You know how they say that in the past, rivers were the "interstate highways" of the time? Well,…read moreit's true. And even though this isn't a river, this canal was used to transport goods from Pavia to Milan. This one is the Pavia Canal and was not completed until the Napoleonic period. It begins at the canal basic known as the Darsena, under the so-called Trofeo Bridge. Locks enable it to negotiate differences in level at various points along its 33 kilometer route, culminating in the visually striking sequence where the canal flows into the Ticino River. When the canal opened to navigation in 1819, Milan was finally connected via the Ticino and Po rivers to the Adriatic Sea. This project, which began in the 15th century with the construction of the Bereguardo Canal and the Martesana Canal made the city a crossroads between continental Europe and the Mediterranean. [Review 10677 overall, 445 of 2019.]

The Naviglio Pavese (some may NOT be aware) is not a natural river flow. Its construction dates…read moreback to 1564, though interrupted 20 years later and completed only ib 1819. It was (once) a 33 km long navigable river that linked Milano to Pavia and, through the flight of six locks to the River Ticino. It has been closed to navigation back in the 1960s, but has recently been considered for restoration to full navigation, connecting Switzerland to Venice via inland waterway. Those who love biking will be extremely pleased with the cycle lane that promises to lead you from the Darsena (downtown Milan) to Pavia. To those who want to enjoy some live music or some happy hours (drinks and food for competitive price) many are the options (La Sacrestia, Maya, Movida (i would strongly NOT recommend this one) King, puentoalegre are but a few choices). For those who just want to stroll around... just take a few moments to yourselves, and stroll around this minor naviglio. It is just as cute at night as it is during the day.

You are walking around the center of town, like most dutiful tourists do... you have marvelled the…read moreColonne Di San lorenzo (one of the vrey few Roman remains still "intact"... you are probably either looking for a great place to eat, or are lost... and... You stumble upon a white wall decorated with old dolls pinned on the wall... DO NOT FEAR. .. you are not partaking in the latest horror sequel of SAW... It is simply a permament exhibition, to which you may choose to give your personal contribution. All dolls up on the wall represent a woman who has been killed (by a relative or an ex lover/husband). YES. .. i realize many may think this is a bit GORY, sending a chill down your spine... but, life is not not all fairytale like... AND if you have stopped and thought about how in Italy a woman is killed every 3 days, then.. this exhibit has served its purpose. .. I will remember, one of these days, to pin my own doll up on the wall, symbolizing how lucky i was to survive my own demon and live to tell my story.

Interesting and creepy same time. No need to make a trip to see the wall but you can reach it…read moreeasily from Duomo if you really interested.

L.O.V.E. While…read morewandering from the Museo del Duomo to San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, I needed to find something besides another cathedral, which is what I wanted to see, to capture my husband's attention. After checking out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery around the corner, we stumbled across this monumental sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan. Also known as Il Dito, or The Finger, it is a giant hand with all of the fingers cut off except for the middle finger sculpted from Carrara marble. L.O.V.E. The name L.O.V.E. stands for Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità, which translates to Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity. It is located in Piazza Affari in front of the Italian Stock Exchange, although it did not start there originally. Coincidence?? Art brings the world together. While talking to the manager of Tavola at a Wine and Food Event in The Woodlands, he actually told us a story about Maurizio Cattelan, whose piece The Comedian sold for $6.2 million. Interesting to learn more about this self-trained Milano based artist who uses humor and satire in his works of art. My husband did share our Milan photos with that manager. We bonded over L.O.V.E.

L.O.V.E. aka Il Dito (Italian for 'the finger') is a sculpture consisting of a hand with the middle…read morefinger. The name L.O.V.E. is the acronym of "Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità" ("Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity"). The sculpture is placed in front of the Italian stock exchange. It's a fun art piece to check out that wasn't too out of the way.

