How Milanese people are:
The people of Milan are elusive and pragmatic, always rushing, always busy, always on the phone. Capital of fashion and finance, indeed Milan is a very active city, with a look definitely turned to Europe and to the future. All international trends and fashions pass from Milan before being reached in Italy: first music, low-rise jeans and leggings, then facebook, finally car-sharing… The Milanese express themselves with a mixed Italian and English language: it’s not the old dialect, but neologisms or international words as “brunch“, “training“, “call“; even a new quarter of the city is called “CityLife” in English! For the people of Milan past doesn’t matter, their interest is only focused on the future: weekend out-of-town to spend every damn week during the warm season (perhaps at Curmayeur or Forte dei Marmi), the holiday to get away from office in August, the evenings to arrange during the week. The most important thing is to get out of house: the Milanese – quoting Aristotle – are the social animal par excellence, they can not miss any event (or “happening” as they call them) !
Where to find Milanese people:
During the day it’s almost impossible to talk to anyone, they are too busy “a lavurà” (to work) and – when they take a break – don’t want to be disturbed. At most, you can find them on their lunch break to eat a pizza at Spontini or a “panzerotto” at Luini next to the Duomo. In the evening, as mentioned, that the Milanese people do the lion’s share: there is no festivity or event, of any religion may be, to which they can be missing, even the Buddhist night of the lanterns “is a must” ! Their favorite places have to be exclusive: a restaurant to eat sushi (“the top of the top”, as they would say), a party to sip champagne or a drink on the Aperol Terrace at the Duomo, the columns of San Lorenzo or nearby the Arco della Pace. But certainly the peculiar and unique place that every Milanese has to hang out are the Navigli zone: it’s between these crowdy streets that you can enjoy the Movida of Milan (even more so after the Darsena requalification), from dusk till late night. This distinctive place perfectly embodies the worldliness of the Milanese people and their temperament. Who want to feel Milanese, even just for one night, must come here.
The happy hour of Milan:
Just out of the office, the Milanese are unleashed and consequently the ritual par excellence is the aperitif, pivotal point in the day. To celebrate the “daily liberation” they meet friends or colleagues at the usual bar, which everyone considers the best one around. Given that Milanese people are exaggerated by nature, it often happens that the aperitif is prolonged for hours, replacing the dinner completely instead of introducing it. For this they don’t use the term “happy hour” – too banal and passed – but the most pompous “aperi-cena” (aperi-dinner), a neologism coined ad hoc but that fits perfectly. In fact, every perfect Milanese doesn’t hesitate to let loose between 18:00 and 21:00 in front of the wide selection of food located on the bar, tasting pizzas and sandwiches, salami and cheeses, pasta and panini (usually all buffet service), always with a faithful cocktail in hand, Negroni or Spritz that it is. Especially for a tourist, it is the most genuine and practical way to discover a (small) part of Italian cuisine. As the Milanese are always careful to the wallet in an expensive city like Milan, the aperitif is also definitely cheap compared to a dinner in a restaurant: the food is free and the bill is calculated per drink, that usually costs around 10€ and that’s not bad !
In short, the famous “Milanese happy hour” is certainly the best way to experience the life of Milan and for a few days become an inhabitant of the city of fashion.
