Pavia
Lombardy
Historic university town with traditional Lombard cuisine and excellent local wine selections.
Historic university town with traditional Lombard cuisine and excellent local wine selections.
Pavia's vicinity to Milan, only a 20-25 minute train ride almost due south, doesn't put it near the main tourist attractions of Rome, Florence, and Venice that draw the huge international tourist crowds (thankfully!). Its main industries listed on Wikipedia are agriculture and industry - somewhere in Italy that doesn't have 'tourism' listed - that's a rare thing!
Pavia is most well known for the University of Pavia, established in 1361. It is one of the oldest universities and consistently highly ranked among the best in the world. With a student body of close to 25,000 in a town with less than 100,000 residents - you can say this city has the younger vibe of a college town with a small town feel.
We recommend staying a couple of nights, if you are able to. The city boasts some fantastic restaurants and will serve as a great contrast to the hustle and bustle of Milan and show you what true Italian life is.
Best Airport(s)
Milan Linate (LIN), Milan Malpensa (MXP)
Estimated Time (Airport → City)
LIN → Pavia: ~45–75 min (car) / ~1h00–1h40 (train)
MXP → Pavia: ~70–110 min (car) / ~1h45–2h45 (train)
Main Train Station
Pavia
Quick Tip
Frequent trains make Pavia an easy add-on from Milan.
Jump to:
Ristorante Lino is one of the prettiest restaurants we’ve eaten in (but we’re partial to dark, moody interiors). This space nails it. Not to be outdone, the food is spectacular as well. Restaurants like Ristorante Lino are the epitome of what we love about Italy. In America, it would be something truly special to find such fantastic cuisine in a smaller commuter city, however it’s not out of the ordinary here. The presentation is top notch - our meal started with a complimentary beverage (one of the best non-alcoholic drinks we’ve had!) and the deep red color matched the dark interiors of the room. Then each course brought a fun inventiveness that matched the taste. We can’t wait to come back for our next visit!
Located on the main road from Ponte Coperto, the town’s picturesque bridge, is a little trattoria that will take you back in time when you walk in. The walls are lined with wonderful photos and old cookware, and you have wax paper as your individual place setting. The menu is not overly extensive; just 6 primi and 6 secondi are on the menu. However, you really don’t need a lot to choose from when every choice is excellent. This is definitely a spot to get dolce as well!
Verde Salvia Gourmet has a unique and innovative way they make their pizza - and we love it! If you’re not the adventurous type, they do have traditional pizza choices on the menu. We opted for something super untraditional for a pizza (for us) and tried the “al polpo e pesto alla genovese” which had octopus, Taggiasca olives, pine nuts, steamed potatoes, burrata cheese and Genovese pesto sauce (and tomatoes and mozzarella). It was fantastic! The second pizza we had had prosciutto, porcini mushrooms, artichokes, Taggiasca olives, and of course mozzarella and tomatoes. If you’re looking to try something slightly different in a beautiful setting, we think you’ll love this place!
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