Hoepli bookstore exterior.

©Stephanie Ong/Lonely Planet

Libreria Internazionale Hoepli

Duomo & San Babila


Italy’s largest bookshop has six floors and some 500,000 titles plus rare antiquarian books, as well as English- and German-language sections. Don’t neglect to browse the Italian shelves; local publishers are known for their beautiful cover design and innovative pictorial titles.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Duomo & San Babila attractions

1. Gallerie d'Italia

0.13 MILES

This fabulously decorated palazzo (mansion) is home to part of the enormous collection of Fondazione Cariplo and Intesa Sanpaolo bank, which pays homage…

2. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

0.14 MILES

So much more than a shopping arcade, the neoclassical Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a soaring structure of iron and glass. Nicknamed 'il salotto di…

3. Museo Poldi Pezzoli

0.16 MILES

At the age of 24 Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli had inherited not only his family fortune, but also his mother’s love of art. After extensive travels in which…

4. Museo Teatrale alla Scala

0.16 MILES

Giuseppe Piermarini's 2800-seat theatre was inaugurated in 1778, replacing the previous theatre, which burnt down in a fire after a carnival gala. Costs…

5. Duomo

0.18 MILES

A vision in pink Candoglia marble, Milan's extravagant Gothic cathedral, 600 years in the making, aptly reflects the city's creativity and ambition. Its…

6. Quadrilatero d'Oro

0.2 MILES

A stroll around the Quadrilatero d'Oro, the world's most famous shopping district, is a must even for those not sartorially inclined. The quaintly cobbled…

7. Palazzo Morando Costume Moda Immagine

0.23 MILES

Dominating Via Sant'Andrea is the baroque facade of the Palazzo Morando Attendolo Bolognini, home to the Bolognini family until 1945. The personal…

8. Museo del Novecento

0.23 MILES

Overlooking Piazza del Duomo, with fabulous views of the cathedral, is Mussolini's Arengario, from where he would harangue huge crowds in his heyday. Now…