Luxury Travel Docs Highly Recommends Milan Private Tours for your next visit to Milan!
Luxury Travel Docs traveled to Milan in June 2018. Knowing that Milan is a city rich in history, art, culture and beauty we decided to enjoy a full day tour with Alice Salvagnin of Milan Private Tours. She is rated #1 for Tours in Milan by TripAdvisor and certainly, that is WELL-DESERVED!
LTD loves this perfect introduction to Alice from MilanPrivateTours.com:
"ABOUT ALICE SALVAGNIN, THE FOUNDER
Who better to open your eyes to the charms of a fascinating city than someone who is deeply in love with it?
As a high school student, Alice Salvagnin would tote her schoolbooks and a sandwich up the 250 steps to the roof of the Duomo, Milan’s renowned cathedral. There, she would spend hours doing her homework, the sun above and her city’s great sights all around her. What always struck her about the view was how many different periods the city had lived through and how distinct were the styles to which they had given birth. Her curiosity about these sights led her to study them; her affection for them inspired her to devote herself to making them known to others.
Alice holds degrees in Tourism and in the Management of Cultural Heritage, both at Milan universities, which allowed her to continue learning about her home town, to continue diving into the intricacies of its famous landmarks and exploring its forgotten corners. In many years as a licensed tour guide, she has deepened her knowledge while also making something of a name for herself: She has consistently received top Internet reviews, first as a representative of others’ tourist agencies, now as the principal of her own.
Milan, Alice believes, deserves a far better reputation among sightseers than it has. So many who come from abroad think of it as a place strictly for business, perhaps as no more than a transfer point. In part she blames the city for failing to highlight – or just plain hiding – its attractions. Even her fellow residents have asked her: “You’re a tour guide – in Milan? What do you show them?” Alice’s love of Milan has led her to seek out the wonders of a city that she now knows from top to bottom, that she knows inside-out. A good deal of what she shows her clients would likely come as a surprise to these incredulous locals.
And the enthusiasm with which she imparts her knowledge is certain to be a delight to all."
After our full day with Alice, here is our review:
Alice is authentic and demonstrates an unparalleled enthusiasm to share her home, Milan, with you. She speaks English very well, and LTD understands how this is very important -- Let's face it, you can have the most knowledgeable and best-intentioned tour guide, but if you cannot understand them, the day is frustrating and useless. At every location Alice is known by staff and other tour guides. It is obvious that she is liked by all. Her depth of knowledge is clear, and she presents in an unscripted manner that she tailors to your questions and needs. Early in the day she orients you with a map, which is important to understand not only your location, but also the history of the city.
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| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with Alice Salvagnin provides you more information than you would obtain elsewhere. |
Peppered throughout the day are little pearls of the city, to make your visit to Milan authentic, including lunch, snacks, coffee and other suggestions for your free time.
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| Introduced from Genoa, enjoy a cannoncini. The best in town are known to be from Panarello. |
LTD requested the "Hidden Gems" tour, which we loved! Alice presented these to us well, and even more than once demonstrated how easily these gems are overlooked by citizens and visitors alike.
Prior to our arrival, scheduling a tour with Alice was easy over the email. Her communication was timely and excellent. Alice takes payment with bank transfer, cash or PayPal, so if you are someone who does not like to carry cash on vacation, PayPal is an excellent option because you can use a credit card. Her cancellation policy is very reasonable and clear. Alice was flexible with us regarding the time, but since we wanted to see The Last Supper, she was able to find us tickets (that were not available ANYWHERE). This made our meeting time at 8 AM. LTD likes to start tours early, but you quickly learn in Milan, that 8 AM is very early! Alice was there ready to go, in the pouring rain before our schedule meeting time!
Suggestions for Alice that would make an excellent tour even MORE excellent is only one:
Use an iPad with a glare screen for visual aid. Alice uses her cell phone, but for those of us who are visually challenged, seeing this can be difficult. Fortunately, iPhones can zoom!
