Little Milan: A Family City Guide

The queue outside Ciacco moves slowly on a Saturday afternoon in Milan, and nobody in it seems to mind. Ask the staff which flavour they recommend and the answer comes without hesitation: fior di latte, the ultimate taste test for locals, and the kind of choice nonna would approve of. 

Generously topped cone in hand, sticky fingers and little legs set off around a city that is one of the most walkable in Europe. From The Carlton on Via della Spiga, that first gelato is just minutes away. The hotel’s Family Concierge can recommend the places your little ones will love, arrange reservations and transport, and take care of all the practicalities leaving you free to concentrate on the important part: enjoying Milan together. Beyond that, the day is yours, whether that means following a carefully planned itinerary, or just seeing where the mood takes you. 

The historic centre spreads out, piazza to piazza, with enough glossy boutique windows and street musicians along the route to keep little ones entertained. It is an easy walk from the hotel to the Duomo, and when the distance calls for something more, Milan's trams do the job with considerably more charm than a taxi. Several routes still run on wooden-floored carriages dating back to the 1920s, orange and rattling, with windows that open onto the street below, themselves a mini sightseeing tour.

The Duomo, seen from ground level, is impressive in the way most cathedrals are impressive to a child, which is to say briefly. Take the lift up onto the rooftop, though, and the whole building changes character. Among 135 Gothic spires and thousands of carved figures, spotting gargoyles and saints becomes a proper hunt, one that holds a child’s attention for far longer than expected, marble menagerie and all.

From there, a tram heading west toward Sant'Ambrogio makes a fitting second stop. The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, housed in a sixteenth-century monastery, rewards the better part of a day with the kind of hands-on discovery that makes a science museum feel more like an adventure than homework. Wooden models of Leonardo's flying machines and war engines fill gallery after gallery, while outside, a real submarine waits with its hatch open, offering landlocked Milan's most unlikely adventure at sea.

A short walk brings the route back toward Castello Sforzesco, smaller in scale but no less effective for occupying young explorers. Its courtyards are wide open for running, and its armoury holds genuine suits once worn into battle. The grounds lead directly into Parco Sempione, where the Torre Branca offers a lift ride to views over the park, and the stroll toward the Arco della Pace takes in the Civico Acquario along the way, a gentler kind of aquatic detour than the submarine.

Closer to home, Nano Bleu, Milan's oldest toy shop, has been filling its window with wooden trains and hand-painted soldiers since 1949, its spiral staircase leading up through three floors that reward slow browsing. On Via Montenapoleone, Cova has served pastries to Milanese society for over two centuries, and a hot chocolate there rewards thirsty explorers.

For rainy mornings, MUBA at Rotonda della Besana turns a museum visit into something closer to a workshop, building with full-size foam blocks or making shadow puppets in themed sessions. If the weather persists, settle beneath Cafe Floretta’s beautiful glass dome for lunch together, where generous savings on children’s meals make it all the more inviting to sample Milanese favourites. If the little chefs want to know what goes into their dishes, the Family Concierge can arrange cooking classes with the Executive Chef so they can take home a new skill as a souvenir. 

And when the day’s adventures are over, there are still discoveries to be made closer to home. Ambrogio, The Carlton's beloved cuddly toy puppy, waits in the Family Suite, ready to hear about all of it. A Rocco Forte Kids passport gives younger guests their own record of the day’s discoveries, while milk and cookies at turndown and pint-sized robes and slippers make settling down feel just as inviting as setting out. 

Somewhere between the telling and the falling asleep, the day quietly changes hands. In the living room, with a glass of wine and the city spread out beyond the windows, there is time to think back over the day. The places discovered, the food shared, the recommendations that become favourite memories. And perhaps too, to realise how easy it all felt. From the first plan to the last tram home, with plenty of time to simply enjoy being together. 

Milan is waiting to be discovered, one small adventure at a time. Start yours at The Carlton.