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Top 5 Things to Do in Milan During Design Week – 2025 Guide

by 
Иван Иванов
13 minutes read
Blog
ספטמבר 29, 2025

Top 5 Things to Do in Milan During Design Week - 2025 Guide

Start your weekend with a deliberate tortona stroll, then check a selected trio of venues and a studio opening to get oriented fast. The area around tortona becomes a magnet for real-time collaboration, where galleries, pop-up workshops, and brand spaces mix under one roof.

A villa installation offers a window into collaboration between architects and an illustrator team shaping a space through making. Behind the scenes, the workshop rhythm becomes the centerpiece, as an idea becomes a tangible fixture visitors can inspect up close.

Plan a route that links a selected hall and other venues across tortona and the Design Week circuit. In the morning, head to a main hall to see a keynote by leading architects, then drift to a studio space to watch hands-on demos and check the wall boards for fresh references for your own weekend projects.

Some stops suit a favorite pace, with short talks, quick demos, and time to grab a coffee inside a hall entrance. For some visitors, a quiet moment fits best; reserve a corner in a studio that’s hosting a collaboration with an illustrator–a selected program that fits your background in interior or graphic design.

To maximize value, check behind the scenes tours that reveal how a project moves from sketch to built piece. This weekend momentum helps you see how one idea becomes a shared language across studios, halls, and selected venues, and it leaves space for collaboration with a real crowd of fellow visitors.

Milan Design Week 2025: Light Graffiti and Lighting Innovations

Go see light graffiti in the central districts after dusk, focusing on alemagna and spazio venues where participants create luminous scripts with perriand collaborations. Feel the city shift as colors bend around brick and glass, and easily map a route that follows a tour through multiple sites that become ambient signs after nightfall.

The aims are to reveal how lighting interacts with urban surfaces, and these works address issues around humans and movement. They are based on how people feel when light responds to footsteps, and they become visible in neighborhoods like madrid, arnica, and other central quarters. The events weave different media–projection, LEDs, and reactive sensors–so visitors can create their own observations and share them with fellow participants.

Tips: plan a route that connects central spaces with alemagna venues, then loop through spazio installations across neighborhoods while watching for perriand collaborations at arnica studios. If tickets are needed for guided tours, join the session; otherwise, wander freely and capture colors with your phone to build your own records of what you saw.

Exhibition Location Best Time Notes
Light Script at alemagna Central Milan Sunset to 11 PM Projection on brick wall; different hues each night
Spazio Neon Tour Spazio venues across neighborhoods 8:00 PM – 10:30 PM Walkable routes; join a guided group
Perriand Collaboration Arnica and Perriand spaces 8 PM Interactive panels; participants can adjust color maps
Madrid Connect Piece Alemagna alley 9 PM – late Live coding of light; check central coords

Top 5 Things to Do in Milan During Design Week 2025: Light Graffiti by Luca Trazzi and FAN Europe Lighting

Go to the cortile at dimoremilano to experience Light Graffiti, a collaboration that leans theatrical and makes light talk with walls and air. The piece invites you to stay, observe, and photograph every passing beam.

  1. First stop: Cortile Light Graffiti – a living canvas

    • Observe beams tracing lines through walls that turn plain surfaces into a stage of shadow, inviting you to stay and watch the edges reveal themselves.
    • interni wrote that the work sits at the intersection of art and design, introducing fields of light that feel almost sculptural.
    • Bring your photo gear; the piece shifts from day to night and offers something completely new.
  2. Exploring the fields and serre around the installation

    • Wander among serre where light threads map a grid across glass and metal, playing with invisible textures.
    • issey-inspired panels appear, adding a soft rhythm that complements dimoremilano’s curatorial voice.
    • If you want more context, consult the dimoremilano guide from interni for background on how the concept evolved.
  3. Photo-ops and dedicated tours with the lighting team

    • Join a short walkthrough led by the FAN Europe Lighting crew–dedicated to showing how ideas become luminous forms alongside them.
    • Education is front and center, with quick explainers that help you read color, texture, and mood in space.
    • The guides held nothing back and often point to something in the design language you can apply in your own work.
  4. Where the light becomes dimension – dimoremilano after dark

    • As the courtyard cools, shadows grow deeper and the beams feel held in mid-air, and the shadows reveal themselves.
    • Wracked with color shifts, walls reveal new textures that you can measure in seconds or in longer stays.
    • Completely immersive, the sequence invites you to explore the relationships between surface, shade, and movement.
  5. Final step: emerging designers and ongoing education

    • From here, explore adjacent venues where emerging designers push new lighting concepts and the boundaries of space.
    • More conversations and hands-on demos expand your education alongside them.
    • interni wrote a compact recap of the week for quick reference after you return to the Cortile.

