The best pastry shops in Milan

It could be for her food, it could be for the sun, it could be for the variety of her landscapes, or maybe art, fashion and architecture.

There’s always a good reason to visit Italy, whose inner elegance makes even little things lavish. It is exactly the attention to detail and its liveliness that marks out this city from Turin to Palermo.Not only can Milan be considered the center of Italian business, but it is also a fabulous place where Italian lifestyle is perfectly embodied. La Dolce Vita is here, out of the offices and inside cosy places able to sweeten your day. They can’t be called just coffee shops, tea rooms or pastry shops. A “pasticceria” is a place invented by a “Willy Wonka” and enjoyed by “Alice in Wonderland”. You can’t miss the experience of a Milanese pasticceria, the favourite place to have a rest for the fashionable ladies about town. Here are some of the best in the city.

Cova

There’s no Italian woman from 8 to 80 who doesn’t know about the Quadrilatero della moda, the luxury shopping district in the centre, where your eyes glimmer as much as the jewellery does. But there’s another reason to have a walk along those distinguished streets. Among the Milanese citizens, Cova is as well-known as Armani is. It’s one of the most ancient cafès in the city (1817), famous internationally for its Panettone, a typical Italian dessert, especially at Christmas time, and for its tasteful design. Even Ernest Hemingway quoted Cova in two of his novels, now with a major stake owned by LVMH.

Biancolatte

Literally meaning “White Milk”, Biancolatte is a bright and delicate pasticceria and restaurant. Homemade cakes, muffins and baked croissants with a foamy cappuccino are for sure the best way to start your day. If you miss breakfast and you are close by for a break in the middle of the day, I strongly recommend you try their creamy ice cream. Desserts are a must for Italians, its impossible to end lunch without something sweet.

Also ideal to spend time either sipping a hot chocolate or looking around their shop full of charming gifts, you’ll feel like you’re in a well decorated dolls’ house.

Cioccolati Italiani

Find all your 5 senses excited here. Just close your eyes and smell the aroma of chocolate, it’s everywhere and it is intoxicating. Look at the white, milk and dark chocolate fountains, you can try them all; in fact all the ice-cream cones are filled with your favourite type of chocolate before adding delectable ice-cream flavours on top. Or maybe you might prefer the aroma of an Italian coffee “Cioccolati Italiani”. It is easy to prepare: some melted chocolate (I suggest the white one to taste the strong contrast) is poured into a little cup, then hot espresso is thrown in which solidifies the chocolate. The mix and match is exceptional. Don’t forget to have a look at the big wall made of chocolate bars before going out to discover Milan.

Taveggia

Welcome to the 30s! Just one step ahead and you are back in time. Marble on the floor, clear glass mixed with wood on the walls, leather on the chairs and a decadent crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. This is a refined historical cafè-pasticceria founded in 1909, then renovated and refurbished in 1930 in a new venue in the heart оf Milan. The owner invented the so-called “bomba di riso”, a special dessert filled with rice and custard, pairing perfectly with an espresso. Since 2010, Taveggia is also a restaurant, where all the raw ingredients are sourced from different regions of Italy.