Fri 9 – Sun 11 October 2026
Answer the organisers' dietary question
Their speaker-dinner mail of 15 Sep asks for dietary requirements. Still unanswered, and it is the one reply they are waiting on from you. A one-liner does it.
Join the speaker Telegram group
Invite link is in the organisers' mail of 11 Sep (devfest-milano-2026@events.sessionize.com). That is where the dinner start time will land first.
Check the strike register on Tue 6 Oct
Two 24-hour ATM Milano strikes are registered for Friday 9 Oct, your arrival day (AL-COBAS and CONFIAL, both proclaimed in summer). Strikes get called off, and guaranteed-service windows are published late, so look at scioperi.mit.gov.it three days out. If it holds: taxi rank outside Linate arrivals, metered, no fixed fare to the city.
Book the Duomo terraces for Sunday morning
Lift ticket, timed slot, via ticket.duomomilano.it (there is a queue page in front of it, which tells you how much demand there is). Book now, not on the day. Then check the Last Supper once, expecting "sold out": tickets for October went on sale in June.
Reserve the meals that need reserving
Ratanà for Sunday 12:30, the long lunch before the flight: online at ratana.it or +39 02 87128855. Saturday dinner near the hotel: Osteria Grand Hotel takes bookings online up to four hours ahead, Osteria Conchetta by phone. Brera on Friday needs a booked slot too (€20, brerabooking.org). Al Matarel, if you want the purest cotoletta in town, only answers the phone 11 to 12 and 18 to 19.
Online check-in opens 24 h before each flight
Out: from Thu 8 Oct, 09:35. Back: from Sat 10 Oct, 18:25. Both reminders are already on your calendar. Booking code 89CFQB. The fare is hand luggage only, 8 kg, on both legs, so anything bigger is paid for at the airport, at the worst price.
Ask the hotel for the fattura at check-in
Plus Welcome Milano sent a reservation confirmation, not an invoice, and €302.72 is already on the card. The reimbursement claim needs the invoice. Confirmation #1102452546. City tax of €14 is paid at the desk.
Pack for the workshop
Your Mac, an HDMI adapter, the charger, the EHIC card. Everything fits the cabin bag or it does not fly.
Gianmarco: decide on 1 October
You asked him on LinkedIn on 17 Sep about dinner or lunch. If nothing has landed by 1 Oct, build Sunday lunch without him and let him join late. His restaurant tips are worth having either way.
Leave Methfesselstraße
U-Bahn and S8 via Ostbahnhof, 60 to 75 minutes door to door. Check the terminal in the app the day before: AZ451 is an ITA Airways flight, and ITA does not fly from Lufthansa's Terminal 2.
Airside at MUC
Schengen, so 75 minutes is comfortable rather than tight.
AZ451 Munich → Milan Linate 1 h 05
Lands 10:40. Booking code 89CFQB. Economy, no checked bag.
Metro to the hotel, about 37 minutes
M4 blue from Linate Aeroporto to Sant'Ambrogio, change to M2 green towards Assago or Abbiategrasso, get off at Famagosta. Not San Babila, that is the M1 change one stop earlier. Tap a contactless Visa at the gate, no ticket needed; Linate sits inside the normal urban fare, no airport supplement.
If Friday's strike holds: taxi from the rank outside arrivals, metered (base fare around €4, then per km). Nobody publishes a fixed fare Linate to the city, so expect a normal metered ride and pay by card.
Plus Welcome Milano, bag drop
Viale Famagosta 50, directly at the M2 Famagosta exit. Rooms from 14:00; leave the bag and ask for the fattura now, while you remember. Superior double, two nights, prepaid, non-refundable.
Lunch — Osteria del Binari
Via Tortona 1/3, two M2 stops from Famagosta to Porta Genova, then three minutes on foot. An osteria since 1972 with a garden and a 600-label wine list; the weekday lunch is a short bistro menu, and ossobuco with risotto is on the card. Open daily from 07:00 to 15:30. Reserve if you like certainty: +39 02 89409428. Plan B in Brera instead: Latteria San Marco, Via San Marco 24, no reservations, Friday lunch only.
The Navigli on foot
From the restaurant to the Darsena, then along the Naviglio Grande on the Ripa side and back on the Alzaia; the Vicolo dei Lavandai is the covered washhouse everybody photographs. Forty-five minutes, free, and the canals are what Leonardo engineered when he was not painting the wall you cannot get a ticket for.
