A Design Lovers Guide to Milan

Where to stay, eat, shop, and find inspiration during Milan Design Week 2025—plus the can't-miss exhibitions, parties, and moments that define the city's most magical week.

There are a few moments in the global creative calendar when everything seems to converge—when a city becomes more than a destination, but a gravitational pull. For me, Milan in April is that moment. Every year, I try to return for Salone, and each time I do, I’m reminded why this week is so singular. You can feel it in the streets: the energy, the elegance, the unexpected intimacy of a conversation over espresso that turns into a collaboration six months later. It’s like Milan inhales, then exhales nothing but design.

For one week, the city becomes a stage for beauty and experimentation. Museum-worthy installations bloom inside overgrown courtyards. Palazzos are transformed into dreamscapes. And whether you're here as an architect, a collector, or someone simply obsessed with beautiful spaces, you're surrounded by a kind of quiet magic. It's the way the light hits the terrazzo at 5 p.m. Or how every gallery feels like it might change your life—or at the very least, your living room.

At the center is Salone del Mobile, the world’s most important furniture fair. First launched in 1961, it has grown into an ecosystem of ideas. This year, it leans into sensory storytelling and sustainability—from the redesigned EuroCucina pavilion to boundary-blurring work by brands like Gubi, Flos, and B&B Italia. But the true enchantment is in the city itself. Milan becomes a map of secret gardens, foggy warehouses, and candlelit dinners. That’s Fuorisalone, the decentralized web of exhibitions, performances, and parties that transforms Milan into a living design lab.

I always find that the beauty of this week is in the contrast: of marble and neon, of centuries-old villas filled with AI-driven ceramics, of parties that go until sunrise and mornings that begin with a quiet walk to a gallery tucked inside a church. Below, my curated list of what to see, where to go, and how to do Milan right—whether it’s your first time or your fifteenth.

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Salone del Mobile at Fiera Milano Rho
The main event. Held at the vast Fiera grounds just outside the city, Salone is where design’s heavyweights flex their vision. This year’s focus is on tactility, emotional architecture, and forward-thinking kitchens. EuroCucina is back with a completely reimagined layout, and SaloneSatellite remains the place to scout emerging talent from across the globe. Don’t miss the lighting halls, where designers are creating entire moods through form and shadow. Bring comfortable shoes—and a notebook.

Alcova 2025
For its ninth edition, Alcova expands its footprint with four venues in Varedo that together feel like an extended fever dream. The Rationalist-era Villa Borsani. The romantic Villa Bagatti Valsecchi. A haunting SNIA factory. And the lush, fog-filled Pasino Glasshouses. Each space hosts wildly inventive work, from conceptual lighting to biomaterials to soundscapes. Alcova is where Milan gets raw and emotional. Let yourself get lost—this one is worth spending the day.