How to make the most of Milan during the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

The battle for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 in Italy began the minute Måneskin won the ESC 2021, in Rotterdam. Earlier this summer, we told you how to make the most of Rome and we told you everything you need to know about Pesaro. These two cities are still in the race to become a hosting city, as well as Milan. 

Milan is a city in the north of Italy. The city has the most habitants of Italy, after Rome. Milan is considered a leading global city, with strengths in many fields, like art, commerce, design, education, entertainment finance, healthcare, and tourism. Of course we all know Milan for being one of the fashion capitals of the world. Let’s take a look at what Milan has to offer!

Milan Cathedral

Cathedral of Milan

The cathedral, also called the Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (Italian: Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente), is the most famous cathedral church in Milan.

The construction of the cathedral took about 6 centuries. Simone da Orsenigo started the construction in 1386. Benigno Mörlin Visconti Castiglione was the last architect to work on the property, in 1965. It is the largest church in Italy, even bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica is in the State of Vatican City

The view from the roof is breathtaking. Please note that the elevator does not reach the top floor. Prepare for a lot of stairs. Believe us, it’s definitely worth it! Definitely book a (private) tour if you’re interested in the history of the cathedral. This gives a visit to the church an extra dimension through the beautiful stories of the tour guide.

Brera District

Brera is a district (“quartiere”) in Milan. The district has an artistic and bohemian atmosphere and is located in zone 1, (the historic core of the city). Brera is also called “the Milanese Montmartre”. Sounds promising, right? The neighborhood is filled with bars and restaurants. It is less suitable if you want to shop.

The main historical building is Palazzo Brera. Brera houses the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the Brera Art Gallery are located here, as well as Milan’s botanical garden as well as an astronomical observatory and the Braidense National Library. Other features that contribute to the character of Brera include restaurants, bars, night clubs, antique and art shops, colorful street markets, as well as fortune tellers’ booths. Especially this last feature might be interesting if you want to place a bet on the Eurovision Song Contest.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Do you prefer to go to a place where you can shop (in the most exclusive stores)? Then you should pay the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II a visit. This is Italy’s oldest active shopping arcade and a landmark of Milan. The inspiration for the name of the building is the first king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.

The building was designed in 1861 and built between 1865 and 1877. The architect who completed this job is Guiseppe Mengoni. A common nickname is Il Salotto di Milano (Salon of Milan), because of its many shops and importance as a common meeting and dining place in Milan.

The shopping center is located in ”Centro Storico”, in the center of the city. Some of the oldest shops reside in the Galleria. Several of the stores and restaurants have been there since the 19th century. The entrance to the building is particularly impressive.

Fun fact: Mac Donalds was the first to being denied a renewal of their contract, after housing in the Galleria for 20 years. Mac Donalds sued the landlord – the city of Milan – for 24 million in damages. The fast food chain renounced the suit after receiving the opportunity to open a new restaurant nearby. Prada opened their second store in the Galleria, replacing the fast food restaurant.

Tram Ristorante ATMosfera

If you have a night off of the Eurovision craziness, you could choose to have an exclusive dinner at Tram Ristorante ATMosfera. The restaurant is located at Sforzesco Castle. It’s a fine dining experience combined with round trip in the city of Milan. ATMosfera offers two historic trams and thus the first itinerant trams in Italy.

The menus offer options for meat lovers, fish eaters and vegetarians. The chef is responsible for putting together the menu. Updates on the menu are regular and in tune with the seasons.

You can visit the restaurant 7 days a week. However, it is necessary to book in advance. You can book your table on the ATMosfera website.

”Gaying” in Milan

As we’ve mentioned before, Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world. Milan is a big city and offers plenty of accommodations. From hotels to home rentals, you are sure to find something that fits your needs. Be sure to visit websites like Tripadvisor to read the most recent reviews.