Pinacoteca di Brera booked slot
Via Brera 28. M2 from Porta Genova direct to Lanza, five minutes on foot. Open until 19:15, last entry 18:00, booking mandatory (€20, the Grande Brera ticket, includes Palazzo Citterio next door). Mantegna's Dead Christ and Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus are the two rooms to find first; the rest is a slow walk. Two hours.
If contemporary art wins: Fondazione Prada at Largo Isarco 2 (Wed to Mon 10:00 to 19:00, about €15) is a full afternoon on its own and on the wrong side of town for the dinner; swap it in only if you drop Brera.
Walk up Corso Garibaldi to Isola, aperitivo at Frida
Brera to Isola is a 25-minute walk north through Moscova and under the station. Frida, Via Pollaiuolo 3, is a courtyard bar with about eighty cocktails and no reservations, open Fridays from noon to 02:00. It is five minutes from the Google building, so you arrive at the dinner on time and already in a good mood.
Speaker dinner at Google, Isola time not yet given
The organisers confirmed the place, the "Google Building at Isola di Google" by Porta Garibaldi, sponsored by Google, and said they would confirm the time "very soon". Watch the Telegram group. From the hotel: M2 direct to Garibaldi FS, about 30 minutes, then M5 one stop to Isola or a ten-minute walk. Seat guaranteed, Famagosta is the end of the line.
Getting back late: the last M2 runs around midnight; after that the NM2 night bus follows the M2 route every 30 minutes. M5 has no night bus, so walk to Garibaldi rather than waiting at Isola. A taxi to Famagosta is the clean fallback.
Breakfast
Whether the room rate includes it is not on the confirmation; ask at the desk on Friday. If not, the bar next to the metro exit does a cornetto and a cappuccino standing up, which is the Milanese version anyway.
DevFest Milano 2026 at Randstad Box start time not yet given
Via S. Vigilio 1, same postcode as the hotel, a one-minute walk. The organisers have not answered the start and end time question from 10 Sep; the Telegram group or the agenda on devfestmilano.it will have it before you do.
Your workshop: AI-Native Web Development, Hands-On 2 h
Own Mac plus HDMI, attendees on their own laptops. Room capacity and audience size were asked for on 10 Sep and never answered, so plan the hands-on part for a room you have not seen: a small demo that works on hotel wifi beats a big one that needs the venue's.
Football, not yours
Inter host Parma at San Siro at 16:00. It does not touch your route, but M5 and the Lotto area will be full from about 14:00 and again after 18:00. If you head into town for dinner, that is why the green line is busier than it should be.
Dinner on the Naviglio Pavese, walking distance
After a conference day the right move is fifteen minutes on foot, not a metro. Osteria Grand Hotel, Via Ascanio Sforza 75: seasonal Milanese cooking, everything from the pasta to the gelato made in-house, a garden with a bocce court, about €40 a head. Book online at least four hours ahead or call +39 02 89511586. Alternative a few hundred metres on: Osteria Conchetta, Via Conchetta 8, the unreconstructed version with cassoeula on the menu, Saturdays from 19:30, +39 02 8372917.
If Gianmarco picks Saturday evening, let him choose the place; a Milanese ex-colleague's table beats any of these.
Check out, bags stay at reception
Six free hours and no reason to carry them. Confirm on Saturday that the desk holds bags after check-out; if not, Milano Centrale has left-luggage, but that is a detour you do not need.
Metro to the Duomo, about 25 minutes
M2 from Famagosta to Cadorna, change to M1 red towards Sesto, three stops to Duomo. Sunday morning trains are near empty.
Duomo terraces by lift pre-booked slot
The roof is the one Milan thing worth the queue: you walk between the spires, level with the Madonnina, the Alps behind on a clear day. Lift up, stairs down. The cathedral itself is free through the north door and full of Sunday Masses until early afternoon (09:30, 11:00 in Latin, 12:30), which is worth seeing for five minutes and not worth fighting for a ticket.
Walk through it once, from the Duomo side to La Scala. The bull mosaic in the centre has a hole worn by a century of heels: locals spin on it for luck. One Campari Seltz standing at the Bar di Passo of Camparino (€14, the 1915 original on the corner) is the honest way to pay the Galleria's rent; sitting down doubles it.
Spare 45 minutes? The Museo del Novecento is on the piazza, open Sundays 10:00 to 19:30, and its top-floor glass walkway is the best free-of-tourists view of the Duomo facade.
Metro to Isola, about 15 minutes
M1 from Duomo to Cadorna, M2 to Garibaldi FS, then six minutes on foot along Via de Castillia towards the Bosco Verticale.
