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Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Piazza del Duomo, Milano, Lombardia

Description

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is Milan's most famous and one of Italy's oldest shopping galleries. It was designed in 1861 by architect Giuseppe Mengoni and named after the first king of the Kingdom of Italy. The structure consists of two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in an octagon covered by a glass dome and enclosing the street connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala with a cast iron roof. Trivia: all stores in the gallery are obliged to adopt retro gold lettering on a black background for their business signs, in line with the original design.

Access & Transport

The gallery can be accessed from either Piazza della Scala or Piazza del Duomo. The Duomo metro station (1, 3) and tram station (2, 12, 14, 16, 19) stop on Piazza del Duomo.

Instructions & Recommendations

Shops typically open around 10h-11h and close around 19h (later for restaurants)

Meta review

A staple of travel magazines, the gallery also gets high marks by online reviewers who thoroughly admire the gorgeous architecture with some also pointing out the quality of the window shopping. Described as a must-see but so centrally located anyway that it is actually difficult to miss! The only drawback is that it gets quite crowded most of the day.

Environmental & Social

Clearly over-touristic and commercialized but there is a clear artistic and architectural value that deserves to be preserved. No environmental data available.

Conclusion

One of Milan's architectural landmarks that deserves a visit even for those with no interest in the shopping inside (in which case, go early to avoid crowds before the stores open).

Key positive

Elegant design and photogenic

Great high-end shopping

Hyper-central locating

Key negative

Can be busy

Expensive shops

Suitability

No restrictions

About this Rating

TYPE

Desktop

RESEARCHED IN

June 2024

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit

av. transport time:0h 15m

est. visit time:0h 30m

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningNo

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightOk

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

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