Summer with its slow rhythms is the right time to go on trips, for one or more days. Here is a selection of destinations immersed in nature, perfect for a change of air and good food. From the lake to the mountains, via the sea, there is something for everyone.
Day trips music and relaxation
Departing from Milan, interesting day-trips in the name of taste are also possible in summer, as there are many locations within easy reach. Within an hour or so, you can reach charming, cool destinations surrounded by nature, where you can spend one or more carefree days, but also eat well and enjoy seasonal initiatives and events.
Here’s a selection of farmsteads, concerts, spas and luxury escapes to really get away from it all!
Prog & Frogs Music Festival – Cascina Caremma, Besate (Milano)
Cascina Caremma has been an institution and reknown as agriturismo just outside Milan since 1988. Already in 1992 it extended its offer, becoming also an accommodation facility and today offers its guests: 14 rooms, a restaurant and a bistro, a NatureSPA, meeting rooms made out of the former Granary, the former Barn, the gamekeeper’s house and a Little House in the Garden –
🗓 In the weekend of 10-11 June it will be the stage for the Prog & Frogs Music Festival
The event, organised by Renato Scuffietti of Radio Popolare, Matthias Scheller of Ams Records Italy and Gabriele Corti, founder of Cascina Caremma, is inspired by the festivals of the 1960s and 1970s – made of music, meditation, art, culture and protest.
Musical appointments, a new age market, Mox Cristadoro’s Rock Tales and Street Food BIO and Selva Sonora, a format dedicated to electronic music.
Cascina Caremma
📍Where: Via Cascina Caremma, 2, 20080 Besate MI
For example in Valtellina and in Valchiavenna!
The Terme di Bormio of the QC Terme group in Valtellina, for example, are a guarantee for relaxation and nature in a truly enchanting location overlooking the mountain
Alternatively, if you are also looking for a culture trip, the Valchiavenna, Orange Flag of the Touring Club, is the ideal destination. This recognition is an award for the historical, cultural and environmental heritage that manages to enhance the area and offer tourists a quality welcome. Indeed, in the Alpine region you will find waterfalls, lakes, Renaissance residences and plenty of good, rustic food in the characteristic crotti.
Mazzolino Open Air – Tenuta Mazzolino, Oltrepò Pavese
The winery Tenuta Mazzolino is located in Corvino San Quirico in Oltrepò Pavese, a wine-growing area just half an hour from Milan. For summer 2023, it will be transformed into an open-air cinema by the Mazzolino Open Air festival.
The estate will host some of the events of the Oltrepop Festival, dedicated to the places of Oltrepò Pavese, which will animate the winery with music, aperitifs, cinema and cultural meetings.
🗓For the updated programme: www.tenuta-mazzolino.com
📍Tenuta Mazzolino, Corvino San Quirico (Pavia)
⏱ 30 minutes from Milan
Mangiar per vigne – Valtellina (Sondrio)
Valtellina food and wine have a special appeal, it is a well known! Who wouldn’t start salivating at the mere thought of pizzoccheri?
To further promote the local food and wine culture on Saturday 24 June, the Strada del Vino della Valtellina together with Vini di Valtellina are organising Mangiar per Vigne – Picnic between the rows
The area’s wine cellars open up to guests, who, amidst the terraced vineyards typical of the area, will be able to taste 4 labels and have lunch with a 3-course box (plus water and dessert) prepared by the organisation’s restaurateurs.
Reservation required
⏱ 30 minutes from Milan
Menu
Different places, including:
Agrilu and Cantina Riter, Balgera – Convento San Lorenzo, Dirupi – Francesco Folini, La Grazia -La Spia – Marcel Zanolari -Nino Negri- Triacca.
The menus are prepared by Agriturismo La Fiorida – Agriturismo Le Case dei Baff – Hotel Fior di Roccia – Hotel Tremoggia – Il Tabernario Enoteca delle Alpi – Ristorante Cà d’Otello, Ristorante Il Poggio – Ristorante San Carlo, Ristorante Trippi
Valtellina Wine Trekking e E-Bike Wine Tour – Valtellina (Sondrio)
Valtellina is also a land of trekking and nature walks, and from June to October it will be even easier to discover its valleys and wine cellars.
The Strada del Vino in Valtellina has organised a network of routes that lead to the discovery of 25 different wine cellars in the company of a mid-mountain guide.
If you prefer two wheels to feet, the Valtellina E-Bike Wine Tour routes are for you. You will ride along the Wine Route together with an expert guide, passing through picturesque mountain villages and ending the excursion in one of the participating wineries.
