wcc 2008

From Linate Airport
Take bus no. 73 in the "National Arrivals Exit" area all the way to the terminal in Piazza San Babila. Go down into the Metro. Here take the Red Line 1 (Rho Fiera Milano direction) to "Amendola Fiera" - 1 km from MIC - or get out at "Cadorna" and go up to the Cadorna railway station on ground level: take the first train and get off at "Domodossola" - just 400 m from MIC.

From Malpensa Airport
The "MALPENSA EXPRESS" train service will take you directly from the airport to the centre of Milan in 40 minutes, arriving at the Ferrovie Nord "Cadorna" station. Here take the Red Metro Line 1 (Rho Fiera Milano direction) to "Amendola Fiera" - 1 km from MIC - or get out at "Cadorna" and go up to the Cadorna railway station on ground level: take the first train and get off at "Domodossola" - just 400 m from MIC.

From Orio al Serio Airport
The "AUTOSTRADALE" or "AIR PULLMAN" bus service will take you directly from the airport to Milan Central Station in 60 minutes: then take the Metro Geen Line 2 (Abbiategrasso direction) and get off at "Cadorna". Here take the Red Line 1 (Rho Fiera Milano direction) to "Amendola Fiera" - 1 km from MIC - or get out at "Cadorna" and go up to the Cadorna railway station on ground level: take the first train and get off at "Domodossola" - just 400 m from MIC.

From Central Railway Station
Take the Metro Green Line 2 (Abbiategrasso direction) and get off at "Cadorna". Here take the Metro Red Line 1 (Rho Fiera Milano direction) to "Amendola Fiera" - 1 km from MIC - or get out at "Cadorna" and go up to the Cadorna railway station on ground level: take the first train and get off at "Domodossola" - just 400 m from MIC.

From Downtown
Take the Metro Red Line 1 (Rho Fiera Milano direction) to "Amendola Fiera" - 1 km from MIC - or get out at "Cadorna" and go up to the Cadorna railway station on ground level: take the first train and get off at "Domodossola" - just 400 m from MIC.

Milan has long been a crossroad for travel between the continent and the peninsula, and there are plenty of options for getting in and out of town.

The Malpensa airport operates almost all international flights. It's about 50km (31mi) northwest of the city. Most domestic and some European flights use Linate airport, about 7km (4.5mi) east of the city centre. Public transportation links both airports to the city centre. Train lines from Stazione Central in the city centre run to all parts of Italy and Europe. There are two other stations, Nord and Porte Garibaldi, that may offer better deals.

Many of Italy's main motorways converge at Milan's ring road, known as the Tangenziale. Prepare to deal with unexpected traffic on your way into and out of Milan.

There is a computerised information service with details about flight departures only (tel: ) for both airports. Or you can visit their sites on the Internet: see www.sea-aeroportimilano.it respectively.

The Malpensa Express train links Stazione Nord with Malpensa airport (40mins, every half hour). Some early morning and evening services are provided by bus instead; the stop is on Via Paleocapa. The airport is also served by Malpensa Shuttle coaches, departing from Piazza Luigi di Savoia, outside Stazione Centrale. STAB runs buses to Orio al Serio airport near Bergamo. A taxi from Malpensa airport to Milan city centre is expensive so consider the other options first.

From Milan's Piazza Luigi di Savoia, on the right side of Stazione Centrale, buses run to Linate, Malpensa and Bergamo airports. Tickets are sold on board by the driver. You can also get a local ATM bus from Piazza San Babila (on the corner of Corso Europa). If you want to take a taxi from Linate airport to Milan city centre, it's very affordable.

You can catch a train from Stazione Centrale (Piazza Duca d'Aosta) to all major cities in Italy. Check schedules at http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html or at its information office (tel: ). Daily trains run to and from Venice (3.5hrs), Florence (3hrs), Genoa (1.5hrs), Turin (1.5hrs), Rome (5hrs) and Naples (7hrs). This is also a good point to pick up international connections to and from Switzerland (with the Cisalpino train) and France (with the TGV). Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) trains from Stazione Nord (Stazione Cadorna, Piazza Luigi Cadorna) connect Milan with Como (1hr, hourly). Regional services to many towns northwest of Milan are more frequent from Stazione Porta Garibaldi (Piazza Sigmund Freud).

