The Best Hotels in Milan for Any Trip and Budget

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics may be just days away from its Feb. 6 kickoff, but the window is still wide-open for a last-minute trip to Italy. As of December, around a half million tickets were still unsold for freestyle skiing, speed skating and other events. On Jan. 21, the organizers announced a slew of price reductions in hopes of beefing up the international cheer squads.

More good news: When you compare Milan with other similar-size European cities, it’s a runaway winner for truly excellent hotels. The city brims with historic boutique inns and modern condo-style towers, not to mention international luxury brands that have taken over urban palazzos and other grandiose buildings. All of them make for gorgeous digs, doubling as popular haunts for the fashion elite, the jet set and their poseur hangers-on. And since many people assume most events are held in the Italian Alps, tickets and hotel rooms in Milan — where ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating take place — can be found throughout the first weeks of February. Don’t expect it to come cheap, though.