navigli in Milan?
They are the two navigable canals still open in the city, the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese, which meet at the Darsena. They are part of a canal network built from the Middle Ages onward for irrigation, transport and even to carry the marble for the Duomo.
When is the antiques market on the Navigli?
The last Sunday of every month, along the Naviglio Grande towpath, with more than 300 stalls of antiques, mid-century pieces, books and collectables. On Saturdays there is the Fiera di Sinigaglia at the Darsena instead.
Nearby neighbourhoods
Data: City of Milan — weekly open-air markets (DS291), CC-BY. Reviewed .