Fondazione Prada

Fondazione Prada is where Milan's fashion money meets serious contemporary art, and it is one of the most striking cultural spaces in Europe. Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli set up the foundation in 1993, and in 2015 it opened its permanent Milan home in a former gin distillery dating from 1910 in the Largo Isarco area south of the centre, transformed by Rem Koolhaas's practice OMA. The design mixes the old industrial sheds and warehouses with three new buildings, so that the campus feels like a small town of art. The most famous of them is the Haunted House, an old four-storey building covered entirely in gold leaf, which glows in the sun and holds works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Robert Gober. The Podium hosts big temporary exhibitions; the Cinema shows film programmes; and the Torre, a white concrete tower completed in 2018, rises over the complex with galleries on each floor, a restaurant and a rooftop terrace with views across the rail yards to the city skyline. The exhibitions are the main draw: the foundation stages ambitious shows of contemporary and historical art, often curated by leading figures and rarely like anything you would see elsewhere, alongside a permanent collection of major works. Even if contemporary art is not your passion, the architecture repays the trip. And then there is Bar Luce, the cafe at the entrance designed by the film director Wes Anderson to evoke a mid-century Milanese bar, with pastel Formica, terrazzo, pinball machines and a ceiling modelled on the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele; it is open to everyone, and a coffee and pastry here is a pilgrimage for many visitors in its own right.

Tickets and hours: exhibitions are open every day except Tuesday, from morning to early evening. A full ticket is moderately priced and covers both the Milan site and the Osservatorio, the foundation's photography space on the upper floors of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, within thirty days; students under twenty-six and visitors over sixty-five pay a reduced rate, and under-eighteens enter free. Some exhibitions and areas, such as particular installations in the Torre, may have their own conditions, so check what is included when you book. Buying online, through the official site or a platform such as Tiqets, is easiest. Bar Luce does not require a ticket and keeps its own longer hours, opening early in the morning and even on Tuesdays.

How to see it: start at Bar Luce for a coffee, then pick up a map, because the campus can be confusing at first. See the Haunted House early, then the main exhibition in the Podium, and finish at the Torre, rising floor by floor to the rooftop. Allow at least two hours, three if a major exhibition is on. Photography rules vary by exhibition. The foundation is a calm, uncrowded place on weekdays and busier at weekends, especially during Design Week in April and fashion weeks.

Getting there and around: take the yellow metro line M3 to Lodi T.I.B.B.; the entrance is a few minutes' walk away. The surrounding area, between Porta Romana and the old rail yards, is changing fast: the former Porta Romana rail yard next door hosted the Olympic Village for the 2026 Winter Games and is being converted into student housing and new parks, and several fashion houses have moved their headquarters nearby. Combine the foundation with the Navigli, a short tram or taxi ride west, for an afternoon of art followed by aperitivo.