Best meal I have ever had in my life. Ask the other reviews said the same. The food is still on…read moremy mind from one year ago. I hope anyone traveling within 100 miles makes a point to add this to their trip. Incredible. Plus Chef Moreno and his wife are charming and warm, kind and very funny. Other tip - let someone else do the driving. The winding hairpin turns were just like those mountain roads in all the best movies in Italy. Do yourself this one favor - go!

I read a review where the reviewer wrote he was still thinking about this meal 4 years later and…read morethese words couldn't be truer! Absolutely incredible! The tasting menu delicious, the veal was incredible, and the risotto with mushrooms and apple, wow! Such a warm cozy place and great overall experience. Book ahead of time, they turned 10 people away just tonight!

Our first night in Varenna, Lake Como ended on a good note thanks to Locanda Cavallino. We showed…read moreup the day of & asked to make a reservation for that very same night. The waiter kindly put a reservation for table at 8 PM on their outside patio. While we couldn't get a full view of the water, that atmosphere was so nice and everybody was generally very pleasant, which was relaxing. Their menu was vast and because we had so many choices, we ended up ordering so much off of the menu, including fries with ketchup, their soup of the day, (which was a zucchini cream soup), cocktails and mocktails, seafood pasta and monkfish, shrimp & scallop skewers. Safe to say, we are completely full by the time we left, but everything was delicious and I didn't regret anything we ordered.

An elevated dining experience right by the ferry stop. They have an outdoor area overlooking the…read morelake but on cool march evening we dined inside. The interior is just a beautiful space modern but still showing off the old stone walls. Plenty of tables but all of them separate and not stuffed together so you will have privacy. The wine list is extensive while the menu is a bit more concise. The food is locally sourced and all is home made. The bread basket is not an after thought but a an excellent blending of different breads and bread sticks. I wanted to try the risotto with fish filets but they only prepare for 2 so I asked our waitress for he favorite dish she l Pointed to the raviolis stuffed with rabbit. They were amazing the wife had a top notch pasta with mushrooms.foe desert tired of tiramisu we asked the waitress she led up to a wonderful tarte with lemon ricotta and blueberries . Wow!!

I couldn't be more thrilled to have found this delightful restaurant. An elderly Italian couple…read morewelcomed us into their cozy, 6-table restaurant. With their limited English (and our nonexistent Italian) we were able to order and enjoy a delicious meal. The marinated vegetable appetizer was a variety of nicely seasoned veggies---carrots, artichokes, tiny mushrooms, pearl onions, zucchini. The grilled cheese appetizer stole the show. A nice piece of toma, a cow's milk cheese that is a regional specialty, wrapped in the thinnest slices of smoked ham and then grilled. Cutting it open, the melting cheese relaxed onto the serving platter (and soon after, into my mouth!) It was perfect with the fresh bread provided. Our main course was the evening special, parmigiana di melanzane (eggplant parmasean). Only the freshest ingredients made it a delight. Espresso was all we could have after this much food, but the desserts served to a nearby table looked good enough that we may have to return. When you are in Bellano, i highly recommend Taverna Malanote.

Tonight we walked off the beaten path and checked out Taverna Malanotte! This is the perfect little…read morespot for people Looking for a genuine experience and not a cheesy tourist stop on the strip. This family owned restaurant wine bar is cared for by Roberta and Carlo. Roberta and Carlo make you feel like you are having a home cooked meal, especially because Roberta is actually preparing it. When we walked in, Carlo nodded for us to sit wherever we'd like. It is a very relaxed and home feeling environment. They didn't speak much English, but we were able to converse in Spanish perfectly. Roberta is especially sweet and tells you what she's made for the night. We initially went for the lasagna, but unfortunately it was sold out. This unfortune was actually a huge fortune, because she made us her risotto and parmigiana melanzana!!!! They were both excellent. I don't even like eggplant and that parmigiano was the best thing I had to eat in my two week vacation in Italy! Then there was Roberta's homemade chocolate cake. OMG! It reminded me of my mom's chocolate soufflé but in a cake form. Get the cake! My husband had the tiramisu which did not disappoint either! We also ordered a Bruschetta as an appetizer and that was wonderful as well! Roberta even gave us her email to ask for the recipe for the parmigiana! All in all, I would say we highly recommend this place! A couple came in after us and tried to order the lasagna as well as they had had it a couple nights prior and were back to order it again! Bummed we didn't get to try it, but we were not dissapointed in the least. We will certainly be back the next time we visit Bellano.

Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5…read moreAmbiance: 4/5 One of the restaurants that open a little bit early so we have decided to try it out. We got there 10 minutes before and people started coming after us. We got the seat even we didn't have reservations. I ordered risotto with fried perch (minimum 2 orders), lake fish sampler entree, and white wine to pair with fish dishes. Risotto flavor was good but the texture was a bit hard for my taste. It was different from the one I had in Venice. I don't know which one is authentic but I don't really like the texture of this one. Lake fish sampler also great on seasoning but then again some fishes have small bones which I didn't like. So if small bones bother you like me, I suggest don't order this dish. Also order "Miascia" with figs jam and pumpkin ice-cream. Which tasted balance with ice cream and taste of fig jam. Overall experience was ok but it was a bit over priced.

There was not much selection of restaurants on Varenna in Lake Como. So we stumbled across this…read morerestaurant without reservation for dinner. We were seated as soon as they opened; which was very nice of them. We ordered their Risotto and Grilled fish and ended our dinner with sweet dessert that they have. Their Risotto was not my favorite because the rice was tough to chew and fish had tiny bones in them. Risotto had good seasoning but texture was not what I prefer. Grilled fish platter was decent but fish had a lot of tiny bones that I didn't like. Seasonings were great! Service was good and staff were talking in English and smiling and friendly with people. Table settings were in family style and this place is good for large families.

What a delicious meal we had on our last day in Varenna. It is the best meal we have had on our…read moretrip. This is a small cozy restaurant, only 6 tables inside but there are some outside tables. We had a 45 minute wait for a table. It was rainy and cold but worth it. We had the Caprese salad with Baratta cheese and wonderful tomatoes. It was big enough to share. For the main dishes we had pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese and lemon, with a Parmesan cheese sauce, and lamb shank with mashed potatoes. The pasta was spot on with a light lemony flavor, the lamb was tensor and succulent. Not to be forgotten was the red wine. We chose a bottle of Barbaresco that was smooth with great legs. Unfortunately we were too full for dessert.

Food: 5/5 Service: 4/5…read moreAmbiance: 4/5 There is only a handful of restaurants in Varenna for dinner and this one is top of my list. Previous night I ate at different restaurant and it was ok so I didn't have much expectation coming to this but I was wrong. I ordered Grilled octopus, Burrata with tomatoes for appetizer and flat noodles pasta with duck meat for main course. Also ordered house white wine to start. The restaurant filled up quick. They brought cured meat with cheese on the house while I was waiting for the food. The dishes came out not so long after. Octopus was cooked right about of time, it was very tender. I enjoyed the pasta very much. All the dishes tasted so well that I want to order some more but I was full. This is my go to restaurant if I come to Varenna again. Highly recommended

On another of my days explorations I set out to find the flamingo's of Milan!…read more It wasn't far from the Natural History Museum really. How uniquely unexpected. I highly recommend seeing this amazing group of pink flamingos! I heard them before seeing them!

Highly Recommend!…read more Great service and the restaurant was very nice and organized with good ambiance. Service was excellent. Staff were very nice and helpful. Food was excellent. Everything we had was fresh.

Such a fun vibe despite being so busy!…read more Service was attentive and understanding as we dined with our two small toddlers later in the evening. The bruschetta was absolutely incredible and the tomatoes were the freshest I've ever tasted. The pizza had the perfect amount of crunch and flavor And we all really enjoyed the carbonara and lasagna as well. Great wine list to boot! Given the limited options around Menaggio, we ended up eating here almost every dinner of our trip. They also own a very sweet wine shop down the road that is an absolute must visit. The lady who ran it was so warm and welcoming. Our kids wanted to come in every day just to say hello to her! (And we took plenty of olive oil and wine home)