Reasons Why I DISLIKED Milan, Italy

Unfortunately some destinations aren't as great as they first seem.

I'm sad to come away from Milan with negative impressions... sigh.

Out of the 4 holiday destinations I've been to this year, Italy was definitely one of the top ones I was looking forward to for several reasons.

The amazing group of women I went with are my close childhood friends and this is the first time we'd all been together in such a long time, not to mention I hadn't seen some of them in 3-4 years! You can imagine my excitement, especially since we planned to go to Lake Como and Venice during the trip too. It was also my friend's birthday trip and she turned 21, so we expected many good nights out.

Unfortunately many things didn't go to plan at all, especially when we stayed in Milan.

Here's a list of things I really didn't enjoy about the city...

Number One:

It wasn't very student-budget-friendly at all! Italy is pretty expensive, so going only 2 weeks after my holiday to Malaga really didn't look good for my bank account.

WE ENDED UP PAYING £10 FOR JAEGER BOMBS... EACH!!! *internally screams*
We did eventually find some nice bars to go to, but the drinks were terrible! Watered down and stale... really unpleasant.

Number Two:

We received some very lacklustre customer service at restaurants. I was expecting some warm Italian welcomes and smiles the size of a pizza... but nope. Just some moody waiters who weren't very friendly at all. Really not worth the £2.50 service charge they charge per person! 

Number Three:

When you're a tourist, you feel more like a target. Instead of feeling ecstatic about seeing all these beautiful monuments and tourist attractions, I felt uncomfortable and homesick. Now that is saying something. I didn't even know about half of the tourist attractions we tried to see...

...which brings me to Number Four:

The crowds at the centre are near IMPOSSIBLE to get through. Obviously this was going to be the case since Milan is such a tourist red zone, but when all of the above has already annoyed you, even the little things will start to make your head itch.

Okay, I'm aware some of these may appear petty to some, but it really doesn't feel great to come across rude waiters and people who pester you for money (to the point it's borderline harassment!!) when you're trying to relax on holiday. 

From the several holidays abroad I've been on, this was the first time I genuinely felt upset while on holiday.

However, it is a little unfair for me to blame Milan for my unsatisfying experiences. I actually think it was my fault that I came across these problems in the first place...

Why, you ask?

Because I wasn't prepared for the holiday!

The number one advice I always urge people to do is to thoroughly research their holiday destination before going, and I didn't do any whatsoever before I went to Milan! Big mistake. 

This meant I didn't know what food to try, what locations to visit, what events were going on... I didn't even know the Men's Fashion Week was on while we were there!! Instead, we wasted lots of time walking around clueless about where to go.

Don't get me wrong, spending time with my childhood friends and celebrating a birthday abroad was priceless and I'm so thankful for the amazing people in my life, but I definitely made the mistake of going to another country without a tick-list.

The moral of this experience is that you always need to do your research to get the most out of your holiday. I've learnt my lesson, for sure.

Look out for my next travel post about my rules for preparing for a holiday - coming soon!

If you'd like to see what I got up to on my Italy trip, take a trip to my Instagram feed! You'll find pics of my Portugal and Spain holiday there too!

Fancy watching a video on my holiday? My Portugal Vlog is here on Youtube!

~ glessabella

xo.