Cafeography
Dehors · Milan

Outdoor cafés in Milan

Dehors on sidewalks, piazzas and parking lanes, from Porta Venezia to Via Savona.

Photo: Earth Photart, Pexels License

In Milan a café's outdoor seating is its dehors: tables and chairs, planters, umbrellas or a covered platform set out on a sidewalk, a piazza or a parking lane.2 The city sorts these into light structures that can be cleared at once, semi-rigid removable ones and dehors proper, and only businesses serving food and drink may put them out.2

Terraces multiplied during the pandemic. By March 2022 Milan had just under 3,000 new or enlarged outdoor areas granted under the emergency rules, free of charge for more than two years, and owners who wanted to keep them had to ask for permanent status.1 Carlo Squeri of EPAM, the Confcommercio association for bars and restaurants, reckoned that about half the city's establishments had no room for outdoor tables at all.1

Local tip: In the twelve movida zones, outdoor tables must be empty by 01:00 on weeknights and 02:00 at weekends until 2 November 2026, even when the bar inside stays open, so finish the last drink indoors.

Where these cafés are: Porta Venezia (22), Città Studi & Lambrate (22), De Angeli & the west (19), Duomo & Centro (18), Porta Nuova & Centrale (17), Maciachini & the north (17), Sempione & Pagano (11), Brera (10), NoLo & Loreto (9), Porta Vittoria & XXII Marzo (9), Isola (8), Navigli & Ticinese (8), Porta Romana (7), Corvetto & the south (7), Tortona (6), Magenta & Sant’Ambrogio (6), Paolo Sarpi & Chinatown (5).

At a glance

201Cafés listed
59With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
03:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Beverly, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 06:30–22:00).
  • Closes latest: Memà, until 03:00 (Daily 07:00–03:00).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (45%), open late (13%), card payment (12%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Milan.

How a dehors gets its permit

The city council approved its regulation on light, semi-rigid and dehors occupations on 13 December 2021, tighter than the pandemic guidelines but looser than the old fee rules.1 Each request is assessed on its own. Near protected monuments the Soprintendenza, the state heritage office, must give an opinion, and the distance from parking bays and trees can sink an application.1

The city government's draft that December made tables on former parking spaces seasonal, from 15 April to 15 October, and tables on green areas seasonal from 1 March to 31 October.2

Night-time limits in the movida zones

From 11 June to 2 November 2026, mayoral ordinances limit outdoor tables in twelve nightlife zones: NoLo, Isola, Sarpi, Cesariano, Arco della Pace, Como/Gae Aulenti, Garibaldi, Brera, Ticinese, Darsena e Navigli, Cinque Vie and Bicocca.3 There, any business with a plateatico, its licensed outdoor area, must stop using it at 01:00 on weeknights and at 02:00 on Friday and Saturday nights and public holidays.3

Porta Venezia is under stricter rules. After residents won a noise case, the Lazzaretto and Melzo streets got an ordinance of their own, based on a Tribunale di Milano ruling published on 11 December 2025.34

Where Milan's outdoor tables are

Porta Venezia and Città Studi & Lambrate have the most cafés with outdoor seating, followed by De Angeli & the west. Smaller runs line Via Savona and Via Andrea Solari in Tortona, Corso Lodi in Porta Romana, Via Giorgio Washington and Viale Famagosta. Piazzale Gabrio Piola has three side by side: Beverly, Bar 30 E Lode and Speedy.

The big squares have terraces too. RED la Feltrinelli and Pandenus share Piazza Gae Aulenti, Was coffee lab and Mignon put tables out on Piazza Duca d'Aosta, and Café Kitsuné is on Piazza Cordusio. In the north, On the road on Viale Edoardo Jenner has seats inside and out and is open 06:00–02:00 every day.

What a table costs

Sitting down costs more than standing at the counter, and the gap is widest on the grand squares. In November 2025 il Giornale found an espresso at Cracco in Galleria priced at €1.50 at the bar and €3.50 at a table, and a cappuccino at €2 against €5.5 Read the price list by the door before you take an outdoor seat on a piazza.

Sources

  1. Milano rischia di dire addio ai suoi dehors (Valentina Dardari), il Giornale (March 23, 2022), accessed October 2026
  2. Dehors, la Giunta del Comune di Milano approva le nuove linee guida, Affaritaliani (December 10, 2021), accessed October 2026
  3. Movida a Milano, cambiano gli orari: stop ad asporto e dehors in 12 zone, nuove regole e divieti, Mentelocale (June 10, 2026), accessed October 2026
  4. Movida, criminalità e residenti, arriva l'ordinanza estiva del Comune (Daniele Bonecchi), Il Foglio (June 11, 2026), accessed October 2026
  5. Quanto costa fare colazione da Carlo Cracco in Galleria (Roberta Damiata), il Giornale (November 30, 2025), accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Outdoor seating in Milan: questions

What does dehors mean at a café in Milan?

A dehors is a café's outdoor seating area: tables, chairs, umbrellas or a covered platform on a sidewalk, piazza or parking lane. Milan's rules, approved by the city council on 13 December 2021, sort these into light, semi-rigid and dehors structures and allow them only for businesses that serve food and drink.

How late can you sit outside at a Milan café with outdoor seating?

In twelve nightlife zones, including NoLo, Isola, Sarpi, Brera, Ticinese and Darsena e Navigli, outdoor tables must be cleared by 01:00 on weeknights and 02:00 on Friday and Saturday nights and holidays, under ordinances in force from 11 June to 2 November 2026. Porta Venezia has stricter rules after residents won a noise case.

Which Milan neighborhoods have the most cafés with outdoor seating?

Porta Venezia and Città Studi & Lambrate have the most, ahead of De Angeli & the west. Smaller runs line Via Savona and Via Andrea Solari in Tortona, Corso Lodi and Piazzale Gabrio Piola. Large terraces sit on Piazza Gae Aulenti, Piazza Duca d’Aosta and Piazza Cordusio.

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