There is also a gay scene in Milan. Signs of affection like holding hands, hugging in the street, and kissing cheek to cheek are perfectly accepted in the city. The gay scene used to be around the area that’s called Via Sammartini. We do not advise that you visit this area, as it’s considered unsafe. The gay scene has moved to the Porta Venezia district, on Via Lecco. In town, you need a club card to access most gay clubs. You can purchase this card at the participating locations.

Milan

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Sanne Messemaker

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History

70 years of Eurovision: big hits and bare feet

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 1965 Sweden was back. Ireland made its debut. That brought the total number of countries in Naples, Italy, to no less than 18. In the RAI auditorium in this city, Renata Mauro presented the largest festival to date. Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the second time. Conchita Bautista returned for Spain. Vice Vukov was there for the second time representing Yugoslavia. But those were not the entries that caused a stir. Bobby Solo (Italy) and Guy Mardel (France) managed to score an international hit. But the most notable one was Ingvar Wixell from Sweden. This opera singer had been assigned the song “Annorstädes Vals” in the national final. But in Naples, he suddenly sang “Absent Friend,” the English version. Nowhere in the Eurovision regulations did it state that this was not allowed. You can imagine that it was included a year later. The French singer France Gall won for Luxembourg. Her “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” was written by none other than Serge Gainsbourg. He stated that he had never watched Eurovision. He therefore had no clue what he was writing for. And perhaps that was exactly the key to the success. During the reprise, France Gall seemed to realize she had won only halfway through. Only then a smile appeared on her face. 1966 Once again, the Eurovision circus moved to the tiny studio in the Villa Lauvigny in Luxembourg. The presentation was now in the hands of Josiane Shen. The same countries as in 1965 participated. Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the third consecutive time. Domenico Modugno returned for Italy. And then we do not want to leave two candidates unmentioned: Åse Kleveland (Norway) and Lill Lindfors (Sweden) would later host the contest themselves. Kleveland, who later also became Minister of Culture in Norway, won the hearts of the jury members with her guitar. She came third. Lindfors sang a fairy tale to jazzy music in a duet. She came second with it. However, we do not want to leave the Dutch Milly Scott out either. Not only because she was the first black singer at Eurovision. She had also quite misjudged the size of the stage. She wanted to enter with a steeplechase. That was impossible. She had to back down and put on a much simpler act. As mentioned, Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the third time. Third time was the charm for him: he won! A promising career lay ahead of him. When he won and got to sing his “Merci Chérie” again, he turned it into “Merci Jury”. 1967 For the first time, the Eurovision Song Contest went to Vienna. Erika Vaal hosted the contest at the Vienna Hofburg. She opened the show with a speech in no less than four languages. In addition, she apologized for not being proficient in all the participants’ other languages. Denmark was not present this year and would be absent for a long time. This country was angry about the bloc formation during the voting. Raphaël from Spain and Kirsti Sparboe from Norway both participated for a second time. So did Claudio Villa from Italy. Serge Gainsbourg wrote a song, just like two years earlier. This time it was for Monaco. Singer Minouche Barelli let loose completely during Gainsbourg’s “Boum Badaboum”. The Greek Vicky (Leandros, though she did not use that surname yet) did the same. Her “L’amour est bleu” became a big hit, but not exactly for her. Orchestra conductor Paul Mauriat made a single with the instrumental version and walked away with the hit. The voting was incredibly exciting. Not because of the winner, as that was the United Kingdom with a landslide. Rather because of the many errors and misses during the scoring. The scoreboard kept malfunctioning, forcing poor Erika Vaal to constantly make adjustments. In her panic, she forgot about the last one, the Irish jury. “I thought we were going to be left out,” a crestfallen Irish jury chairman remarked. But then again, it was pop star Sandie Shaw who won for the United Kingdom with “Puppet on a String.” She caused a sensation by winning barefoot! Her song became a worldwide hit and a classic. However, Sandie Shaw has never made a secret of the fact that she herself hated that song. There have indeed been times when she refused to sing it. For example, on a Dutch television show, she simply walked away when the interviewer mentioned the word Eurovision.

