Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan

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The inside passages are seriously stylish - names such as Prada, Gucci, Vuitton, Swarovski as well as top of the range restaurants and cafes. Sadly - a sign of the times as far as high rentals are concerned - there's also, controversially, a McDonalds.

But the design is stunning with its glass roof, ornate decor and beautiful mosaics and frescoes.

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It's Milan so its got to be style.

This elegant arcade is the precursor to the modern shopping mall. Connecting the Piazza Duomo with Piazza Scala, it is one of the first iron and glass buildings (1865) in Italy.

Lined with shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, its a wonderful (if expensive) way of watching Milanese life pass you by (or, if you take a table at a cafe at the Duomo end, Milanese and tourists).

(See separate tip for the inside).

The galleria enjoys being the Milan's most important meeting and dining place. It consists of numerous shops and restaurants, boutiques and fast food places. Besides, it has a historical value. A really nice place to spend an hour or two in any season.

This indoor arcade market is located on the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan, and connects it to the Piazza della Scala. It is called after the first king of united Italy. It was designed in 1861 and its construction was finished in 1877. Its central space is octagonal and is with a glas roof on the top.

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This Galleria is not to be missed, even if only to visit and view the many fascinating artistic designs and features inside. Certainly if you got the money to splurge, try the many cafes and the shops, they are just gorgeous and come with a hefty price indeed!

Our guide was so proud to show it off to us and we spent quite a while here despite the huge crowds inside!

The street is covered over by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century arcades, such as the Burlington Arcade, London, which was the prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels (opened 1847) and the Passazh in St Petersburg, (opened 1848) and including the Galleria Umberto in Naples (opened 1890).

The central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern glazed and enclosed shopping mall, of which it was the direct progenitor. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls. The use of the iron structure has inspired also the Eiffel Tower, in Paris.

We loved it, but not the prices on the tags of many items! so we just window shopped!I especially love the domed central space and the detailing on the floors! Muy fabuloso!

The Galleria Vittorio Emmanuale is that gorgeous building we all (who have visited Milan) stumbled upon while visiting Piazza Duomo. After years and years of visiting Milan, I never understood what the building was for. Even my dad, who lived in Milan, didn't know what the building was for. Until my last visit to Milan, January of 2009, the buiding always haunted my mind. But on one cold, damp Milanese winter night I finally found out what the building was for. See, it was late, and the day after Christmas, everything was closed, and my parents and I wanted something to drink. So we went to the place you never go to, the nuclear option, the retauruant in the main square. I always tell everyone who visits Europe never to eat in a restaurant in the main square, but it was late, I was thirsty, and my parents insisted. So we went to restaurant located right in the Galleria. We were seating by a young Serbian girl, who seemed nice and pleasant. We were seated right in the corner of the caffe' and right away we ordered our drinks (one limoncella, two coffees, one whiskey, and one small water) and we also got a very small piece of cake (which was kind of awlful, being that you are in Iatly). After a nice, calm conversation, we were handed the bill, a hand written bill. It said 93 Euros on it! I was baffled! There's NO way, I thought. My mom and dad were furious,and argued with the manager, but that did nothing. We had to pay. I also suddenly knew what the Galleria was, it is a tourist trap. A complete tourist trap. Istead of going there, go to the Brera district, much better food and people, for much less. I mean of course, this story is NOT suprising, but I just want to warn everyone, not to eat in the Galleria. Sure visit, but don't eat in there. Milan is a great city, and the food is great in the right places. So before you visit, research. Milan is a city in which you need to search for its heart and soul. This takes dedication, dedication to find the real thing. It is certainly worth it!

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While walking around window shopping at the Galleria, I saw a group of Japanese in the middle of the walkway, just below the big dome. Of course, I checked it out. I asked some locals what were they doing and they told me that if you wanted to go back to Milan, you should go below the Dome and put your right heel on the hole and twirl around while making a wish.

The belief was you will definitely go back to Milan!

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When we think about Italy, we think about almost everything concerning the antique world. However something is different in Milan. Milan is the “modern” city of Italy. It’s not a flashy museum as Rome or Venice. It’s just a normal industrial and commercial city that also tries to use the treasures and the style of the rest of the country to create modern, yet classy, items.

These covered pedestrianised streets look indeed flashy and classic, but they are not so old. They were built at the end of the XIX century as shopping streets. Romantic architecture from an industrial era? I do think so. They were named after the first king of the unified Italy Vittorio Emmanuelle II.