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Salone del Mobile, the largest and most prestigious furniture show in the world and the anchor event to Milan Design Week, returns April 8 through 13. With hundreds of new products scattered through the halls of Fiera Milano and installations popping up across the city as part of Fuorisalone, a mere six days of fair is a blink of an eye for the amount of time needed to cover it all. But we’ll try our best—and we promise to bring you along.
Below, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on how to best tackle the seemingly endless installations, product debuts, exhibitions, and social events scheduled to take over Milan. From first-timer tips on where to eat and drink to a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown of where to go and what to see, we have all your Milan Design Week questions answered.
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What, when, where
This year marks the 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile, the Milan furniture fair that draws nearly 2,000 industry brands from across the world to the sprawling halls of the Fiera Milano convention center, located in Rho, about a 30-minute commute by car or train from the heart of Milan. Fuorisalone, made up of showroom events and design installations within Milan, will take place April 6–13.
What to know about the fair
For those wanting to scope out as many new makers and product debuts as possible, walking swiftly through Salone del Mobile will be your best bet. Reserve several days to work through 16 halls and thousands of industry exhibitors, with categories hitting every room of the house (home spa, office, gym, and outdoor spaces included). The Milan furniture fair also hosts EuroLuce, the biennial lighting exhibition showcasing what’s new and next in illumination. Also returning is the SaloneSatellite showcase, the always-inspiring section highlighting the work of young designers.
Prior to setting foot in Fiero Milano, we recommend making a list of priority exhibitors. (It’s easy to overlook a brand you love while trying to navigate the crowded halls.) Plus it’s all but impossible to see everything at Salone each year, so setting a few priorities and then letting yourself wander is often the best bet.
Where to eat, drink, and stay
Getting through Milan Design Week requires stamina, and while the city offers endless (and essential) espresso and Aperol spritz opportunities, design aficionados have more celebratory options as well. Among our favorites? Dimorestudio’s take on the traditional trattoria, Trattoria del Ciumbia, a Brera spot inspired by the city’s ’60s avant-garde art movement, color-drenched in raisin red. Stop in for the menu’s fresh Milanese-style pastas, then head downstairs for a late night at the steel-clad Disco club, reserved for restaurant guests. Other hot spots include Beefbar by French duo Humbert & Poyet and Mediterranean-inspired Zaia, inside the Aethos Hotel.
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When it comes to hotels, the buzziest addresses include Venice-by-way-of-New-York transplant Casa Cipriani, the Studio Marco Piva–designed Palazzo Touring Club, and ultraluxe Ferragamo-family owned Portrait Milano hotel set in the grand Seminario Arcivescovile di Milano. You also can’t go wrong with a classic like the Hotel Principe di Savoia near Porta Nuova, the Grand Hotel et de Milan (designed by Dimorestudio), or relative newcomer Milano Verticale, strategically placed behind the 10 Corso Como complex.
Just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Duomo, Max Brown Missori is a newer presence in Milan’s stylish hospitality space. Appointed by Amsterdam-based interior designer Saar Zafrir, the property’s 64 rooms are filled with colorful vintage finds with ’70s flair and range from tiny (because sometimes you really just need a place to lay your weary, post–Bar Basso head) to totally tricked out.
Design happenings not to miss
Where to find installations that awe
Each year, Alcova manages to defy expectations. For its ninth edition, the event reopens Villa Borsani and the 19th-century Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, among many others. But all eyes will be on a pair of new venues, as Studio Ranieri sites a monumental lava stone collection in the rationalist former Snia factory, and Objects of Common Interest collabs with Greek Marble for a sculptural installation at the Pasino Glasshouses (Villa Borsani: Via Umberto I, 148; Villa Bagatti Valsecchi: Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48; Corso Giacomo Matteotti, 11; Via Vittorio Emanuele II).
Another 19th-century gem, Palazzo Donizetti, opens to the public for the first time to host L’Appartamento’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of Artemest, with rooms transformed by Brigette Romanek, Champalimaud Design, Meyer Davis, and more (Via Gaetano Donizetti, 48). And at the fairgrounds, French architect Pierre-Yves Rochon has conceived Villa Héritage, an installation seeped in craftsmanship, arts, and culture that is designed to give fairgoers a multisensory respite from the buzzing exhibition halls (Fiera Milano, Rho – Pavilions 13 -15). Need a drink after all that? Samuel Ross and The Balvenie have you covered, with a site-specific series of copper sculptures expanding on the idea of distillation installed (with a sculptural bar serving pours, of course) in a historic foundry in the Isola District (Via Genova Thaon di Revel, 21).
Where to discover new talent
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Capsule Plaza is always among the city’s most exciting venues; this year, Nordiska Galleriet presents its latest creations and Hem unveils Philippe Malouin’s Great Sofa there (Capsule Plaza). Dropcity unveils research projects devoted to penitentiary time and the work of Parisian studio Bruther (Via Sammartini 38-60). Studio Yellowdot debuts three massive Hatch floor lamps at Rossana Orlandi (Via Matteo Bandello, 14). And if you’ve still got time, check out Jamie Wolfond and Simple Flair’s show of clocks created by some two dozen design studios at Riviera (Via Gorani, 4).
Where to celebrate a milestone
This year, Milan Design Week sees major anniversaries: Porro reaches its centenary with a full roster of heavy hitters, including Dordoni Studio, in town to celebrate (Via Uberto Visconti di Modrone, 29). Cassina joins forces with Formafantasma to ring in 60 years of producing Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand designs, marking the occasion with four limited-edition designs in new colors (Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber, via Larga 14). Kartell honors the legacy of designer Joe Colombo—and 25 years of the Kartell Museum—with a retrospective of his work and the reintroduction of his 1964 KD28 lamp (Via delle Industrie, 3). And Nilufar Depot turns 10 with a site-specific Fosbury installation and a new collection with Allegra Hicks (Viale Vincenzo Lancetti, 34).
Where to get a fashion fix
Gucci takes over the 16th-century Cloisters of San Simpliciano for an exhibition exploring the house’s infatuation with bamboo, designed by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli and featuring artists including Dima Srouji and Kite Club (Piazza Paolo VI, 6). Elsewhere, Ralph Lauren will unveil an immersive presentation of its iconic furnishings and debut its fall 2025 home collection, on view by appointment at Palazzo Ralph Lauren (Via San Barnaba, 27). And Loewe spills the tea on a new collection of teapots designed by 25 global artists, designers, and architects at Palazzo Citterio (Via Brera, 12).
Neighborhood to know
With its picturesque thoroughfares and charming mix of historic and new architecture, the central 5Vie district is among Milan’s most beautiful. It’s also, crucially, the beating heart of its art and design scenes—and it’s never more aflutter than during Design Week. This year, eight exhibitions bring a global roster of talent to the medieval blocks. Studio KO will debut a collection of 10 rugs with Beni in a former textile shop, fittingly, while nearby, Iranian artist Hiva Alizadeh exhibits eye-popping work made of synthetic hair (14 Cesare Correnti). In a historic cloister, Luca Trazzi and Fan Europe Lighting transform plaster graffiti of flowers into a luminous botanical installation (Via Caradosso 3). DesignSingapore Council installs work by 10 of the country’s most adventurous designers in the former chapel, Chiesa di San Bernardino alle Monache (Via Lanzone 13). And the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency brings the 5Vie theme of “invisible harmonics” into sound and vision, with work from the country’s industrial and product designers and visual artists (Via Santa Marta 21).