Spa, the Lake, music and luxury outdoor
Global Wellness Day – Monticello SPA & FIT, Monticello (Lecco)
Who would have ever thought it: just arrive in Brianza for a getaway dedicated to all-round wellness. Monticello SPA & FIT, in the province of Lecco, is an area of 5,000 square metres dedicated to spa treatments: indoor and outdoor pools, fitness areas, sensorial environments, massages and treatments.
The summer season will be inaugurated on Saturday 9 June with the Global Wellness Day, a day entirely dedicated to wellness with free holistic experiences such as:
- Face Yoga, a facial gymnastics
- Yoga Breath, a breathing exercise that oxygenates organs and skin
- Acqua Healing, an anti-stress hydrotherapy session
- Shamanic Meditation, to reconnect with one’s ‘self’
Saturday is just the beginning of a rich calendar of aperitifs, theme evenings, ceremonies and newly launched wellness packages.
Monticello SPA & FIT, Monticello (Lecco)
Info and reservations: www.monticellospa.it/newseventi/
Villa d’Este turns to music – Villa d’Este, Cernobbio (Lago di Como)
The Como Lake is a lung of air and water just a few kilometres from Milan. It offers not only the opportunity to revel in nature and the spirit of the ‘dolce vita’, but also experiences in luxurious settings.
One of this is Villa d’Este, 5-star luxury hotel with over 150 seasons to its credit.
Summer events in music to highlight:
- On Sunday 2 July the I CAMERISTI – Chamber Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will be in Cernobbio for “Musica Maestro!”, a night dedicated to classical music.
- On 4 July the Summer Festival celebrating American Independence
- the French National Holiday on 14 July and Ferragosto on 15 August, with gala dinners and dancing.
Villa d’Este, Cernobbio (Como)
Info and reservations: www.villadeste.com/
⏱ 1 hour from Milan
Weekend (wellness-themed) trips
The first summer season begins at Aethos Monterosa , part of the international Aethos hotel and club hotel and club community. Completely immersed in nature, the property – located in Champoluc (AO) – includes 30 suites, all built on two floors and characterised by a clean and essential design.
Relaxation but also sport for outdoors enthusiasts
Besides being the ideal place to relax and rediscover contact with nature, Aethos Monterosa, thanks to its strategic location, offers guests the opportunity to enjoy various activities and experiences: such as climbing, rafting or e-bike and trekking tours.
A large spa where you may dedicate yourself to wellness! There you also find two restaurants, with a gastronomic proposal to satisfy all tastes, that complete the offer of the structure.
For info and reservations:
☎️ 0125938300
📍Champoluc AO
🌐 www.aethos.com/monterosa
⏱ about 2 and a half hours from Milan
Cuddling and relaxing at the spa: a weekend away
If your holiday is still a little while away, but you need a change of scenery, you can treat yourself to a weekend away and to get the most out of it, pamper yourself in a spa or thermal resort. Forget the cliché of retreats where you eat bland salads and steamed fish fillets! Nowadays, you can eat very well in wellness centres.
Terme Sensoriali Tasting Night – Terme di Chianciano (Siena)
We are between the Valdichiana and Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO heritage site and an area – much like all of Tuscany – where good food is part of the local culture. With the arrival of the summer season, the Terme di Chianciano spa inaugurates a new programme of tastings of territorial excellence: these are the Terme Sensoriali Tasting Nights, which mix relaxation, thermal cures and good food.
Reservations and info: 🌐 www.termesensoriali.it
Yoga at Terme di Saturnia – Terme di Saturnia (Grosseto)
Terme di Saturnia are a historic – and renowned – resort in the heart of the Maremma. Summer 2023 will be dedicated to yoga with two retreats under the guidance of Yogi Lorenza Minola, from 18 to 25 June and from 17 to 24 September.
If you only have a few days to dedicate to the Tuscan escape, you can practise yoga in an enchanting place. Throughout the summer, from 15 June to 15 September, there will be appointments to practise with expert yogis on the premises.
Terme di Saturnia, Manciano (Grosseto)
For info and reservations: www.termedisaturnia.it/
Maremma Tasting – Terme di Saturnia (Grosseto)
The setting is always the beautiful Tuscan Maremma and the thermal resort of Saturnia, in the Thermal Park, a 20,000 square meters oasis surrounded by nature. For the spring-summer 2023 season, many appointments for foodies with local producers and selected typical products from the area.
•July 1st | Tenuta Il Radichino
• 15 July | Caseificio Sociale Manciano
• 13 August | Il Ghiacciale – Azienda Agricola Biologica
• 14 August | La Grada
For info and reservations:
Terme di Saturnia, Manciano (Grosseto)
📍SP della Follonata, Saturnia GR