Top 10 things to see and do in Milan

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Milan has plenty to offer in terms of sights and attractions, but here are our top ten recommendations on what to see and do when you visit.

1. Scale Milan’s iconic Duomo

Located right in the very centre of Milan is its famous Duomo (cathedral), reputed to be one of the largest churches in the world. An amazing 3,500 statues and 135 spires adorn the gigantic marble structure that was 500 years in the making. A look around the interior of the cathedral is well worth your while, although an even more impressive sight is that which you can get from the roof! Fortunately, there is a lift in operation to take you up – you don’t have to brave the stairs – and when you reach it you’ll be able to see not only the cityscape of Milan, but also the beautiful Italian Alps in the distance.



2. Get a look at The Last Supper

Leonardo de Vinci’s The Last Supper has long been of the most famous paintings in the world, but following its inclusion in Dan Brown’s best-seller, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ it attracts more interest than ever before. The painting is housed in Milan’s church of Santa Maria della Grazie, and is by far one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. At busy times you will need to buy a ticket in advance – you will be assigned a 15 minute slot in which to view the masterpiece.

3. Experience one of Italy’s true passions at the San Siro stadium

Food? Fashion? Football…Italians simply love their football. The San Siro Stadium is home to two of Italy’s most successful, well-loved, and, as it happens, competitive clubs! AC and Inter Milan are local rivals, yet they share the iconic 85,000 seater stadium. Even if you can’t make it to an actual match, a visit to the stadium will still give you access to tour and to the on-site museum. Quite simply a must for any football fan.

4. Indulge yourself with some window shopping in the Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Rectangle)

Milan is known as Italy’s fashion capital, and as such has some great shopping options. Unfortunately, many of them require a reinforced wallet and some very sparkly plastic, and are quite simply out of bounds to the average tourist. But, it can’t hurt to look! Pressing your nose against the shop windows will probably not endear you to the shop assistants, but it will give you a glimpse of some real-life Prada, Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Valentino…and of the rich and famous who totter in and out.

5. Visit one of the world’s oldest and most elegant shopping precincts

Continuing along the shopping theme, you may want to pay a visit to the central Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Again, it’s definitely geared towards a certain type of shopper, but even if you can’t afford to buy anything, it’s well worth a look. Opened in 1867, its designer Giuseppe Mengoni pioneered its complex composition of iron and glass 20 years before the Eiffel Tower was built. The ceiling vaults are decorated with mosaics representing Asia, Africa, Europe and America and at ground level there are mosaics representing the areas local to Milan too. Prada’s flagship store has been here since 1913, and is now also joined by Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

6. Enjoy some authentic ‘aperativi’ at one of Milan’s bars and cafes

Anyone new to Italy, or to Italian culture, may not be familiar with the concept of ‘aperativi’. Said to originate in Milan itself, ‘aperativi’ are free buffets provided for people who drink in bars or cafes during the early evening.  How substantial the gastronomic offerings are really depends on the bar, but often you can eat enough to fill you up for the rest of the night! Milan has a massive array of bars and cafes that all offer this – take your pick and enjoy some tasty and authentic Italian food with a relaxing evening drink.

7. Discover Milan’s canals in bohemian Navigli

It would be misleading to imply that Milan has canals on a Venetian scale, but the vibrant Navigli district in Milan does have two –one of which was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Located in the south of the city, the Navigli was not traditionally one of the most attractive parts of town, but in the last few years it has become one of the most popular areas. It has scores of bars, restaurants, boutiques and galleries, and is particularly fashionable amongst Milan’s ‘creative’ crowd. 

8. Visit the Theatre Museum at La Scala

Milan’s impressive famous opera house, La Scala is well worth a visit in its own right, of course, but in reality opera tickets can be very expensive and difficult to come by. A good alternative therefore is to head to the La Scala Museum, which will give you access to the theatre and help you imagine the atmosphere at one of the world-class performances. In addition, you’ll get to learn about the history of the opera house through an extensive collection of musical instruments, portraits, busts and documents dedicated to some of the world’s greatest musicians.

9. Visit the Pinnacoteca di Brera art museum

The collection at this Milan art museum covers works by some of Italy’s most famous and influential artists from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Highlights include Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus and Piero della Francesca’s Virgin and Child with Saints . There’s also a studio of plaster casts and drawings, and contemporary works to explore.

