Touring the San Siro

If you've ever been to Milan, aside from the expensive designer shops that will keep most female companions occupied for hours, you'll probably already know there isn't actually a huge amount of sights/landmarks to visit in the city.

The Duomo is probably Milan's best-known landmark

In the centre, there is 'Duomo' - probably Milan's most well-known landmark and one which attracts thousands of tourists (and pigeons) on an hourly basis, throughout the year, and it's only a stones throw from the world-famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which houses those stupidly expensive Gucci, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana type shops.

If you're into history, then Piazzale Loreto may be worth a visit as this was the place where fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was publicly strung up from a petrol station, shortly after he was captured and killed towards the end of World War II.

The view of the San Siro upon exiting the metro station

However, sports fans are almost certainly going to be drawn to a quiet suburb in the city's north-west where the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (that's the San Siro to most people) is located.

The San Siro is worth a visit regardless of whether or not there is a match being played simply due to its iconic status, and it'll also make up for the fact that unless you like art, fashion, designer handbags or famous monuments, it's the best sport-related thing to do in the city.

Italy's largest in terms of capacity is home to two giants of world football - AC Milan and Internazionale, both of whom have enjoyed considerable success over the decades but have fallen on more testing times in recent years.

Inside the San Siro on a brilliant summer morning

The teams, coincidentally, are a bit like the stadium nowadays as it was extensively renovated ahead of the World Cup in 1990, but has barely seen any major improvements since, barring the odd uplift here and there in preparation for hosting a UEFA Champions League final, etc.

A complete tour of the San Siro costs €17 and includes a visit to the museum which is split across two levels and includes a range of memorabilia ranging from a replica of the UEFA Cup, match balls from notable games and dozens of old shirts - including specific areas dedicated to AC and Inter as well as the Azzurri national team.

An old replica of the UEFA Cup on display in the museum

Newspaper cuttings, featuring key moments, also add a nice touch of nostalgia but there's a bit of an 'ad-hoc' feel about the whole tour as you're left to wander around and discover things for yourself, rather than have a dedicated tour guide who will explain a little more history.

Once you've finished in the museum and choose to head inside the stadium itself, you'll arrive at the 'mixed zone' area where journalists get to put key questions to players and managers. Interestingly, there appeared to be no huge press room where managers conduct their pre and post-match interviews so one can only gather that, for whatever reason, this area is off-limits to the general public.

Inter's changing looking bigger than it actually is

AC Milan's dressing room was the better of the two teams

Once you've finished at the mixed zone and wandered down a couple of the corridors, you're able to go inside both changing rooms and explore them at your own pace. Both teams' areas are decorated in their respective club colours and are very different from one another.

Whilst there are padded seats, colourful montages, plasma TV screens and several creature comforts in Milan's spacious dressing room, Inter's is far more basic (and smaller) with furniture that looks like it was purchased in IKEA and fitted by a couple of blokes on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

It's nevertheless an experience to see the contrasting differences between the two locker rooms and it also is probably a reflection of how the two clubs view themselves, not just in society, but in specific club traditions stretching back over a century.

Pitchside and perfect

The next destination after the dressing rooms is the long tunnel, decorated in AC Milan paraphernalia on my visit, which leads pitchside - and at this point you'll be hit by the spine-tingling numbness as the San Siro in all its glory and the gloriously green pitch appear in front of you.

Even though the seats represent a neutral colour, you can't help but be taken aback by both the sheer size of the stadium and the imposing and iconic roof, which seems even bigger when looking up towards it from pitch level.

Looking up towards one of the four iconic towers of the San Siro

Disappointingly, this is where the tour itself starts to become a disappointing as you're allowed to freely wander through the post seats at the front of the stand and into a couple of sections within the stands, but there's no chance to visit VIP, corporate or press areas - something which is offered at most other venues which offer tours.

You can also only visit a few sections in one stand and not every single stand, which at a lot of other places you can do. A lack of a tour guide here also really prevents you from learning more about the culture, the myths, the stories, the legends of the place and so much more could be offered to turn this into an even more memorable visit.

The iconic roof in all its glory

Naturally, like every tour, once you've finished strolling around the stands, it ends at the most predictable place; the club shop (or megastore as they're usually called nowadays) where you can purchase a wide-range of products at super-high prices.

Talking of super-high prices, it might be time do some shopping. Milan will always have a habit of getting you to part with your money...