Ciao from Milan, Italy – Home of fashion, food, and the February 2026 host of the Winter Olympic Games! I still can’t believe I made it to Milan to watch the figure skating live at the Olympics! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

(If you’d like information about attending the 2030 Winter Olympics in Nice, contact me at mapsandguides.com. I can help you plan vegan travel to Europe for special events like the Olympics, or just to visit new cities abroad!)

February 10, 2026, I headed across the pond to watch my heroes Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Kaori Sakamoto shine their brightest on the world’s largest stage. This trip to the Milan Olympics was a celebration for my younger self who spent hours a day training on the ice and dreaming of competing in the games one day. What a trip for her!

I was a bit worried about finding vegan food in Milan. When  I lived in Rome in the early 2000s, it had been challenging to find vegan options. But the times are a changing! I’m thrilled to report that Milan is full of vegan food options, even down to the gelato 😊

It was a full circle event for me in many ways, since around 1998 I began to follow a vegan diet to heal my knees so I could skate again.

Fast forward to 2026: I found that almost every café had a vegan option, (except pure pizzerias), and there was even a clearly labeled vegan option at the Assago Arena where the Olympic figure skating was held! (The espresso bar at the stadium even had non-dairy milk options!!)

Here’s what worked for me to find vegan food easily during my trip to the Winter Olympics in Milan:

I chose to stay in the Navigli neighborhood, a lively community on the canal in southwest Milan with tons of restaurants, shops and bars. The neighborhood vibe was super chill with vintage shops, small cafes, and beautiful tranquil walks along the canal.

Hotel:

I chose the Navigli Art Hotel, Via Angelo Fumagalli, 4

The Navigli Art Hotel includes a full breakfast with vegan options including vegan cakes, cornettos, cereal, and a juicing station! Each morning,  bowls of freshly cut carrots, celery, and ginger were available plus turmeric powder and apples you could slice to make a fresh, yummy juice drink. Navigli Art Hotel also had non-dairy milk for a  cappuccino, including soy and almond.

Aside from the full vegan breakfast, here’s what else made this hotel so easy and convenient during my stay in Milan:

• The hotel is located right off the canal, with many shops and restaurants literally around the corner from the hotel door.
• 5-min walk to metro Porto Genova (green line M2)
• 30-min transport to the city center door to door. (Take M2 line north 3 stops to Cadorna. Then switch to the M1 line going east. The Duomo is just 4 stops away!)
• Carrefour express grocery store directly across the street from the hotel entrance for water and other essentials. Pam larger supermarket is a 10-min walk.

Bonus: Navigli Art Hotel also had both wet and dry saunas and a lovely gym.

Easy eats:

Since I was basically in town for the games, and vegan food was EVERYWHERE, I didn’t seek out the specifically 100% vegan restaurants. Happy Cow is a great resource for a list of all vegan fare in Milan.

Café Monaco, Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 63 (Facebook Pancaffe 63)

Cafe Monaco is a small café bar steps from the hotel. Walk out of the hotel and turn right onto the canal street, and the cafe is less than 500 ft on the right. Café Monaco has non-dairy milk for a cappuccino and solid vegan breakfast and lunch options:

• Olive tomato focaccia (no butter or cheese)
• Sandwich with avocado, zucchini, eggplant, and tofu
• Burger (Nathan’s with rice, veggies, zucchini, eggplant, tofu, avocado, walnuts)
• Many different flavors of cornettos for breakfast

This was my breakfast of champions: a cornetto and latte with a gorgeous view of the river!

Carry out lunch was often vegan fococcia – portable and delicious!

Café Monaco is a friendly, local, family-run café with good food in a relaxed atmosphere. Although this cafe hosts mostly locals, if you’re still working hard on your Italian, they’ll happily help you in English.

Osteria Casale, literally means (Farmhouse tavern), Via Casale, 7

Osteria Casale has friendly staff, a relaxed upscale atmosphere, and  great food with typical Milanese dishes. Osteria Casale is very close to the Porta Genova Metro. It’s located about a 5- min walk from Hotel Art Navigli, or a 1-min walk from the Porto Genova Metro stop (exit Porto Grande Navigli).

Osteria Casale has many vegan options including:

• Many types of egg-free pasta with homemade tomato sauce
• Vegetable soup with crostini
• Various salads and side dishes, like mushrooms with garlic and parsley
• They’ll make you a vegan risotto!

Side dishes can become a whole meal when they’re this yummy! Mushrooms with other veggie sides + freshly baked bread was a solid, filling and comforting meal.

Il Bar Sui Social (restaurant at the top of Rinascente department store), Piazzo Duomo

Il Bar Sui Social offers a GORGEOUS view of the Duomo and the city center. I came for the view, but the Sardinian fregola was so yummy that I came back several more times during my trip to enjoy it again.

Their vegan options include:

• Fregola Vegana: Sardinian tiny round pasta balls with yellow Datterini tomato “cream,” red tomatoes, and an oregano basil sauce
• Vegan sandwich with sweet potato fries
• Various salads

GELATO!!!! 

Italian gelato is so special that it needs it’s own category with the food section. Most gelaterias have at least one vegan flavor like chocolate or coconut. But Gelateria Artigianale in Navgli is very close to the Porta Genova train station and had 4 vegan flavors: chocolate, strawberry, hazelnut, and coconut. My absolute favorite combo was the chocolate and hazelnut. It’s soooo creamy you’ll have trouble believing it’s dairy-free!

It’s a small, family-run ice cream shop. Stop by and say hello!

WINTER OLYMPICS, Assago Arena, Milano

Grazie mille to the Olympic Planning Committee for the vegan options at the actual games!

There was a fully vegan sandwich option with hummus, sun-dried tomato and zucchini. I was amazed and SO grateful to find an easy vegan food option at the actual games.

And Caffe Vergnano had non-dairy milk for the espresso bar.  Because of course you have an espresso bar at the Olympic figure skating arena when the host country is ITALY 😊 (Even though 10am is the unofficial limit for coffee drinks with “milk.” LOL.)

If you’re reading this, please let’s ask nicely for Nice, France to please help its vegan friends with some options for the 2030 games!

Non-Olympics related, I also toured the Duomo and the museum, a must-see if you’re in Milan.

And even though there is a full scale department store, Rinascente, and all its famous designer brands under one roof, I’d encourage you to visit the smaller shops in Navigli and other neighborhoods. The fashion you’ll find there is often small batch exclusives for Milan. So you’ll be exceptional in your one-of-kind outfit!

Food, fashion, and fun! That’s my summary for my trip to Milan to watch the 2026 Milano Cortino Winter Olympic games. I was thrilled Italy won the bronze medal in the team event and so grateful to have had the chance to watch the skating live.

Italia, grazie mille per tutto!

Rebecca Gilbert is the founder of Yummy Plants and the author of It’s Easy to Start Eating Vegan. She’s a former competitive figure skater whose switch to a vegan diet healed her chronic joint pain. Rebecca has been a featured speaker at events including the World VegFestival in San Francisco, Vegetarian Summerfest, the New York City Vegetarian Food Festival, and Paris Vegan Day. She has presented on live television and given corporate talks. Book Rebecca to speak at your organization.