The long lunch — Ratanà book it
Via Gaetano de Castillia 28, a 1920s railway house with a garden in the middle of the new Porta Nuova towers. Cesare Battisti cooks Milanese tradition with a modern hand: risotto "alla vecchia Milano", mondeghili (the fried meatballs Milan made from yesterday's boiled meat), the bone-in cotoletta. Open Sunday, lunch runs until 16:30, so a slow two hours is safe. À la carte lands around €85 with wine; the tasting menu is €85, pairings from €25. Book online or +39 02 87128855.
This is the table for Gianmarco if he says yes; it is also the table if he does not. Backup, Sunday-open and walkable from the hotel: Osteria Grand Hotel, lunch 12:00 to 15:00.
M2 straight back to Famagosta for the bag
Garibaldi FS to Famagosta is one green-line ride, about 25 minutes, no change. Two minutes from the platform to the hotel desk.
Leave the hotel for Linate 37 min
M2 to Sant'Ambrogio, M4 to Linate Aeroporto. That puts you at the airport around 16:45 for an 18:25 Schengen flight with no bag to drop: an hour and a half, which is the margin for one missed connection, not for a strike. No strikes are registered for Sunday.
LH1855 Linate → Munich 1 h 05
Lands 19:30. Terminal 2 in Munich. S8 home, in the door around 21:00.
One rule covers the whole trip: tap a contactless card at every gate and on every bus. No ticket, no app, no registration, and Linate is inside the normal city fare.
| Leg | How | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linate ↔ hotel | M4 blue Linate Aeroporto → Sant'Ambrogio, change to M2 green → Famagosta (terminus) | ~37 min | Change at Sant'Ambrogio, not San Babila. Standard urban fare; no airport supplement. |
| Hotel ↔ Randstad Box | Walk | ~1 min | Via S. Vigilio 1 is around the corner from Viale Famagosta 50, about 90 metres. |
| Hotel ↔ Isola (dinner) | M2 green direct to Garibaldi FS, then M5 lilac one stop to Isola, or walk | ~30 min | M2 from Famagosta is a terminus: you always get a seat. |
| Hotel ↔ Duomo | M2 to Cadorna, M1 red to Duomo | ~25 min | Sunday morning is the quiet time on both lines. |
| Tickets | Contactless Visa or Mastercard at the gate, or the ATM Milano app | — | Single fare about €2.20 for 90 minutes, a 24-hour pass about €7.60. Prices come from a secondary source; the exact figure shows on the gate. |
| At night | Last metro around midnight; NM2 night bus every 30 min on the M2 route | 00:00–06:00 | M5 has no night bus. From Isola, walk to Garibaldi for the M2 or take a taxi. |
| Taxi | Metered, base around €4 by day; ranks at Linate arrivals and Famagosta | varies | No fixed fare to the city centre (fixed fares exist only to Malpensa, €128, and Fiera). Uber in Italy is licensed-chauffeur tier only; check the app before relying on it. |
| Strikes | scioperi.mit.gov.it | Fri 9 Oct | Two 24 h ATM strikes registered for your arrival Friday; none for Saturday or Sunday, none touching flights. Check on 6 Oct. |
Milanese cooking is butter, rice, saffron and veal, and the good places make no attempt to modernise it except one, which is where Sunday lunch is. Everything below was checked against the restaurant's own site or a verified listing on 18 Sep; hours are for your three days. Solo-friendly places first in each group.
