Navigli Cocktails

The area around Milan's Naviglio Grande, the city's oldest canal that was restored in time for the 2015 Expo, has been a hotbed for a burgeoning restaurant and especially bar scene. During the day, the area remains a bit run-down and nothing special, but at night seemingly every crawl space transforms into makeshift places for a young, hip crowd to mingle.

Best for apéritifs, including cocktails and ample food buffets, are: Mag Cafe (Ripa di Porta Ticinese 43), Rebelot del Pont (Ripa di Porta Ticinese 55) and Rita (Via Angelo Fumagalli 1). Note that all of these are extremely casual, cool and often draw large crowds of students and young Milanese, so it's a bit like going out in New York's Lower East Side.