In this article, I am going to be talking all about the shops and restaurants in the very famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. This place is actually a landmark in its own right and has been a landmark for a really long time. It has been standing since the 1870s. It has also been the oldest operating shopping mall in all of Italy. It is very beautiful and has some amazing things to offer.
- The Galleria is often nicknamed Milan’s drawing room because of the fact that it has shown many shops, and it also happens to be a very common meeting place and dining place as well.
- Even the locals of Milan end up meeting each other over here. As of the year 2013, the arcade principally contains a lot of luxury retailers for clothes, jewellery, paintings, books, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels and more. Some of the most popular retailers include Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada and more.
- The food that you get here is absolutely spectacular, and you don’t have to pay too much in most of the restaurants.
- You get decently priced food in all of these places. It is also famous for being home to some of the most oldest restaurants and shops in the entire city of Milan.
- There are some restaurants and cafes running here since the 1870s. The quality has actually maintained and actually gotten better in some of them.
- The McDonalds incident:
In the year 2012, a McDonald’s restaurant was actually prevented from renewing the tenancy after almost 20 years of occupancy in the Galleria. The restaurant contended in court that it was the only tenant to be denied the right of first refusal on the new lease. They also said that it was unfair to replace it by another store. McDonald’s ended up suing the landlord, the city of Milan, for more than €24 million. They alleged that the loss of the lease will deprive McDonald’s of more than €6 million per year in sales. During the last few hours of operation, the restaurant is actually offered free food and drink to more than 5000 customers. The McDonald’s restaurant was actually replaced with a second Prada store in the gallery. McDonald’s renounced its suit against the city of Milan after receiving the opportunity to open another restaurant in a very nearby area.