10. Take a look around Milan’s acclaimed aquarium

Milan’s aquarium is one of the oldest and the largest in the whole of Italy. 36 enormous pools are filled with more than 100 different species of fish, living in recreated environments ranging from the Amazon to the Mediterranean. There’s also a terrarium with amphibians. The aquarium’s library is one of the most important resources for marine biology and oceanic studies in Italy and is also accessible to the public. A really good option for a rainy day, or a family day out.



Cactus offers General, Individual, Combined, Intensive and Business Italian courses in Milan at a variety of levels. Also available are language and fashion design courses, and language and work experience programmes.

Learn French in Tours and visit the beautiful chateaux of the Loire Valley

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Magnificent royal castles excelling in late medieval and classic Renaissance architecture are set in the middle of breathtaking landscapes of the Loire valley. Situated a couple of hours away from Paris if you take a TGV (train à grande vitesse), Tours will invite you into the fairytale world of cultural splendour under François 1st, patron of the arts, long before the fame and glory of Versailles emerged. 

You definitely won’t find a better place to familiarise yourself with royal French history than this part of the central France situated in the department of Indre-et-Loir, between Orléans and the Atlantic Coast. So, start your discovery of the Touraine region with a guided visit of the castles: Chenonceau, Amboise, Chambord, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau are all on the programme, although over 300 castles in total were built between the 10th and the 15th century. They were added to the UNESCO world heritage sites thanks to the quality and beauty of their architecture and their historical meaning. A number of the châteaux were destroyed during the French Revolution. Each castle is an architectural masterpiece with its special character, soul and story. Chenonceau, built between 1515 and 1521 combining late Gothic and early Renaissance styles, is associated with Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henri II. She grew attached to the castle and oversaw the planting of flower and vegetable gardens along with fruit trees on the picturesque riverside. 

In the 9th century, Tours was at the heart of the Carolingian Rebirth. Touraine was bitterly disputed between the counts of Anjou and Blois while it was a capital of France at the time of Louis XI who introduced fine silk industry. Touraine remained a permanent residence of the French kings until the 16th century. Many private mansions and castles appeared under the generic name of the Châteaux of the Loire. 

Other main sights include the cathedral of Tours, dedicated to Saint Gatien, its canonized first bishop, built between the 12th and 15th centuries. Tourists are also attracted by the beautiful Le Clos Lucé, the last residence of Leonardo da Vinci, located close to the royal Château d’Amboise.

This Garden of France is also famous for its fine wine, les vins du Pays de la Loire, such as Muscadet and Gros Plant. Along the river Loire there are vineyards allowing grapes to thrive while climate is mild enough.

In 1970, the University of François Rabelais was founded. The university welcomes foreign students, including those who enjoy Erasmus exchange programmes. The city of Tours counts 140,000 inhabitants, les Tourangeaux, and they are renowned for speaking the “purest” form of French in the entire country. The pronunciation of Touraine is widely regarded as the most standard pronunciation of the French language devoid of any perceived accent that even the Parisians have.

Cactus offers General and Teacher Refresher Courses in Tours, at a variety of levels. There are currently direct flights to Tours Loire Valley Airport from London Stansted.

Top 5 German course destinations this autumn

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Here are our pick of the top 5 places to visit this September and October.

1. Berlin

Berlin is a city that is renowned internationally for its lively and varied cultural scene, and the array of festivals and shows taking place throughout September and October are testament to that. Some of the scheduled events include the Berlin International Literary Festival, Musikfest Berlin (2nd-21st September), the Berlin Festival (10th-11th September) and the Pyronale (3rd-4th September), where international pyrotechnics companies compete to put on the best fireworks display at the Olympic Stadium. On a sporting note, there is also the Berlin Marathon (26th September), one of the biggest marathons in the world, and in fact the event where Haile Gebrselassie set the new world record in 2008.

2. Vienna

If you choose Vienna as your study destination this autumn you’ll be totally spoilt for choice when it comes to free-time activities. Along with the usual sights and museums, you’ll be able to experience Vienna Fashion Week, the Vienna International Film Festival, the Long Night of the Museums, the Wien Modern contemporary music festival and perhaps best of all, Choco Vienna, where chocolatiers show off their finest creations for your consumption! Definitely not one to miss…

3. Munich image

Munich’s mass of leafy streets and array of parks make it a really pretty place to be as the seasons change and the green and yellow turns to orange and brown. That aside, there’s one thing in particular that attracts the tourists at this time of year – Oktoberfest. One of the biggest beer festivals in the world, it’s hugely popular with locals and tourists alike and will certainly give you an insight into one side of German culture! For anyone with more refined cultural tastes, September also sees the Open Art festival (10th-12th September) and the AnderArt festival, Munich’s annual free festival of world cultures with music and performing arts from around the globe.