Plan Luca Trazzi’s Light Graffiti route across Milan’s Design Week installations

Begin at bagutta, the literary cafe that anchors this route, and pull a compact fuorisalone map. Set a 6:00 pm start and a 2.5-hour window to loop through Brera, Tortona, and the districts along viale and the side streets. If youre chasing crisp, photogenic moments, keep stops under two minutes and let the light move you.

First stop sits inside a cortile of a building hosting a light graffiti piece by a collective, with ross contributing a sculptural element. The work is activating facade textures and inviting humans to step into the glow.

From there, swing toward a satellite site along viale where urns glow and mirrors multiply the night. This installation links the cortile to the next venues, turning places into a set of overlapping worlds.

Links to official guides help you adjust on the fly. The fuorisalone pages map districts and highlight access routes. You can also chat with fellow visitors near the next stop to share tips and keep the pace friendly.

Without advance booking, you can join openings in small groups or cut across to a cafe terrace to compare notes. bagutta reappears as a reference point after each leg, reminding you of the role this neighborhood plays in Milan’s creative calendar.

Close by, a cortile finale expands the story into a light-beam chorus across the building façades. You will see how humans become actors in the piece and how the city itself is celebrating these moments.

paris motifs appear in a few windows along the route.

Book FAN Europe Lighting talks, demos, and exhibit hours in advance

Book FAN Europe Lighting talks, demos, and exhibit hours in advance to secure preferred slots and avoid queues on site. Booking opens 60 days before Design Week, and seats fill quickly for flagship sessions.

FAN Europe Lighting, founded to connect designers with brands, operates as a collective that spans italy and beyond. There, nilufar, lirico, and wilson lead influential talks in spaces focused on interior lighting. For years, there have been multiple venues, and when sessions start you can switch between rooms. Use the base map to locate where each session happens and plan your route across places around milan.

To stay organized, plan a course of short talks and demos: 20–40 minute talks with 15 minute shadow demos between sessions. There, you will see different approaches to lighting design, with demonstrations that reveal how innovative concepts translate into real installations. Choose sessions that match your interests–interior design courses, education programs, and projects from italy-based studios.

There are practical steps to grab early access: sign up for flagship tracks, review the coming schedule, and pick a base near the venues. There, you can stay near the action, visit places after sessions, and coordinate with fellow attendees because convenience matters. The nilufar and lirico programs often set the pace, while a wilson slot may offer a different perspective on materials and craft.

Thanks to this approach, you’ll build a personal program that aligns with your education goals and your work. The coming edition promises thought-provoking talks, new projection ideas, and hands-on demos that feed your projects. If you travel as part of a collective, share notes and tips to extend what you gain beyond the event.

Identify the most photogenic Light Graffiti spots and optimal viewing times

Identify the most photogenic Light Graffiti spots and optimal viewing times

Start at Via Bovara near porta Venezia just after sunset for the perfect first shot. The wall cluster here delivers bold symbols, crisp light trails, and engaging figures that read clearly in a single frame. Move alongside the center toward the plaza to capture reflections on damp stones and the contrast between historic façades and neon. Keep a roll of toiletpaper handy to wipe lenses in windy squares, and stay alert for changing angles as light shifts across the walls.

  1. Spot 1 – Via Bovara wall cluster (near Porta Venezia, center-left)

    Why it works: dense lines, bright color separation, and space to frame both figures and symbols. Best times: 30–40 minutes after sunset through blue hour. Shots: 8–20 seconds at low ISO to keep trails clean; vary perspective with the plaza edge to emphasize variations. Leading lines from the wall guide the eye toward the center of the frame.

  2. Spot 2 – Piazza del Duomo and surrounding arcades

    Why it works: iconic backdrop where light graffiti meets historic stone. Best times: blue hour into early night when street lamps warm the texture. Angle from the plaza side to include the symbols advancing along the arches; captures a sense of scale and motion in one frame.

