What to do in Milan January 2026: the 8 unmissable events

Milan, more than many other cities, knows how to turn winter cold into pure energy. At the heart of the quietest season, the metropolis reignites between exhibitions, creativity, and a calendar that never seems to slow down.

Those who arrive in January discover a city that feels less chaotic yet remains irresistibly magnetic. Shopping streets breathe again after the holidays, creative districts pulse with exhibitions and installations, and venues fill with music and new ideas. 

It’s the perfect moment to look at Milan with a more attentive gaze, noticing details that often disappear in the rush of everyday life. An international, innovative, and curious city, one that anticipates trends while preserving an elegant soul made of iconic places and atmospheres that never go out of style.

The first month of the year brings an incredibly rich cultural program. Milan affirms itself as a true international hub, where art, music, fashion, design, and innovation coexist in a dynamic balance that no other Italian city can match. 

In January this spirit becomes even more evident: major exhibitions attract visitors from across the globe, theatres open new seasons, museums unveil special projects, and squares come alive with initiatives that tell the story of a city bursting with creative vitality.

The selection that follows traces a path through the best events of January 2026, designed to showcase a Milan capable of surprising even in its coldest month. A city that never truly slows down, because its strength lies in its constant ability to reinvent itself, day after day, with new ideas and experiences.

The Epiphany Parade of the Three Wise Men is one of Milan’s oldest and most beloved traditions. Dating back to the Middle Ages, it still draws thousands of spectators who line the streets to watch the Magi, the costumed performers, and the animals that accompany the procession.

The most enthusiastic viewers are always the children, captivated by the finely decorated garments, the shimmering armor, and the presence of the animals that make the parade feel like a living tableau.

Every year the parade starts in Piazza del Duomo, crosses the city center, and pauses at San Lorenzo, where King Herod and his entourage make their appearance. The procession then continues to the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio (a site historically linked to the Magi) where a stage is set up on the parvis with the Holy Family ready to receive the gifts brought by the Three Wise Men.

The celebration concludes with speeches by local authorities and the chance for visitors to take photos with the costumed participants, adding an even more engaging and memorable touch to the day.

Where: From Piazza del Duomo to Sant’Eustorgio
When: January 6, 2026

Milan pays tribute to Man Ray with an exhibition that retraces the career of one of the most innovative artists of the twentieth century. The works come from the collection of Lucien Treillard, the artist’s last assistant, and recount his journey from the early avant-garde years in New York to his Parisian period, when he entered the surrealist circle and met Kiki de Montparnasse, his ultimate muse.

The exhibition explores the creative territories that made Man Ray famous: self-portraits, portraits of his muses, nudes, and the technical experiments that revolutionized photographic language, from rayographs to solarizations.

Alongside his most celebrated images, the show also presents rare materials such as vintage prints, negatives, and collages, offering a complete view of his methods and his imaginative world. It is a precious opportunity to rediscover the artist who transformed photography into an autonomous and timeless form of art.

Where: Palazzo Reale, Piazza del Duomo
When: Until January 11, 2026

Pirelli HangarBicocca hosts This Will Not End Well, the first major retrospective dedicated to Nan Goldin as a filmmaker. The American artist, renowned for her intimate and powerful portrayals of everyday life, brings to Milan the largest collection of her slideshows ever presented: six pivotal works (including The Ballad of Sexual Dependency and The Other Side)  that weave biography, love, loss, and freedom into a visual narrative capable of resonating deeply.

The exhibition unfolds across a series of pavilions designed by Hala Wardé, forming a small “visual village” in which each work finds its own emotional space. Among the most striking installations is Sisters, Saints, Sibyls, presented inside the Hangar’s vast Cube, a setting that echoes the sacred atmosphere of the Parisian chapel where the piece was originally shown.

Alongside her historic masterpieces, the retrospective includes two recent works from 2024 (You Never Did Anything Wrong and Stendhal Syndrome) in which Goldin blends myth, memory, and friendship with her unmistakable visual sensitivity. Visitors are greeted by a new sound installation by Soundwalk Collective, conceived as an entryway into Goldin’s emotional universe.

