In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Aperitivo is a drink with food included in the price, taken in the early evening. Guides put it at €10 to €14 in the central districts and €15 to €25 on rooftops. At Camparino in Galleria a Campari Seltz is €15 and aperitivo bites are €10 a dish. The Negroni Sbagliato was invented at Bar Basso in 1972. Moebius Milano is no. 2 on The 50 Best Bars 2026. The bars the English-language lists name most are Bar Basso (20 publishers) and Camparino in Galleria (11). Or book a tour: the sunset Navigli food and drinks tourad is from €81.18 for 3 to 3.5 hours (GetYourGuide).
What aperitivo is and what it costs
You pay for the drink, and food comes with it: a spread of snacks on a counter, or a plate of bites at the table. Stippl, a city-guide app, puts it at €10 to €15 for a drink with food between 6 and 9 pm, and Gambero Rosso has a guide to aperitivo “spending under 20 euros”. Europe Nightlife calls it a set-price package rather than an open bar. The prices the guides print differ by district:
A classic aperitivo: sparkling wine, a red spritz-style cocktail and a tray of snacks. Photo: Lasagnolo9, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Where | What the guide prints | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Central districts | €10 to €14 | staseramilano.com |
| Rooftops and luxury venues by the Duomo and Brera | €15 to €25 | staseramilano.com |
| Città Studi and Isola | €8 to €10 | cosafareamilano.it |
| The Navigli and Porta Venezia | €12 to €15 | cosafareamilano.it |
| The Arco della Pace and rooftops | €15 to €20 | cosafareamilano.it |
| A spritz on the Navigli | €7 to €9 | The Better Vacation |
| Rooftops | €18 to €25 | The Better Vacation |
The one operator price in this guide is Camparino in Galleria’s, from its Bar di Passo menu: a Campari Seltz €15, an Americano €20, a Bayleaf Negroni €20 and aperitivo bites €10 a dish, with VAT and service included.
The habit starts in the early evening. The 50 Best Bars says the Navigli, where the canals fill up with it, is a district where cafés and cocktail bars blur the line between afternoon drinks and nightlife: see the Navigli.
The bars named by the most sources
The count is the number of publishers that name the bar next to the word aperitivo, with the split between English and Italian publishers.
| Bar | Sources | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Basso | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Camparino in Galleria | 15 | 11 | 4 |
| Mag Cafè | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| Terrazza Aperol | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Nombra de Vin | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Terrazza Gallia | 6 | 6 | 0 |
The English lists send visitors to Bar Basso; no Italian publisher counted names it. Where to eat in Milan has the full counts.
The bars
Camparino in Galleria
Piazza del Duomo 21 · Cited by 15 sources (11 English, 4 Italian) · camparino.com
Gaspare Campari opened the Caffè Campari on the corner of the Galleria and Piazza del Duomo in 1867, and his son Davide opened Camparino as its younger brother in 1915. Campari took the bar back from the Miani family in 2018 and reopened it on 14 November 2019. The Bar di Passo has the Art Nouveau mosaic by Angelo d’Andrea, and the Sala Spiritello upstairs serves at the table and is priced higher. The Bar di Passo prices are above.
Bar Basso
Via Plinio 39 · Cited by 20 sources (20 English, 0 Italian)
The bar where the Negroni Sbagliato, the “mistaken” Negroni, was created in 1972: Mirko Stocchetto reached for sparkling wine instead of gin. The 50 Best Bars tells the same story in its announcement of the Milan ceremony, and Bar Basso has registered the name as a trademark.
Sparkling wine poured into a Negroni sbagliato, the drink Bar Basso created in 1972. Photo: Wine Dharma, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Moebius Milano
The 50 Best Bars 2026: no. 2
A cocktail bar, ranked no. 2 on The 50 Best Bars 2026 and named the best bar in Europe, at a ceremony held at the Palazzo del Ghiaccio in Milan on 7 October 2026. Bar Leone in Hong Kong is no. 1, and Locale Firenze, at no. 33, is the only other Italian bar in the top 50.
Terrazza Aperol
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II · Cited by 7 sources (6 English, 1 Italian) · terrazzaaperol.com
A terrace over Piazza del Duomo for Aperol Spritz and a menu of local and international food.
Rooftops and late bars
- Ceresio 7. Via Ceresio 7, with an American bar, a signature restaurant and swimming pools. The bar’s aperitivo with Ruinart champagne is sold as a €220 experience for two. See where to eat in Milan.
- Casa Baglioni Rooftop by Sadler. Via dell’Annunciata 14, open Monday to Saturday from 18:00 to 01:00, with an aperitivo and a 360-degree view of the city’s landmarks.
- Ally’s Bar. On the sixth floor of Langosteria Montenapoleone, Corso Giacomo Matteotti 9, open from 12:00 to 01:00, with a drinks list and dishes made for the bar.
- Dry Milano. Via Solferino 33, open Tuesday to Sunday from 18:00 to 02:00, closed Mondays, for pizza with cocktails. It won the best-cocktail-list award at 50 Top Pizza in 2026.
Aperitivo with a guide
A food tour that ends in an aperitivo spares you the choosing. GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices are per person:
| Tour | From | Length | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Navigli Food and Drinks Tour with a Localad | €81.18 | 3 to 3.5 hours | 451 |
| Eating Milan: Navigli Food and Drinks Tourad | €103.50 | 3 hours | 27 |
| Full-Meal Gourmet Food Tourad | €89.93 | 3.5 hours | 95 |
Eating Europe sells the Navigli tour from €97 on its own site. Milan food tours compares them.
Plan the rest
Where to eat in Milan lists the restaurants, and 3 days in Milan fits an evening on the Navigli to the sights. The Navigli and Ticinese walk walks the canal before the bars fill. Where to stay in Milan compares the areas, and what to book before you go to Milan lists the closed days.
Common questions
What is aperitivo in Milan?
A drink with food included in the price, taken in the early evening. Guides describe it as a set-price package rather than an open bar: Stippl puts it at €10 to €15 for a drink with food between 6 and 9 pm.
How much does aperitivo cost in Milan?
Italian guides put it at €10 to €14 in the central districts and €15 to €25 on rooftops and at luxury venues by the Duomo and Brera. At Camparino in Galleria's Bar di Passo, a Campari Seltz is €15, an Americano €20, a Bayleaf Negroni €20 and aperitivo bites €10 a dish.
Where was the Negroni Sbagliato invented?
At Bar Basso, on Via Plinio, in 1972, when the bartender Mirko Stocchetto poured sparkling wine into a Negroni in place of gin. Bar Basso has registered the name as a trademark.
Which is the best bar in Milan?
Moebius Milano is no. 2 on The 50 Best Bars 2026, named the best bar in Europe at a ceremony held in Milan on 7 October 2026. Bar Basso and Camparino in Galleria are the aperitivo bars the English-language lists name most.
Where do I go for aperitivo on the Navigli?
The Navigli, where, according to The 50 Best Bars, cafés and cocktail bars blur the line between afternoon drinks and nightlife. The sunset Navigli food and drinks tour from Do Eat Better Experience is from €81.18, and Eating Europe's Navigli tour is from €97.
Is there a rooftop for aperitivo in Milan?
Yes. Ceresio 7 has an American bar above the skyline, Casa Baglioni's rooftop by Sadler is open Monday to Saturday from 18:00 to 01:00 with a 360-degree view, and Ally's Bar on the sixth floor of Langosteria Montenapoleone is open from 12:00 to 01:00.
