Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Has to be the most gorgeous architecture wise Mall that I have ever visited. The opulent and rich mosaic stones are equally matched by the expensive shops and name brand stores that are located here. Funnily enough, you are also positively barraged by the free wifi– offerings! Food-​wise it’s totally a tourist trap and the prices I saw made me gulp (€ 10 and above for dessert and that 10 bucks was only for ice-​cream!).
I also kept getting pestered by vendors selling roses and selfie sticks — I know these guys have to make a living but got annoying when was approached 3 times by the same guy!
However those are minor nuisances and should not distract you form enjoying the beauty of the building.

Beautifully restored for Expo 2015, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is magnificent. Be sure to watch the tourists spin three times on the Bull’s Balls — or where they would have been. Very amusing.

When you come to the middle of the whole entire plaza you see tourists all over the world trying to squeeze in to get their chance to spin around the Toro, or should I say the hole where the toro’s %#”%& should be at. Haha. Well, a tradition says that if you put your right heel on this hole and turn on yourself three times, this will bring you good luck. I didn’t get to do this but saw many that did. I know that one day I’ll be back and most definitely do it the second time around!!! Gotta love tradition!!!

Cool fact: the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (inaugurated in 1867) is the prototype for the modern shopping mall.
There’s something for everyone here. This is a great place to eat, shop, people watch or rest while visiting the incredible Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) nearby. We even found a McDonalds for my teenage son and nephew. Even if your’e not interested in eating or shopping, the Galleria is still worth visiting if only to appreciate it’s history and view the beautiful architecture.

This seems to be the only entry by which to review the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele itself. The Galleria is yet another beautiful building in Milan. Even if you don’t want to shop in any of the stores you have to take a few minutes to walk through this beautiful glass vaulted shopping mall. You won’t be disappointed. You can’t be sad in this beautifully lighted place. It is like your energy and spirits lift just by walking through. The only thing that might leave you scratching your head is the large group of tourists waiting in line to spin around on the image of the Toro in the floor of this building at he center and capturing the moment by video or pictures, which I am sure were minutes later uploaded onto Facebook or YouTube. I went back to the hotel that evening and the first thing I did was Google this strange phenomenon. In my research I found that this tradition has no historical reference and isn’t a tradition at all. It is based on some silly rumor, and provides a nice laugh for the passing local Italians to see all the silly tourists spinning around.