Photos: Milan by Jiuguang Wang, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Washington DC by Guohua Song, Pexels License.
Milan or Washington DC?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Milan for
- shopping
- day trips
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Milan’s own page.
Choose Washington DC for
- families
- culture and sights
What lies behind each score is written up on Washington DC’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Milan and Washington DC.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on shopping and day trips with your weighting.
Wins on families and culture and sights with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Milan in July
Washington DC in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Milan has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Milan's sunshine is measured 41 km from the centre, at Novara / Cameri.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Milan: 1991-2020 normals, Milano / Linate (8 km from centre). Washington DC: 1991-2020 normals, Washington National Airport (5 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Milan | Washington DC |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Italian | - |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | CFL230 V, 50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 911 |
| Elevation | 138 m | 72 m |
| Main airport | Milan Malpensa International Airport (MXP)40 km from centre208 non-stop destinations | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)5 km from centre105 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Milan | Washington DC |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,354,196 | 689,545 |
| People per km² | 7,453 | 3,896 |
| Museums within 10 km | 88 | 98 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 4 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | - | 3 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Milan or Washington DC somewhere new.