Who we are in Milan

The Centro Guide Turistiche di Milano (Tour Guide Centre of Milan), founded in 1960, organises your tour with its licensed tourist guides and welcomes you in town with experience, enthusiasm and passion.

OUR HISTORY

The stages which have marked the history of the CGM are the following:

TODAY

In the present headquarters, facing the Sforza Castle, we feel we are in close contact with the city’s art and history, and especially with the growing number of tourists who visit Milan. The typologies, the origins, and the flows of tourists change, but the Centro Guide adapts to the changes with new proposals for itineraries and activities.

2015

EXPO

2015 was a truly exceptional year: over 5.400 services carried out by our members, thanks to EXPO of course: we were busy doing tours both in the World Fair pavilions in Rho and in the city, at almost every hour of day and night!

2011

INVITO A PALAZZO (“Invitation to the Palace”)

We guided the visitors among the treasures of the Palazzo Anguissola Antona Traversi, the Palazzo delle Colonne and the Ca’ de Sass, for the initiative “Invito a palazzo” organised by Banca Intesa. This same bank commissioned tours in which we talked about the beauty of the restored frescos in the Chiaravalle Abbey.

2006

ACCESSIBLE TOURISM

The Centro Guide is involved in social projects also. Our members participated in the training course “Turismo accessibile” (Accessible tourism) organised by the AIAS association. During the meetings itineraries for disabled people were planned in the main sites of the city and then tested with groups of all ages.

2000

THE CIMITERO MONUMENTALE

We collaborated with the Milan municipality and the Silvana Editoriale publishing company for Sunday guided tours at the Cimitero Monumentale, a true open-air sculpture museum.

1996

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

The cultural sector of the Milan Province asked the CGM to collaborate for tours on the occasion of the exhibitions “Tiepolo a Milano”, “Milano Déco”, and “Bramante e la sua cerchia”.

Our members taught in a course for operators of cultural tourism in Lombardy organised by the European Social Fund.

1990

THE ARENGARIO HEADQUARTERS

During this decade our headquarters was the Arengario. We could see the spires of the Cathedral from the windows of our office. We also felt privileged because we were in close contact with the APT, the tourist office of the Milan province. Shortly after, our headquarters became the Museo del 900 and we moved a few steps away: in the historic “Cobianchi” space, on the opposite side of Piazza del Duomo.

1980

THE MILAN MUNICIPALITY

In the 1980s, the CGM collaborated with the Municipality of Milan for the organisation of summer tours of sites in the city for the Milanese citizens who spent their holidays in the city. In the 1990s these tours became the “Visite d’Arte”, the first offer of cultural tours in Milan.

1970

FIRST STEPS

In this decade the professional figure of the guide did not yet have today’s status and the CGM did not have stable premises and an active secretarial service, but began to weave relationships with institutions and travel agencies.

1960

THE BEGINNING 

1960 is the year our history began. The first association of tourist guides was founded and was later made official in front of a notary. The first members promoted themselves by meeting the tourists in strategic spots of the city: the parvis of the Duomo, the Cimitero Monumentale and the Arco della Pace, and supplied information on hotels and restaurants also.