This is also a good point to pick up international connections to and from Switzerland (with the Cisalpino train) and France (with the TGV). Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) trains from Stazione Nord (Stazione Cadorna, Piazza Luigi Cadorna) connect Milan with Como (1hr, hourly).

Regional services to many towns northwest of Milan are more frequent from Stazione Porta Garibaldi (Piazza Sigmund Freud).

Taxis in Milan are white, and park in ranks supplied with a telephone (the numbers can be found in the telephone directory under Taxi).

Immediately on entering the taxi there is a fixed charge of ? 3.10; there is a surcharge during public holidays of ? 1.55, and at night of ? 3.10. Radiotaxi switchboards: - - . Because of the frequent changes made to the tariffs, you should read carefully the information shown inside the taxi.

POLICE: ph.
CARABINIERI: ph.
FIRE BRIGADE: ph.
MUNICIPAL POLICE: ph.
POLICE HEADQUARTERS: Foreigners and passport office - ph.
BREAKDOWN SERVICE: A.C.I. Milano ph.
AMBULANCE: ph.
POISON ANTIDOTE CENTRE : ph.
PHARMACIES open 24 hours daily: Stazione Centrale, Galleria delle Partenze
ph.

Forget anything you thought you knew about Milan. Milan is not Italy's largest city, but it is unquestionably the country's top financial and fashion centre, with a truly cosmopolitan flavour. With a population of about 1.4 million people, Milan is the capital of the northern Italian region of Lombardy and is located in the Po plain, between the Alps and the Apennines Mountains, close to the Swiss border. Milan is the Italian capital of business and finance but also a city of culture and research with 10 universities; a cradle of history and art; a universal symbol of music; a centre of fashion and design. Home to a high-fashion industry that rivals that of Paris and New York, Milan offers visitors a world-renowned shopping experience, some exciting nightlife venues, as well as many beautiful Romanesque and Gothic buildings, art galleries and museums.

Most of the year Milan is not too hot and not too cold, either. There are occasional summer heat waves and springtime cold snaps, and the odd hailstorm that can bring on brilliant blue skies the next day.

EU citizens require only a passport or ID card to stay or work in Italy for as long as they like.

Citizens of many other countries, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland and Japan, do not need a visa if entering as tourists for up to three months.

Goods bought in and exported within the EU don't incur additional taxes, provided duty has been paid somewhere within the EU and the goods are for personal consumption.

Travellers arriving in Italy from outside the EU can import duty free up to 200 cigarettes, 1L of spirits, 2L of wine, 60ml of perfume, 250ml of eau de toilette, and other goods up to a total value of 175.50; anything over this limit must be declared on arrival and the appropriate duty paid.

Euro notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. It is often difficult to get change for a ?500.00 note.
One Euro is divided into 100 cents or centimes. Coins of 1, 2 and 5 centimes are copper-coloured; coins of 10, 20 and 50 centimes are gold-coloured; 1 and 2 Euro coins are gold-and-silver coloured.
Banks and post offices are the most reliable places to change travellers cheques and generally offer the best rates; shop around for the lowest commission deals and the shortest queues. Credit cards are widely accepted in Italy and the exchange rate is usually better than for cash or travellers cheques.
For the mainstream traveller, a credit card can mean never having to have more than a handful of euros on you. Some small pensioni, trattorie and pizzerie will only accept cash but ATMs are widespread and easy to use.

Milan is a multifaceted, complex, fascinating city. It is the international crossroads of cousine, music and entertainment. It is a unique interlacing of fashions, sounds and life styles, like a laboratory of trends and tastes.

Milan offers a wide range of ways to relax and take care to your beauty and health; in the elegant atmosphere of Milan?s spa and beauty farm, a true oasis of wellness, where professionalism and technology are melted with nature and its elements, men and woman, dipped in aromas and relaxing music, tasting fantastic natural infusions, with cycles of sauna and hammam baths, body scrub and salt massage can relax, improve and regenerate body and mind (perfect to relax yourself after a long business day!!!)

The Darsena served as town river docks for goods transport in Milan. It was built from 1603, and it reached 750 meters of length, becoming one of the major river ports in Italy. Today the Canals are a Milanese landmark, a place of both nostalgia and innovation, an artsy quarter and a hopping nightlife scene. The Navigli, lined with renovated historic buildings where artists and intellectuals now live, brimming with both old-fashioned and inventive cafes, shops, bars and restaurants that come to life especially in the evenings and weekends. Check out national historic site Vicolo dei Lavandai with its old stone washboards and rustic wooden shelter, and (in the long version) the Church of S. Cristoforo whose 15th century bell tower was once considered Milan?s lighthouse, signaling to arriving barges the journey?s near end.

