Nightlife

On Wednesday and Thursday, Milan's newspapers tend to devote a lot of ink to club schedules and cultural events. If you don't trust your command of Italian to plan your nightlife, check out the tourist office in Piazza Duomo -- there are usually piles of fliers lying about that announce upcoming events. The tourist office also keeps visitors up-to-date with Milano Mese, a periodical it distributes for free with schedules of events, as well as listings of bars, clubs, and restaurants.

The Performing Arts 

On the other side of the Galleria from the Duomo is Italy's premier opera house, Teatro Alla Scala, Piazza Scala (tel. 02-887-91), known to everyone as "La Scala." The calendar of events and online ticket office can be found at www.teatroallascala.org. Tickets go on sale about 3 months before a performance and sell out quickly for popular performances. Tickets can also be had the day of a performance; check the ticket office at the Duomo metro stop for details on availability. Purchase tickets online (all major credit cards accepted) or at about a dozen travel agencies around the city, and at various travel agencies throughout the country. For a complete list, visit the website.

The adjacent museum, Il Museo Teatrale Alla Scala (tel. 02-8879-7473), pays tribute to the leading Italian lights in opera and ballet, often hosting exhibits of costumes worn at La Scala performances long ago. Also of note for scholars is a library of more than 40,000 musical works. The museum and library are open daily from 9am to 12:30pm and from 1:30 to 5:30pm. Entrance is 5€.

Movies 

In Italy, English-language films are almost always dubbed into Italian, providing English speakers with an opportunity to bone up on their Italian but taking some of the fun out of a night at the movies. Fortunately, there are always a few theaters that screen English-language films in the original version 1 night a week. These three theaters take turns showing the same film on different nights of the week (the film changes every week): Anteo, Via Milazzo 9 (tel. 02-659-7732; Metro: Moscova), on Monday; Arcoboleno, Vle. Tunisia 11 (tel. 02-2940-6054; Metro: Porta Venezia), on Tuesday; and Mexico, Via Savona 57 (tel. 02-4895-1802; Metro: Porta Genova), on Thursday.

Pubs & Bars 

One of the most storied Brera hangouts is Bar Jamaica, Via Brera 32 (tel. 02-876723; Metro: Lanza), an old-school bar where Mussolini once sat to work on his newspaper articles, and now arty locals and literati tolerate the company of better-heeled partygoers at the outdoor tables. The owner, Carlina, stirs a stiff drink, making this a worthwhile stop on the way to the clubs at Porta Garibaldi.

A publike atmosphere, induced in part by Guinness on tap and a very crowded aperitivo hour (about 6-8pm), where you can load up on free pasta and other munchies, prevails at Liberty-style Bar Magenta, Via Carducci 13 at Corso Magenta (tel. 02-805-3808; Metro: Cadorna), in the neighborhood from which it takes its name; it's open Tuesday to Sunday and has the best panini in the city, usually made by old men with an old-fashioned meat-slicing machine. The cafe also offers wireless Internet access to its patrons.

En route to the Navigli, you can't help noticing the huge crowd of 20-somethings milling around outside the basilica di San Lorenzo, maybe kicking around a soccer ball through the crowd, usually with cocktails and beers in hand: Chances are, those drinks came from Luca's Bar, Corso Porta Ticinese 51 (tel. 02-5810-0405; Metro: Sant'Ambrogio, just under the arch by the basilica, which has a sort of takeout service). Note that if you want to pull up a chair outside, you pay 6€ for a drink rather than the 5€ takeout price.

At the Navigli, Birreria La Fontanella, Alzaia Naviglio Pavese 6 (tel. 02-837-2391; Metro: Porta Genova), has canal-side tables outside and the oddest-shaped beer glasses around -- that half-a-barbell kind everyone seems to order is called the "Cavalliere." It's open Tuesday to Sunday 7pm to 3am.

Jazz Clubs 

Since Capolinea got ousted (Note: The club's name is still there at Via Lodovico il Moro 119, but it's not the old jazz club where the greats came to play; rather, it's some pathetic mimic of it slapped together by the next-door neighbors who forced the original owners out of this space), the best venue on the jazz-club scene is Le Scimmie, which has its own bar-boat moored in the canal. It's in the Navigli at Via Ascanio Sforza 49 (tel. 02-8940-2874; www.scimmie.it; Metro: Porta Genova) and operates Monday to Saturday, with shows starting between 10 and 10:30pm.

Music & Dance Clubs 

The dance scene changes all the time in Milan, but at whatever club is popular (or in business) at the moment, expect to pay a cover of 10€ to 15€ -- sometimes more for big-name live acts. Models, actors, sports stars, and the attendant fashion set favor Hollywood; it's small, chic, and somewhat centrally located in Brera at Corso Como 15 (tel. 02-655-5574 or 02-659-8996, or 02-679-8896 after 10:30pm; Metro: Garibaldi). It closes Mondays and July 23 to September 7. Across the street, at Corso Como 14, is Casablanca (tel. 39-38-46-1607), which has a nice Moroccan-flavor lounge in the back and caters to a slightly more mature clientele. For something a little funkier, try Plastic, Viale Umbria 120 (tel. 02-733-996; no Metro), where the people are a bit more colorful and the music more alternative. It's open only Friday to Sunday.

Milan's most venerable live music club is Rolling Stone, Corso XXII Marzo 32 (tel. 02-733-172; tram: 12, 27, 45, 60, 66, 73, or 92), in business since the 1950s. Most of the performers these days are of a rock bent, and the club is as immensely popular as ever. Cover charges, which vary widely depending on who's performing, are less expensive for women than for men, and more expensive on weekends than on weekdays; it's closed Sunday and Monday.

Note: There are no specific club hours in Milan. Opening and closing times vary with the seasons and with the crowds, with openings anywhere from 7 to 11pm and closings anywhere from 1am to dawn, later on weekend nights.

Gay Clubs 

Milan's largest gay club is Nuovo Idea, Via de Castillia 30 (tel. 02-6900-7859; www.dinet.it/nuovaidea; Metro: Gioia); it attracts a mostly male crowd of all ages and offers everything from disco to polkas in a huge techno room. It's open Thursday to Sunday. Recycle, Via Calabria 5 (tel. 02-376-1531), is a women-only club Friday to Sunday 9pm to 2am, sometimes later (mixed crowd welcome Wed-Thurs nights). There is no Metro line nearby; use the intermittent Passante train, or blue line, to the Lancetti stop.

Via Sammartini, along the train station's left flank (Metro: Centrale), is a good street to hit. Next Groove, at no. 23 (tel. 02-6698-0450), is a mixed gay and lesbian disco bar of the phone-on-the-table sort and thematic evenings; it's open daily. Next door at no. 25, After Line Disco Pub (tel. 02-669-2130) is a bar/restaurant where a giant-screen TV and strobe light are switched on after dinner to turn it into a lesbian discothèque; it's open Tuesday to Sunday.

Night Owls' Favorite Haunts

While Brera is always happening and the Navigli certainly packs a (mostly suburban) crowd, for a more authentic Milanese experience, check out the other (northern) end of Corso di Porta Ticinese: the San Lorenzo district. There are great bars and cafes between there and Metro stop Sant'Ambrogio.