When I lived in Milan, it wasn’t the tourist destination it is today, and while there was no shortage of travelers arriving at Malpensa or Linate airports each week, they typically came to the then often-foggy city for work. Now Milan is an international hot spot, drawing 8.5 million visitors a year, not only for business, but also for leisure, bleisure, and various fashion pursuits— a one-million increase over pre-pandemic numbers. Those figures are sure to grow in 2026 when the Milan-Cortina Olympics kick off.