The world of design has carved out a prominent niche for itself. Headquarters in Milan are important exhibition spaces like the Triennale, that organizes shows, conferences and seminars on various art forms; educational centres and cultural magnets that attract students from all over the world, fostering an atmosphere of creativity and a continuous debate.

All over the year there are so many things to do in Milan. There are numerous events and festivals like art exhibitions about painting, sculptures, photographs, clothing, images from cinema and television, guided tours, opera and ballets at the Scala Theatre, concert of pop, rock, jazz music, and also cinemas, discotheques, theatres, flea markets, antique markets and street markets, are an integral part of Milanese local life.

There are an enormous amount of sports available to visitors in the city or only minutes away in many nearby towns. Milan's sporting calendar is full of exciting events throughout the year. It?s the most real passion for Italians; in the city, there are several well-equipped fitness centres, swimming pool, tennis courts, places for jogging and golf courses which offer a good game with some splendid views?and don?t forget the ?Milan Soccer Temple?: San Siro Stadium!!!

Duomo Cathedral:
Life in Milan centre around the area of the Duomo, a huge Gothic cathedral, with more than 2,000 statues and over 140 spires, with a large gold Madonna at the top.

The St Maria delle Grazie Church:
It is one of the most striking monuments of Lombard Renaissance. The Church was built between 1466 and 1490. In 1492 the apsidal part was added by Bramante. In the refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, ancient premises of the Court of the Inquisition, one of the absolute masterpieces of history is kept: Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. The Last Supper painted by Leonardo da Vinci is ingeniously devised as an expansion of the perspective of the space in which it is set (1495-1497). It is one of the most famous works of art in the world, and has long been an
icon of Western civilization. The scene portrays the moment in which Jesus tells his disciples that one of them is about to betray him.

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II:
The Galleria was initially planned as a covered street to honour the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in 1859; but when Giuseppe Mengoni took over the direction of the works in 1864, it had already been dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. The Galleria was opened in 1867 and completed by the year 1878. This monumental building with a glazed iron roof is a pedestrian mall linking Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala. It is cross-shaped, the longest arm measuring 196 metres while the shortest 105.5 metres, 14.5 metres wide and 21
metres high, with the highest point reaching 47 metre

The Opera House:
The world's most famous opera house, The Scala Theatre, first opened in 1778 and has, since that time, entertained several generations of opera fans from around the world. Opera lovers who visit it will find numerous mementoes and items of opera memorabilia, including two rooms devoted to Verdi featuring, among other things, Verdi's scores in his own handwriting and his jewel-encrusted baton. Built by Piermarini, it is a characteristic example of Milanese Neoclassicism. In the centre of Piazza Della Scala, Leonardo poses among four of his most noted apprentices. The monument is by Pietro Magni (1872).

The Sforza Castle:
The Sforza Castle is the most representative civil monument of the Reinassance in Milan and its interest lies in the presence of the memories that each historical period left on it.

The St. Ambrose Church:
The most important of Milan?s Romanesque churches (dating back to 379). Artists like Bramante, Bergognone and Luini contributed to the pictorial art. Don?t miss the wooden choir, in Late Gothic style, and the crypts that preserve the relics of Bishop Ambrose, the city?s patron saint.

The Royal Villa:
Stunning Neoclassical villa, now home of the Modern Art Gallery and the Contemporary Art Pavilion. The park, open to the public, was one of the first English gardens in Italy.

Brera The artistic district:
Milan?s magnificent past is preserved well: from proud examples of the Renaissance?s artistic and cultural fervour to the extravagances of the Belle Époque. Its eclectic architecture, open to all influences, reflects a vitality and an exceptional creative impulse. One of the gems is the Palazzo di Brera, a former Jesuit college, now an art academy, library and art museum that are among the most important in Italy (from its windows, admire the exotic plants in the Botanical Garden below, created by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1774.). Imposing 17th century building with majestic portal. In the courtyard, a bronze of Napoleon by Canova.