4. Zurich image

Zurich is a city that isn’t always an immediate choice for a German course, but it should be! It has loads to offer whether you’re a culture vulture, a sports fan, or a food and drink enthusiast. This autumn there are events that all of these types of people will enjoy – on a cultural level, you can enjoy the Long Night of the Museums, the Circus Monti, the Zurich Film Festival, and Jazznojazz Festival, sports-wise you can take part in SlowUp Lake Zurich, when people cycle, stroll or skate around the lake to raise awareness of pollution. There’s also the exciting ‘Freestyle’ (25th-26th September), with top BMX riders, in-line skaters, skiers and skateboarders. Finally, any wine conoisseurs can head to Expovina, Switzerland’s largest wine exhibition held on 12 boats anchored in Zurich’s beautiful Bürkliplatz dock.

5. Hamburg image

With plenty of festivals and events happening during the autumn, Hamburg is a great place to spend time.  During September and October you can enjoy the Hamburg Festival of Cultures, the Reeperbahn Festival and the Hamburg Film Festival, as well as the usual attractions. Anyone going to Hamburg has the added benefit of affordable courses, and more flexibility in terms of the intensity of courses too.



Please visit the Cactus Language website for full listings of German courses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Learning a language through film

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Some people can learn more quickly from reading in their target language, others from hearing it. Probably the best technique includes learning from both reading, speaking and hearing, since you use different parts of the brain for different activities. It’s quite common for students who have reached an advanced level of study in foreign languages to have difficulties in carrying out a simple conversation.

Especially if you are a beginning language learner, you will likely not understand much of the language when watching a movie. Native speakers talk rapidly, use slang, and often speak in accents or local dialects. Nonetheless, watching a foreign language film is a fantastic way to attune your ear to the sounds of the language. You’ll probably notice that by the end of the film, you’re able to understand bits and pieces of what you hear. Gather your friends together, make some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the adventure!

Movies with or without subtitles are a great way to hear the natural sounds of a language. You can close your eyes and listen or read subtitles to see how the translation differs from the original. If you have a DVD of the movie then you will have the opportunity to watch a few times, first with and then without subtitles, and you will be amazed at how much your comprehension improves.

Another important factor with modern foreign movies is the cultural insights you will have into another country and way of life.  Especially for people planning on visiting or working in another country and culture, you will be able to see the way people behave in different situations, and will be able to bridge the distance that separates you from the other culture.

Visit your local movie rental store and browse the foreign film section. Most films will be in the foreign language with English subtitles. Some university libraries have foreign videos that you can check out. Another alternative is to join an online DVD subscription service. Netflix has over 3500 foreign films available for rent—by far more than any other rental service. And some of the films are even available for download, so you can view them immediately upon joining Netflix .

Here is a short list of some recommendations from our teachers of good movies to watch in different languages.

French L’Auberge Espagnol (The Spanish Hostel)
Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
Le scaphandre et le papillon (The diving bell and the butterfly)
Italian Il Postino (The Postman)
La vita è bella (Life is beautiful)
German Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
Das Leben der Anderen (The lives of others)
Spanish Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries)
Cantonese Gong Fu (Kung Fu Hustle)
Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs - and the movie ‘The Departed’ was based on this)
Portuguese Cidade de deus (City of God)
Central do Brasil (Central Station)
Japanese Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)
Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story)
Polish Popiol i Diament (Ashes and Diamonds)

Learning Chinese: in at the deep end in Chengdu

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When I set a foot in Chengdu, China, in 2008, I was like the character played by Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation. I was tucked away in a whole different culture with some clichés in my mind, and memories of my first trip to Shanghai in 2004. However, it was different this time. I remember I was constantly amazed and slightly afraid by my new environment. As a natural instinct, I was on the lookout to speak to someone of my own (Western/European) culture because I felt reassured to share common values. But after a few days, I was sure of one thing though: I was eager to embrace the Chinese culture!

I wanted to make Chinese friends, do as much sightseeing as possible and, of course, learn Mandarin. I took my first Chinese class shortly after my arrival at the university. My classmates and I started to learn Chinese from scratch but immediately the fear of the language was swept away by the friendliness of the teacher.

