With a day to spare after the Italian Grand Prix we took the opportunity to explore the city a little more.

Milan’s impressive Duomo.

Truth be told Milan seems to lack the appeal of other Italian cities and doesn’t have as much to see or do as Rome, Verona and many more. We’d already seen the Duomo from the Aperol terrace the previous night, so after a quick daytime snap of that we quickly jumped on the tram and headed up to the San Siro for a tour of one of Europe’s most famous stadiums.

In all its glory!

Now I use the word ‘tour’ very loosely as what we got for our €17 wasn’t exactly a tour but simply entrance to the museum and the stadium where we were allowed to make our own way around with the help of signs and barriers. I suppose that’s one way to save a few bob on the wages!

We started off in the museum which was largely a collection of shirts of some from the iconic footballers who’ve graced the San Siro turf over the years. Not only were the shirts of famous Milan and Inter players on display but also those of players who’ve played there for other teams like Pele, Diego Maradona and many more.

A popular one for England fans!

The most interesting part for me however was the cabinet containing the shirts of the shit-houses who have turned out for both Milan and Inter, of which it seems there are quite a few!

Next up we actually entered the stadium and started the tour which began in the mixed zone.

Thanks to a degree in journalism I can use these fancy terms which make me sound like I know what I’m on about; for those who aren’t quite sure, it’s the area where players and managers stand in front of a load of sponsors and get interviewed. Naturally we took advantage of the photo opportunity!

Ready to dodge a few questions like the very best of ’em!

The dressing rooms were just around the corner and it was quite interesting to see the contrast between the two clubs. The Milan dressing room, despite containing fancy seats that wouldn’t look out of place in a car showroom, actually felt a bit dated.

Are we fooling anyone?

On the other hand, everything about the Inter room felt brand spanking new. The initial walkway leading up to the room is adorned with silhouettes of legendary ex-players such as Javier Zanetti, fat Ronaldo (one of the aforementioned shit-houses) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (naturally, another shit-house) and once you’re inside the brightness really grabs you. It might lack the fancy seats, but Inter definitely won this one for me!

As I said, much more 21st century!

The tour was rounded off (yes, so soon!) by exiting the tunnel and coming out pitch-side. I have to say both mine and Rick’s initial feeling was one of being a little underwhelmed; the stadium just didn’t feel all that big once we could see it all from the inside.

Seriously, it seemed a lot smaller than we’d imagined!

Maybe it’s because we were in the biggest stand, so all the rest seemed a little small in comparison, but it really does look a lot bigger on the telly!

After a few obligatory pictures in the dugout we grabbed a quick beer in the bar/restaurant downstairs and made our way out through the club shop, of course.

World’s smallest dugout?

As a fan of football and a bit of a stadium nerd I’d say it was worth a visit, although it would have been nice to have had a guide like many other stadiums offer. That said, after the heavy three nights we’d had previously, perhaps it was best we got to go round at our own pace!