Science and Technology Museum:
In addition to several of the Master?s original drawings, the Leonardo Gallery has about 30 machine models built according to his notes. Precious and numerous exemplars of timepieces are collected in the renovated section Binda Wyler Vetta, which includes a reproduction of an authentic clock making workshop from the 1700s.

Italy has four GSM mobile-phone networks: TIM (Telecom Italia), Omnitel, Wind and Tre. Between them they offer a mind-boggling number of monthly subscriptions and package deals to choose from.
Local calls are charged by the minute, and there is an off-peak rate 18:30 to 08:00 weekdays, after 13:00 on Saturdays and all day Sunday.

Telecom Italia is Italy's largest telecommunications organisation, and its public payphones can be found throughout Milan. Only a few public phones accept coins; most accept phone cards that are sold at post offices, tobacconists, newspaper stands and vending machines at train stations and in Telecom offices.

Eating is one of Milan's great pleasures. There's an endless choice of places to eat with a wide choice of every kind of imaginable food.
The city has a strong provincial cuisine, featuring polenta, risotto scented with saffron, and panettone. Bone marrow is elevated to art form in the traditional osso buco.
But the city offers a wide range of types of cuisine and alongside traditional Italian cooking you can also find excellent restaurants specialising in food from many other countries.

There are plenty of bars and cafes, whether you are going out for an aperitif and cocktails before dinner (typical of Milan, don?t miss it!!!).
The choice will vary from area to area and in the popular Brera quarter and close to the Navigli, the bars usually have tables outside in the summer where it is possible to forget that you are in the busy commercial city of Milan.

By the time you reach Milan, a list dedicated to selected places will be available.

Milan ranks alongside Paris and London as one of Europe's greatest places to shop. Fashion is its lifeblood, and the famous Golden Quad houses some of the world's most exclusive boutiques.

The Quadrilatero, the fashion district, is bordered by Via Montenapoleone, Via Manzoni, Via della Spiga and Via Sant' Andrea. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the Milanese "front parlour" is an elegant shrine to shopping and café society.

Rinascente, the city's top department store, is a must, as is 10 Corso Como, a trend-setting store, with a stylish restaurant. The city is also known as a leader in design, with shops selling rare and original furniture.

The Como Lake:
For over 2,000 years, poets from Virgil and Catullus to Tennyson and Longfellow have raved about the lakes of Lombardy, but it is impossible to do justice when describing the spectacular beauty of Lake Como without visiting and understanding it. The lake is approximately 28 miles (45 km) long and never more than 2 miles (3 km) wide. Private boats and ferries travel up and down the lake, offering views of the most important villas, such as Villa d'Este and Villa del Balbianello, Villa Pizzo and Villa Carlotta. From the pier of the scenic town of Cernobbio, a less-than-two-hour boat ride transports visitors to Bellagio, "Pearl of the Lake" - the most picturesque village of Lake Como.

Liguria ? Portofino ? The Five Lands:
Liguria has an abundance of natural beauty and the various names given to it such as "Paradise Gulf", "Siren bay", "Bay of silence", "Bay of fairy tales", "Sea's echo" are all a testimony to the magnificent beauty of these marine landscapes.

Portofino:
A pearl protected by its shell ? that?s how Portofino appears to the visitors when coming from the Sea.
Day and night, always a wonderful sight. Maybe it is for this reason that Portofino from the 50s and 60s has become one the symbols of the ?dolce vita?, the life of pleasure; it is the place where you can meet on the wharf of the small port or in the characteristic lanes the great protagonists of everybody?s dreams: stars from Hollywood, important personalities of arts, politics, and industry.
Since 1995 Portofino is member of the Club ?Jewels of European Tourism?, that groups together high-quality European tourist centres of unquestioned cultural and environmental interest.

The Five Lands:
The Cinque Terre represent one of the best preserved natural and semi-natural areas of the Mediterranean. Historical and geomorphologic reasons have forbidden excessive housing development and the creation of major roadways. Human activity and especially viticulture, have contributed to create a unique landscape in which development of the typical stone walls is so extensive as to equal that of the famous Great Wall of China. All this makes the Cinque Terre an increasingly sought after location among Italian and foreign tourists. This is not so much the result of a successful promotional campaign but rather the spontaneous recognition of the uniqueness of the place, of its beauty, of the enjoyment one gets from staying in or visiting it.