Ph Imen Chakir Via Unsplash
The flowering season returns, and Milan is coloured with occasions to take back the outdoor part of the city. From “km 0” wine and culinary events to the rediscovery of outlying parks, and from folkloric entertainment to flower picking, we have selected 5 things to do – in and out of the city centre for you in springtime. When nature re-awakens in a never-dormant city!
1) Pick tulips
From the month of March through May, the tulips flower that – listen up – can be picked, even at the borders of the Ambrosian city: protected from the city traffic, at “Tulipani Italiani” – the first and largest U-pick Garden of Italy (in Via Giuseppe Eugenio Luraghi 1 in Arese, just a 10 minute drive from Rho-Fiera M1, in the north-west area) – sits a garden of 600,000 tulips where you can stroll among the coloured blossoms and new species. Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm. Open entrance for 4 euros per day per person, includes tulip picking.
More info here https://www.tulipani-italiani.it/
2) Walking through parks and nature reserves
From the Collina dei Ciliegi (Cherry Hill) of Via Sacchetti (a 25-metre artificial promontory planted with different species of flowering cherry trees) to the CityLife Park, which has a mixed beechwood forest, there are many occasions to lose yourself in the green, between centre and suburbs, during the flowering period. And to those who have a vehicle, at just one hour from Milan, we recommend a trip to Parco del Ticino, a green lunch and important wildlife center with about 800 km of marked walking paths.
Further information here: https://ente.parcoticino.it/visita-il-parco/
3) Farmhouse food tasting
Twice a year – in April and October, during spring and autumn – the Associazione Naviglio Grande organises, with sponsorship of the Municipality of Milan, the “Fiori e sapori sul Naviglio Grande” (Flowers and flavours on Naviglio Grande) event, attracting florist and horticultural stands from throughout Italy and small producers of local foods and wines to the banks of the canal of the same name. A mustn’t-miss occasion to do some “green shopping” and discover the short distribution chain of the surrounding farmhouses.
More info here: http://www.navigliogrande.mi.it/fiori-sapori/
4) A visit to Luna Park Meneghino
Just steps from the Duomo, behind Castello Sforzesco, one of the oldest Luna Parks (Fun Park) in Italy, in Parco Sempione, returns every year during February and March: with more than 60 attractions (free for children from nursery through middle school age), this fun park has represented a fixed appointment for Milanese residents for over a century. Open on weekends from 2pm to 7:30pm (and during holidays and the preceding days from 10am to 8pm), Luna Park Meneghino also offers street food and collateral events (like the “festa del tifoso” – fan festival).
More info here: https://www.facebook.com/lunaparkmeneghino/
5) Discover the beauties of the FAI
At the end of March, FAI – Fondo Ambientale Italiano (Italian Environmental Conservation Fund) – organises special openings and guided tours throughout Italy of the most representative places of the artistic and cultural heritage of our country. Particularly in the Milan area, the upcoming FAI Spring Days (corresponding to the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, March 25th and 26th) will be the chance to visit the Mulino Grande (Large Mill) of Cusago, Villa Ida Lampugnani Gajo, the abbey and home of the Prior of Viboldone, Castle Visconteo of Cusago and the Church of Santa Maria Rossa of Monzoro.
Further information here: https://fondoambiente.it/il-fai/grandi-campagne/giornate-fai-di-primavera