We learnt the basics, like greetings and how to start a conversation in different places. For example, we learnt how to ask for directions in a taxi or how to barter a price and buy an item in a shop.

But when you have the chance to live in a foreign country, you cannot simply rely on your language classes. You keep learning new words and attitudes by interacting with people. Whether you ask for a train ticket, a taxi or hear a conversation, even if you don’t get everything, some words will catch your attention, and by simply hearing and repeating these words, these will be engraved in your head.

The environment where you learn is a key element to learning a foreign language. One day, the professor decided to take us to the People’s park of Chengdu… just imagine yourself, drinking a Chinese cup of tea in broad summer daylight, with couples hanging around, elderly people plying mahjong (an old Chinese game) or Go next to you. It was a typical day, but I felt myself totally immersed in this atmosphere and thus, I wanted to learn more Chinese and more Chinese culture.

Living for 10 months in Chengdu, learning the customs and the language remains one my most memorable and gratifying experience so far.

Cactus offers Chinese courses in China in the following locations: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Hong Kong.

To learn some of the language before you go, or to brush up on existing language skills, Cactus runs daytime and evening courses in Chinese in London and other cities across the UK. Evening courses in Mandarin are also available in the US and Canada.

Verona – an ideal destination for opera lovers this summer

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Staged in Verona’s awesome Roman Arena, along with rock concerts and a jazz festival, the opera season includes performances from some of the world’s greatest singers and musicians. This year, the season is dedicated to great Italian Director Franco Zeffirelli.

If you’re an opera fan, it doesn’t get any better than this. The acoustics, the surroundings and the performers are all top-notch, and the good news is that tickets won’t cost the earth. The opera season in Verona is geared towards a wide audience made up of seasoned opera-goers and newcomers to the genre too.

If you want to take your opera experience one step further, there is even the option at our Verona school to take a specialist Italian and opera course. The course offers a great way to learn more about opera and the people who sing it, and encompasses morning classes to work on language grammar, syntax and conversation and afternoon classes that focus on pronunciation and intonation of operatic lyrics.

If by the end of the week you’re all ‘opera’d out’, Verona and the wider region have plenty of other entertainment options to keep you busy too. If you fancy a mooch around the city, you could pay a visit to Juliet’s house, spend the afternoon browsing the main shopping area, or dine al fresco in one of Verona’s piazzas . If you’d like a break from the city, heading out to Lake Garda for a spot of sunbathing is easy and relatively inexpensive on the train. The train journey from Verona to Desenzano del Garda is around 20-25 minutes, and costs under 10 euro.

Italian and opera courses are priced at £529 for 1 week (without accommodation) and cater for a variety of linguistic levels. Find our more on Italian courses in Italy.

Please note:prices were correct at the time of writing but are subject to fluctuation according to changing exchange rates.

Savoie – a great French study destination this summer

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Summer is always a good time to visit Savoie, but this year there will be even more than usual going on. Whether you choose the stunning lakeside town of Annecy, or the historical capital of the region, Chambery as your study destination, you’ll have plenty to do outside of lessons.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Savoie region becoming part of France, an event which will be celebrated by concerts, festivals and street parties all throughout the summer.

In addition this year, Chambery has the honour of hosting the 10th stage of the Tour de France. The tour is one of France’s premier sporting events, and is watched by a huge number of people, who follow the event year after year. The path of the tour varies every year, and towns are always very proud to be included in the route. There is a real festival atmosphere as the riders pass through, which will be particularly prevalent in Chambery this year (on 14th July) as the townspeople celebrate both the 150th anniversary, and Bastille Day too!

A further event this summer, which takes place annually, is Annecy’s Lake Festival. The festival will be held on 7th August, and includes some spectacular fireworks, illuminated cruises and, in true French fashion, lots of eating and drinking!

If you want to complement all the parties and festivals with a bit of downtime though, the good news is that you’ll be in the right place. Whether you want to relax by a lake, or do some walking in the tranquil mountain landscapes, you’ll be spoilt for choice in Savoie.

And if all of this still isn’t enough to convince you, it’s worth also bearing in mind that the schools in Annecy and Chambery are offering a special offer of 4 weeks for the price of 3 in June, July and August…a fantastic deal considering the popularity of the region, and the array of events that you can enjoy this summer.

Book now!

Read our full list of French courses in France