TRAVEL GUIDE | CABANA TRAVEL | CABANA MAGAZINE

Ahead of the next Cabana x PRIOR Caravan Trip - this time to Milan, a city very close to both our hearts - consummate traveler David Prior shares his favorite places and spaces in the Italian fashion capital. The first city David visited when he moved to Italy from Australia, Milan holds a unique allure for the PRIOR founder. 

BY DAVID PRIOR | CABANA TRAVEL | 11 OCTOBER 2024

My Favorite Place to Stay: Casa Brivio

Milan has a swath of new hotels opening in the coming years (I am really looking forward to J.K. Place) and that is because there has never been anything close to the great small stay. I’d argue the new Casa Brivio is an answer to that problem. It is a stealthily sophisticated hotel disguised as an unremarkable pair of apartment blocks down an unremarkable street in the central Cinque Vie neighborhood. Internally, however, the decor is all polished travertine, jewel toned design-forward furniture and big nods to Gio Ponti. It is not a five star hotel. And yet — it is the most authentic expression of Modern Milan than any other place I have stayed.

My Favorite Restaurant: Trippa

Italians have always moved to Milan for work, and I’ve noticed that distance tends to make them yearn a little for the food of their region - particularly that ideal, perfectly simple osteria/trattoria. It’s part of why the restaurant scene here has always been just solid and staid, more about a sophisticated scene, rather than the passion and pride that regional ingredients and dishes invoke in Italians in the rest of the country. As Milan becomes surer of itself from a food perspective, the scene is just beginning to mirror the identity and innovation of its design world. I’d argue the catalyst was Trippa. Opened in 2015, the restaurant cleverly channels that sense of nostalgia but brings a precision and edge to traditional dishes from all around Italy. Think: Milanese risotto with grilled marrow, rabbit salad, and per its namesake — tender, savory tripe.

My Favorite Cafe: Marchesi 1824, Santa Maria alla Porta

With multiple branches throughout the city and its famed pastries, this one’s no secret. I love the vitrines full of tramezzini, cakes, and confections. My favorite location is the original, but I also love the one in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Not only because you get to look down to the world’s most beautiful mall, but also because it is where a McDonalds used to be — damaging to the beauty and feeling of Milan. Mrs. Prada taking over Marchesi 1824 was a perfect match, and ultimately a huge gift to the city.

My Favorite Park or Green Space: Giardini Pubblici

Also known by all Milanesi as Giardini Pubblici di Porta Venezia, this park was one of the first ever public garden projects, located close to the Quadrilatero della Moda and the city center. It is nonsense that some call Milan a grey city when there are so many parks. This one for me is not only one of the most monumental but also the most charming — with its retro playground that even has a vintage miniature train tootling children around the gardens, over little bridges, and under weeping willows. A destination for the young and young at heart.

My Favorite Museum or Gallery: Planetario Civico

Designed in 1930 by Piero Portaluppi, the architect most famous for his design of Villa Necchi, Milan’s Planetarium is perfection. I am always amazed that more people don’t appreciate or even know of it — and that includes Milanesi. I guess a planetarium seems anachronistic in this age but there is a wonder to this place that is difficult to compare. Perhaps it is the design of the building. A perfect dome sits in proportion around four rational columns mimicking the curve of the globe. Or maybe the original wooden chairs, fixed to the group and able to swivel so that people can look up and marvel completely at the night sky. It is rationalist in style, technically, but with classical touches. There is an incredible whimsy and delight in discovering the stone stars all around the exterior of the building.

My Favorite Place for Aperitivo: Bar Nico

Newly opened by young fashion-world entrepreneurs, Chiara Pino and Riccardo Ganelli, Bar Nico is named after their Afghan hound (pictured above). It is the kind of place that would never have existed in Milan even five years ago, taking a Milanese spin on that cool natural wine bar in a metropolitan city. Housed in a former tire dealership, it is located in the Città Studi-Argonne area, a buzzy, evolving part of town. Serving wines from independent and young winemakers, the bar also does great snacks like Salsiccia di Bra, a raw veal sausage I used to eat almost every evening when I was studying at University during my time in Piedmont.

My Favorite Shops

Nilufar Depot: Is it an exhibition? A museum? A store? This design destination somehow feels like all three, not only because of the cavernous space but because the pieces are so meticulously chosen, ever evolving, and for sale. I think that creativity in Milan is powered by the definite taste and strong will of women. The founder of Nilufar, Nina Yashar, is the embodiment of that.

Laboratorio Niko Romito: I first wrote about the great chef Niko Romito when he only had his restaurant Reale in regional Abruzzo. We put it on the cover of Condé Nast Traveler and I’ve followed him since. He has always been interested in ancient grains and different ways of doing bread, making it especially fun for travelers to procure a perfect panettone here.

Antica Barbieria Colla di Franco Bompieri: Not so much a shop, but a service. It is always fun to go to a barber when visiting a city and there is almost nowhere else that values men’s grooming more than Milan. There are lots of options around the city (some have their own products), but you can’t go wrong getting a classic cut and shave here. It somehow just puts you in the Milanese mood.

My Favorite Thing to Do: Arrive!

My single most favorite thing to do in Milan is arrive. I love the Stazione Centrale because it was the first place I saw when I left Australia and moved to Italy. I still feel awe when I am there, because of its immense proportions and hectic rush, but also because it still feels like a gateway — not only to Italy, but to the world.

My Favorite Hidden Spot: Alberto Diurno di Porta Venezia

Albergo Diurno di Porta Venezia is a historic underground public bathhouse, only open on special occasions. It was built in the early 20th century and opened in 1926, designed in an Art Deco style by, you guessed it, Piero Portaluppi. I love how you access it, you have to enter the metro station of Porta Venezia.

The paradox of finding a subterranean space that originally offered luxurious amenities for travelers and locals — hair salons, laundry services, and manicures, a high-end service center essentially — feels so unexpected. Once again, it’s the details of Portaluppi that make his genius so incredible to study or simply appreciate: the sign and the entrance to each shop, together with the floor mosaic compositions, make the details of this place so unique. It is hard to figure out when it opens but there is a local effort to save it. If you have the opportunity, go.

CABANA X PRIOR CARAVAN: Milan Behind Closed Doors with Martina Mondadori and David Prior

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