Bohemian Brera: Exploring the appeal of Milan's artistic neighbourhood

Cobbled streets, green oases and a timeless atmosphere await in this Italian haunt

The cobbled streets of Brera in Milan, Italy. Getty Images

Honeysuckle trails from balconies, cobblestones gleam in the sunshine and artists' ateliers form the creative pulse of Milan's most beguiling district. Welcome to Brera, the bohemian heart of a city that all too often is dismissed as Italy's capital of commerce and fashion.

While Rome seduces with ancient ruins and Naples captivates with its frenetic energy, Milan unfolds its charms rather more discreetly. At first glance, beyond the imposing Duomo Di Milano, or Milan Cathedral, with its 3,400 statues and soaring buttresses, the city appears dominated by luxury boutiques. While these inviting storefronts offer joyful window shopping, the goods inside are priced well beyond my travel writer's modest budget.

But just a little north of the tourist crowds is Brera, the neighbourhood that transformed my impressions of this northern Italian city.

I can't take credit for discovering it myself, that instead must go to Casa Brera, my elegant base during my Milan stay. The hotel opened as part of Marriott International's Luxury Collection in February, inside a 1950s Italian Rationalist building that is unusual in a neighbourhood famed for its flamboyance.

Behind the hotel’s gridded facade, a dramatic transformation has taken place and it's here, from my small but perfectly formed room swathed in a palette of pinks, golds, blues and turquoise, that I drink in vistas of the Brera neighbourhood.

Casa Brera's rooftop pool offers Duomo views. Photo: Marriott

Brera is filled with residential buildings, luxury hotels, galleries, restaurants and parks. This cobbled neighbourhood was once a humble fishing village, but after the Second World War it became a gathering place for Milan's bohemian crowd.

By the 1960s, its cafes and art galleries brimmed with creatives. Today it is one of Milan's most bourgeois districts, home to some of Italy's most expensive property, where prices regularly exceed €25,000 ($28,700) per square metre, according to recent figures from estate agents Mansion Global. While this upscale evolution has cost the district a little of its offbeat character, it remains a beautiful place to enjoy a stroll, discover hidden corners and catch a glimpse of the past.

For old-world Brera, the market on Via San Marco is the place to start. It draws locals and tourists to buy fresh fish, Italian cheeses and bouquets of flowers, as well as their weekly staples. I pick up a chunk of Gorgonzola, and stuff it into my backpack before exploring the surrounding winding pedestrian streets lined with vintage stores, boutiques and craft shops. They give me a glimpse of Brera's importance to Milan's new generation of creatives and designers.

Quiet corners

Brera Design District has workshops, ateliers and craft stores around every corner. Pushing open an unmarked door, I find myself in a jewellery designer’s studio, and she welcomes me with a smile. A little later, I wander under an archway only to find I’m in the free-entry Museo del Risorgimento. Don’t be shy about nudging open anonymous doors or venturing into what look like unmarked buildings as you stroll the streets.

Inside the Brera Botanical Garden. Getty Images

My favourite spot, which I urge every traveller to visit, is Brera Botanical Garden. Here, surrounded by the hum of the city, is a green oasis that dates from 1775. Formed at the behest of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, whose empire included Milan, the garden was previously a vegetable allotment for the Jesuit Fathers who lived in the adjacent Palazzo Brera. Today, its flower beds bloom with native Lombardy plants, overlooked by two towering Ginkgo biloba trees, both more than 200 years old. It is free to enter: simply stroll through the Pinacoteca di Brera to find it.

Brera's artistic heart

Installation Library of Light by Es Devlin on show at Pinacoteca di Brera. Getty Images

The Pinacoteca is my other must-visit recommendation in Brera. Upstairs from one of Italy’s most prestigious art schools, this internationally celebrated museum is the district’s crown jewel and a treasure trove of Italian masterpieces. In the sprawling 17th-century courtyard, an imposing marble statue of Napoleon by Antonio Canova dominates the palazzo, a space that often hosts exhibitions. During my visit, I’m thrilled to catch Es Devlin’s monumental kinetic installation Library of Light, a revolving cylindrical sculpture created from illuminated bookshelves and more than 2,000 titles. Inside the museum, masterpieces on show include Luca Signorelli's tender Madonna del Latte and Francesco Hayez's The Kiss.

A few hundred metres down the street, I stumble across Pettinaroli & Figli, a craft store that’s been running since 1938. Inside, the shelves are lined with thick leather-bound journals and intricate ink-writing sets, plus plenty of unique souvenir options. It’s also home to one of the world's largest collections of vintage prints, antique Italian maps and government charts and globes, making it popular with cartophiles and collectors.

From here, Bar Jamaica is a good place to stop and refuel. Opened in 1911, this bar was once the meeting point for Brera’s poets, politicians, writers and artists. Today it is a retro spot to meet friends and family, especially in the late afternoon at aperitivo time. Much more than just a pre-dinner drink, aperitivo is an Italian institution consisting of a refreshment and a light bite. Originating in the north of the country, nowhere is it more celebrated than in Milan. Bar Jamaica's tramezzini, or triangle-shaped sandwiches, are ingrained in the neighbourhood’s aperitivo history.

Given these tasty morsels’ popularity, this bar can be busy, but if you arrive too late to grab a table, don't worry. Bar Brera, across the street, is also a worthy stop. The 19th-century neighbourhood tavern offers an excellent mix of history and modernity, alongside a classic Italian menu and a prime people-watching position.

Brera's most charming attractions are its secret corners. I stumble upon the entrance to Giardini Perego, a hushed public park carved from what was once one of Milan's grandest gardens, and where locals go to escape the city. Farther out, right on the edge of the district, is the Chiesa di San Marco, a 13th-century church housing treasures and mysteries such as a recently discovered trapdoor beneath the feet of the Madonna della Cintura statue. Here, surrounded by centuries-old frescoes, I find myself blissfully alone, away from the tourist crush at the famous Duomo just streets away.

And this is Brera's enduring allure. Although designer boutiques and high-street names now stand alongside traditional osterias, galleries and artisan workshops, an untamed creative spirit lingers. This neighbourhood remains proudly nonconformist, a testament to its artistic soul. So while pilgrims and tourists flood Italy's Vatican City during this jubilee year, Milan's bohemian enclave offers holidaymakers a worthwhile alternative.