  3. Spot 3 – Tortona district: fuorisalone studios, cabana installations, and superdesign cues

    Why it works: bold color palettes and geometric forms that echo design week energy alongside traditional brick. Best times: 21:00–23:00 when installations glow at their brightest; shoot with a mix of wide and mid zoom to fuse space and detail. Alongside other visitors, you’ll get a sense of the crowd and mood; follow fuorisaloneit and elledecorit for the latest pieces and variations.

  4. Spot 4 – Isola and Porta Garibaldi area (Gae Aulenti vicinity)

    Why it works: satellite-like dots of light against modern towers create striking contrasts. Best times: 20:45–22:30; shoot from corners to include tall silhouettes and the urban rhythm. Tip: a second shot with a tighter lens highlights texture in the symbols while framing the surrounding city glow.

  5. Spot 5 – Centro Storico alleys near Corso Magenta

    Why it works: intimate walls deliver punchy graffiti and precise color breaks. Best times: after 21:15 when street lamps warm the tones; use a 24–70mm lens to keep both figures and details within the frame. Third tip: check nearby cabana setups or studios for led accents you can incorporate into a single composite shot. This spot is a must for a varied set of images taken across the same evening.

Practical notes: plan three to four key angles per spot, and take additional shots when light shifts. The center and plaza clusters often offer more variations and opportunities to pair symbols with architectural lines. For timing, start with the blue hour window and extend into after-dark hours when colors become richer and lines stay visible longer. If you can, map out routes alongside fuorisaloneit and elledecorit feeds to catch fresh pieces and updates. The goal is a cohesive set that feels deliberate, not rushed, and ready to share with your design crew.

Reserve a guided design walk focused on light and luminaires

Reserve a guided design walk focused on light and luminaires

Reserve a guided design walk focused on light and luminaires with moscapartners during Design Week 2025. The route begins at velasca and runs through a courtyard sequence of studios, sorrentino workshops, and exhibitions that spotlight lighting design.

Led by a guide with a career in lighting, the walk visits velasca’s entry, a courtyard studio of sorrentino, nilufar’s exhibitions and lighting installations, and artemests’ showroom, finishing with a residence courtyard where a new lighting launch occurs.

Groups stay small (8-12 participants) to ensure close access to luminaires and direct dialogue with designers. The route lasts about 2.5 hours, with starting times at 10:30 and 14:00 on Design Week days; a digital component introduces smart luminaires and how they influence space planning.

To reserve, contact moscapartners’ design desk and share your name, preferred time, and areas of interest such as career development, product focus, or interior voice. The experience benefits those shaping a professional practice, whether you work in a residence, gallery, or showroom, because it frames how lighting decisions transform environments and communicates tradition with contemporary materials from artemests and other studios. Once booked, you receive a route map, a short glossary of exhibitions, and a personal contact for future launches.

Plan post-installation dining or venue hops near major installations

Book an 18:30 appointment at a compact Tortona venue with outdoor seating and a concise tasting menu. From there, taking a 10-minute stroll to a quiet courtyard where an interactive installation is activating light and sound, giving you a moment to reset before dinner. Bring comfortable trousers and a light layer; you’ll want mobility as you move between spaces. This start sets an elegant mood and a clear rhythm for the evening, keeping the energy focused rather than scattered.

Where to go next? Head toward Brera or Isola for phase two. In Isola, a small-plates bar keeps a rotating menu and friendly staff who can accommodate dietary needs; it’s ideal for tasting several dishes without long waits. If you crave a more iconic setting, pick a rooftop with city views that remains well connected to the day’s installations, so you can observe the transformation of the district while you dine.

Between stops, a Bioderma pop-up outside the main venues offers a quick skincare refresh and a brief activating moment to stay fresh for late conversations. The aujla pop-up lounge nearby provides a compact break with objets on display, letting you reflect on what you’ve seen and taken in.

Plan the arc with clear time blocks: Tortona to Brera about 25 minutes on foot; Brera to Navigli roughly 20 minutes by tram; taking dinner and drinks total 90–120 minutes. Keep moves within the same block when possible to minimize fatigue. A practical means of getting around is rideshare or taxi for the final leg, and confirm a final return window so you’re back before midnight.

Tell the team to track timings and reserve seats when possible; this keeps the flow smooth. The night becomes lirico when installations inform the pace and the venues align with each other’s tone–elegant, iconic, and designed to feel like a natural continuation of the day.