Experience San Siro

Eleven concrete cylinders wrap themselves around the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza like a Brutalist barley-sugar, their spiralling ramps hauling 75,000-odd punters up to the third tier in a slow, theatrical procession. Built by AC Milan in 1925, bunged a second tier in the Fifties and then crowned with those distinctive red girders for Italia '90, San Siro is the rare ground that looks more dramatic from the car park than the centre circle.

The oddity, of course, is that it belongs to two clubs at once. Inter moved in as lodgers in 1947 and never left, which means the place flips identity weekly — Nerazzurri blue-and-black one Saturday, Rossoneri red-and-black the next, with the dressing rooms repainted accordingly. When the two meet for the Derby della Madonnina, the Curva Nord and Curva Sud unfurl tifos that swallow entire ends, and the noise ricocheting off all that exposed concrete is something approaching seismic.

The 2025/26 season finds both sides in flux. Inter, under Cristian Chivu after Simone Inzaghi's summer departure to Saudi Arabia, are still leaning on Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram for goals. Milan, meanwhile, welcomed Massimiliano Allegri back to the dugout alongside new sporting director Igli Tare, with Rafael Leão expected to do the heavy lifting on the left flank.

Whether the old girl survives is the lingering question. The clubs finally bought the surrounding land in 2025 and the Foster + Manica design for a new ground next door is inching forward, with partial demolition pencilled in for the back end of the decade. Catch her while you can.

Milan wears its football the way it wears its tailoring — sharply, expensively, and with a faint air of disdain for anyone trying too hard. This is the city of Prada and panettone, of trams clattering past Renaissance churches and bankers spilling out of Brera bars at six o'clock sharp for an aperitivo.

The Navigli canals, dug out under Leonardo da Vinci's supervision, are the spiritual home of pre-match drinking, while the Duomo's spiky marble facade provides the obligatory selfie backdrop. It's a working city that happens to be beautiful, rather than a beautiful one that happens to work.

Metro

Line 5 (the lilac line) runs directly to San Siro Stadio, depositing you within wheezing distance of the turnstiles. Trains run every few minutes on matchdays and the journey from the centre takes around 20 minutes.

Tram

The number 16 trundles all the way from the Duomo to the stadium gates in about 35 minutes, which is the scenic option if you fancy watching Milan roll past the window with a panino in hand.

Walking and driving

Driving is a non-starter — parking around San Siro on matchday is closer to a hostage situation than a transaction. From the metro stop it's a five-minute amble through the surrounding residential streets.

Aperitivo is the rule, not the suggestion. Pitch up at a Navigli bar between six and eight, order a Negroni Sbagliato, and graze the complimentary buffet — it's effectively dinner for the price of a drink.

Dress code matters more than you'd expect, even at the football. Milanese fans turn up looking like they've wandered out of a Zegna catalogue, so leave the replica shirt-and-cargo-shorts combo at the hotel.

The new stadium saga rumbles on, so check whether your visit coincides with any redevelopment works affecting access on the southern side.