Read More »
April 1, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision: big hits and bare feet

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 1965 Sweden was back. Ireland made its debut. That brought the total number of countries in Naples, Italy, to no less than 18. In the RAI auditorium in this city, Renata Mauro presented the largest festival to date. Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the second time. Conchita Bautista returned for Spain. Vice Vukov was there for the second time representing Yugoslavia. But those were not the entries that caused a stir. Bobby Solo (Italy) and Guy Mardel (France) managed to score an international hit. But the most notable one was Ingvar Wixell from Sweden. This opera singer had been assigned the song “Annorstädes Vals” in the national final. But in Naples, he suddenly sang “Absent Friend,” the English version. Nowhere in the Eurovision regulations did it state that this was not allowed. You can imagine that it was included a year later. The French singer France Gall won for Luxembourg. Her “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” was written by none other than Serge Gainsbourg. He stated that he had never watched Eurovision. He therefore had no clue what he was writing for. And perhaps that was exactly the key to the success. During the reprise, France Gall seemed to realize she had won only halfway through. Only then a smile appeared on her face. 1966 Once again, the Eurovision circus moved to the tiny studio in the Villa Lauvigny in Luxembourg. The presentation was now in the hands of Josiane Shen. The same countries as in 1965 participated. Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the third consecutive time. Domenico Modugno returned for Italy. And then we do not want to leave two candidates unmentioned: Åse Kleveland (Norway) and Lill Lindfors (Sweden) would later host the contest themselves. Kleveland, who later also became Minister of Culture in Norway, won the hearts of the jury members with her guitar. She came third. Lindfors sang a fairy tale to jazzy music in a duet. She came second with it. However, we do not want to leave the Dutch Milly Scott out either. Not only because she was the first black singer at Eurovision. She had also quite misjudged the size of the stage. She wanted to enter with a steeplechase. That was impossible. She had to back down and put on a much simpler act. As mentioned, Udo Jürgens participated for Austria for the third time. Third time was the charm for him: he won! A promising career lay ahead of him. When he won and got to sing his “Merci Chérie” again, he turned it into “Merci Jury”. 1967 For the first time, the Eurovision Song Contest went to Vienna. Erika Vaal hosted the contest at the Vienna Hofburg. She opened the show with a speech in no less than four languages. In addition, she apologized for not being proficient in all the participants’ other languages. Denmark was not present this year and would be absent for a long time. This country was angry about the bloc formation during the voting. Raphaël from Spain and Kirsti Sparboe from Norway both participated for a second time. So did Claudio Villa from Italy. Serge Gainsbourg wrote a song, just like two years earlier. This time it was for Monaco. Singer Minouche Barelli let loose completely during Gainsbourg’s “Boum Badaboum”. The Greek Vicky (Leandros, though she did not use that surname yet) did the same. Her “L’amour est bleu” became a big hit, but not exactly for her. Orchestra conductor Paul Mauriat made a single with the instrumental version and walked away with the hit. The voting was incredibly exciting. Not because of the winner, as that was the United Kingdom with a landslide. Rather because of the many errors and misses during the scoring. The scoreboard kept malfunctioning, forcing poor Erika Vaal to constantly make adjustments. In her panic, she forgot about the last one, the Irish jury. “I thought we were going to be left out,” a crestfallen Irish jury chairman remarked. But then again, it was pop star Sandie Shaw who won for the United Kingdom with “Puppet on a String.” She caused a sensation by winning barefoot! Her song became a worldwide hit and a classic. However, Sandie Shaw has never made a secret of the fact that she herself hated that song. There have indeed been times when she refused to sing it. For example, on a Dutch television show, she simply walked away when the interviewer mentioned the word Eurovision.

Read More »
April 1, 2026 No Comments
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