I visited European city that's so walkable I wheeled 3 suitcases from one end to the other

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Milan, a vibrant city in Italy's northern Lombardy region, is a worldwide centre of fashion and design. It's home to the lively national stock exchange and is renowned for its luxurious restaurants and upmarket shopping experiences. Many people know it for the stunning Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, where Leonardo da Vinci's famous mural "The Last Supper" is displayed, but the city is attractive for many other reasons.

One is that, according to Radical Storage's 2025 guide, Milan is one of the most walkable cities in the world, taking third place behind Zurich, Switzerland, and Barcelona, Spain. With 15-minute city coverage, the urban destination is easy to navigate without a car or hopping on public transport. While I'm often dubious of such claims, this is one that proved completely true on my own visit in 2023.

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With just 24 hours in the city before heading down to Lake Como, we made the most of Milan's historical and cultural offerings by exploring everything on foot.

In fact, the only public transport we used was to navigate ourselves from the airport to an Airbnb in the Navigli District; a historic area of the city known for its charming canals, lively atmosphere and a wide array of restaurants, bars and of course, boutiques.

There is an extensive public transport network in Milan that includes the metro and trams, but walking was the preferred option when we wanted to visit the city centre. It allowed us to explore the beautiful canals and look in all of the shops we could imagine on the way.

There was plenty of greenery and beautiful flowers hanging over balconies to admire on the way, and the centre of Milan lived up to its "15-minute city" claim.

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We managed to visit all of the main attractions within a few hours, though we chose not to take guided tours given our short time there.

The Duomo is an incredible attraction. Even just standing in the square, you can soak up the hustle and bustle of the city while admiring the very well-dressed people who frequent the busy tourist area.

Rooftop bars and balcony spots overlook the area, too, making it a haven for those partial to a scenic Aperol Spritz in the sunshine.

The Navigli canals are not to be missed. In fact, we had the best meal of the trip in a small family-run pizzeria adorned with gingham red tablecloths, which felt very on-brand.

As a group of four, we had two very large suitcases in tow to accompany us on the journey to Milan's central train station-a building so impressive it's worth a visit even if you don't have a train to catch.

Trusty Google Maps helped us find our way. We could walk for 40 minutes through the city's rustic cobbled streets to the train station or take the metro.

We chose a combination of the two to soak up some more of the sights while also taking shelter from the torrential rain we got caught in about 20 minutes into the walk.

But the journey was surprisingly easy and enjoyable, especially because we made time to stop for an espresso and panini en route.

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Milan's walkable status shone through again on our departure day. As a group of four, we had two very large suitcases in tow to accompany us on the journey to Milan's central train station-a building so impressive it's worth a visit even if you don't have a train to catch.

Trusty Google Maps helped us find our way. We could walk for 40 minutes through the city's rustic cobbled streets to the train station or take the metro.

We chose a combination of the two to soak up some more of the sights while also taking shelter from the torrential rain we got caught in about 20 minutes into the walk.

But the journey was surprisingly easy and enjoyable, especially because we made time to stop for an espresso and panini en route.