Where: Pirelli HangarBicocca, Via Chiese 2
When: Until February 15, 2026

At Triennale Milano returns one of the most important events in the international cultural landscape: the 24th International Exhibition. Since 1923, this historic appointment has gathered voices, visions, and creative languages from around the world, inviting them to reflect on the issues shaping our present. The 2026 edition tackles an urgent and wide-ranging theme: inequalities, explored in all their forms.

The title, Inequalities, guides a collective journey composed of exhibitions, installations, and talks designed to examine the differences that define our lives. Income, origin, gender, health,  the theme is addressed with a broad and open perspective, weaving together art, architecture, design, politics, and social thought.

Among the most compelling projects is Cities, which investigates the role of urban spaces as places of contrasts but also of opportunity. Equally significant is Towards an Equal Future, developed by the Norman Foster Foundation, a deep dive into housing emergencies and the challenges of contemporary urbanization.

Where: Triennale Milano, inside the Palazzo dell’Arte, Parco Sempione
When: Until January 6, 2026

In January, HOMI - the Lifestyle Trade Fair returns to Milan, bringing with it the latest trends in furniture, decoration, and home-office living. It has become an unmissable event for professionals and design enthusiasts alike, a privileged observatory on the ways we inhabit, shape, and narrate our spaces.

HOMI places innovation, Italian design, and contemporary craftsmanship at the center. Major brands, small creative ateliers, and emerging designers come together to present fresh ideas and alternative visions. Unique objects and experimental micro-collections coexist with traditional materials and sustainable solutions, offering a journey through home accessories, decorative pieces, and home-decor projects that reinterpret style with new sensitivities.

The fair becomes a place where trends are discovered, stories of creativity unfold, and the transformative power of design on everyday environments takes shape.

Where: Fiera Milano Rho
When: January 22–25, 2026

In January, Milan will also welcome the explosive energy of The Real McKenzies, the legendary Canadian band that has blended punk rock with Scottish tradition for over thirty years in a style like no other. Their sound is an eruption of bagpipes, guitars, and fast-paced rhythms that turn every concert into a collective celebration where Celtic roots and rebellious spirit collide.

The band will present Songs Of The Highlands, Songs Of The Sea, the album released in 2022 to mark their thirtieth anniversary. It’s a tribute to Scotland (its legends, its landscapes, and the sea that has shaped its character) weaving together nostalgic ballads and fiery, hard-driving tracks.

For one night, Milan will take on a different face, carried away by a raw, honest, and deeply identity-rich sound: Celtic Punk in its purest form.

Where: Legend Club, Viale Enrico Fermi 98
When: January 20, 2026

The renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is a must-see, the world’s most prestigious nature photography competition, organized by the Natural History Museum in London. This eagerly awaited event arrives in Milan simultaneously with the London showcase, bringing with it a powerful visual journey that captures the natural world in all its beauty and fragility.

On display are the one hundred award-winning images of the 61st edition, selected from over sixty thousand submissions from 113 countries. The photographs reveal animals in their most intimate behaviors, landscapes that verge on abstraction, and stark testimonies of the environmental threats shaping our time.

The exhibition setup enhances the impact of each image with LED backlit frames that highlight their finest details, turning every photograph into a small stage of light. A four-meter maxi-screen presents the twenty-five People’s Choice finalists, while a dedicated video room with an 80-inch monitor offers backstage footage, interviews, and exclusive content.

Where: Museo della Permanente, Via Filippo Turati 34
When: Until January 25, 2026

In January, Milan reaffirms its role as the global capital of style with Milan Fashion Week Men’s, the event that opens the fashion year by presenting the Autumn/Winter 2026–2027 collections.

Milano Moda Uomo is the beating heart of men’s prêt-à-porter: each edition features over one hundred runway shows and presentations, involving historic maisons, emerging designers, and some of the most influential names in international fashion. Showrooms, grand halls, and regenerated industrial spaces become meeting points for visions, trends, and new aesthetic languages.

The event attracts more than a thousand journalists from around the world and around ten thousand buyers, highlighting Milan’s status as one of the most important global platforms in the fashion system. It is a week that goes far beyond clothing, a celebration of the city’s identity itself: international, creative, and always one step ahead.

Where: Various prestigious locations across Milan
When: January 16–20, 2026