| Place | What | Your days | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteria Grand HotelVia Ascanio Sforza 75 · Naviglio Pavese · 15 min on foot | Seasonal Italian with Milanese roots, everything made in-house, garden and bocce court. Antipasti and primi €14–15, secondi €18–25, about €40 all in. | Fri dinner only Sat lunch + dinner Sun 12:00–15:00, 19:00–23:00 hours from listings; confirm when booking |
online, at least 4 h ahead, or +39 02 89511586 |
| Osteria ConchettaVia Conchetta 8 · Naviglio Pavese | Straight Milanese: risotto, ossobuco, brasato, and cassoeula, the pork-and-cabbage dish that starts when the weather turns. Prices not published. | Fri 19:00–23:00 Sat 12:30–14:30, 19:30–23:00 Sun 12:30–14:30, 19:30–23:00 |
online or +39 02 8372917 |
| Osteria del BinariVia Tortona 1/3 · Porta Genova (M2, 2 stops) | Since 1972, garden, 600 wines, ossobuco with risotto. Weekday lunch is a bistro menu, which makes it the Friday lunch. | Daily 07:00–15:30, 19:30–01:00 | +39 02 89409428 |
| Place | What | Your days | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latteria San MarcoVia San Marco 24 · Brera | Tiny, a menu that changes daily, no reservations, first come first seated. The best solo table in Milan. Not cheap for what it looks like. | Fri 12:30–14:30, 19:30–22:00 closed Sat and Sun |
no reservations, be there at 12:25 |
| Al MatarelCorso Garibaldi 75 · Moscova (M2) | Only Milanese dishes since 1962: ossobuco and risotto, the cotoletta, no reinterpretation and no apology. | Fri, Sat 12:15–14:15, 19:15–22:30 Sun 12:15–14:30, 19:15–22:00 |
phone only, +39 02 654204, answered 11–12 and 18–19 |
| TrippaVia Vasari 1 · Porta Romana (M3) | Bib Gourmand 2026, offal-led and famous for it. Fits only Friday lunch, and it books out fast. | Fri 12:30–14:30 (kitchen to 14:00), dinner closed Sat and Sun |
online or WhatsApp +39 327 6687908 |
| Place | What | Your days | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| RatanàVia G. de Castillia 28 · Garibaldi FS (M2) / Isola (M5) | Cesare Battisti, tradition with a modern hand: risotto alla vecchia Milano, mondeghili, cotoletta. Weekday lunch €24, à la carte about €85, tasting €85. | Daily 12:00–16:30, 18:00–23:30 | online or +39 02 87128855 |
| Antica Trattoria della PesaViale Pasubio 10 · 5 min from the Google building | Since 1880, a listed historic interior, Lombard classics. The place to know if the speaker dinner ends early or falls through. | Fri, Sat 12:30–14:30, 19:00–23:00 closed Sun |
+39 02 6555741 |
| FridaVia Pollaiuolo 3 · Isola | Courtyard bar, about eighty cocktails, the Friday aperitivo before the dinner. | Fri 12:00–02:00 Sat 16:00–02:00 Sun 17:00–01:00 |
no reservations |
Between 18:00 and 21:00 a drink comes with food; a real aperitivo is dinner for a lot of people. Mag Café, Ripa di Porta Ticinese 43 on the Navigli, does it well daily until 01:30 (cocktails around €8 to €10 with a plate; prices from listings). Camparino in Galleria, Piazza Duomo 21, is the 1915 original: Campari Seltz €14 standing at the Bar di Passo, a Negroni or Spritz €19. Pay once, standing, for the room; do not sit.
Left out on purpose: Al Pont de Ferr, which closed in 2022 and still shows "open" on aggregators, and Trattoria Madonnina, whose Sunday hours contradict each other online.
Google's GDE travel programme covers this trip: WorkTrips request #319992, approved for $800, flights and hotel together. The organisers give no travel support; Google does.
| Item | Amount | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Flights AZ451 / LH1855, booking 89CFQB | €220.56 | in the Vault The e-ticket receipt is a valid invoice under German tax law; nothing more to collect. |
| Plus Welcome Milano, 2 nights, prepaid | €302.72 | missing Only a reservation confirmation exists. Ask for the fattura at check-in. |
| City tax, paid at the desk | €14.00 | Ask for it on the same fattura. |
| Committed | €537.28 | About $629 of the $800. Roughly €140 of headroom for metro, taxis and a strike-day cab, all of which are claimable with receipts. |
Claim by Tue 10 Nov 2026. One form per trip, up to five files, identified by request #319992, paid to Revtag @fabkru. The form and its field-by-field notes are in the second brain under GDE travel reimbursement. Thirty days after the return sounds like a lot; it is one busy month.
| Emergency | 112, everything, English spoken. |
|---|---|
| Hospital | Ospedale San Paolo, Via Antonio di Rudinì 8, +39 02 8184 1. Full 24 h emergency department, 450 metres from the hotel, a five-minute walk. EHIC covers it. |
| Pharmacy | Night service rotates (farmacia di turno). Ask reception; every pharmacy door lists the one on duty. |
| Weather | October normal for Milan is 10 to 19 °C with rain on about one day in four. A jacket, layers, and a compact rain shell. Real forecast from about 4 Oct on ilmeteo.it. |
| Pickpockets | The metro at rush hour and Centrale are the working areas; phone in the front pocket, bag zipped, decline unsolicited help at ticket machines. Barona around the hotel is an ordinary residential district, not a nightlife one. |
| Water | Tap water is fine and the green street fountains (vedovelle) run all day. Restaurants will still sell you a bottle unless you ask for acqua del rubinetto. |
| Holidays | None either end. Italy's next is All Saints on 1 Nov; Bavaria's too. |