Bar Luce - A Must Visit for any Wes Anderson Fan!
If you love Wes Anderson, you’ll love this! Another Italian gem, this time tucked away in the Fondazione Prada complex in Milan.
Location:
The Fondazione Prada complex was founded by the fashion brand Prada's co-CEOs Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli and is known for its innovative and unconventional approach to art and culture, making this cafe a perfect fit! Although it’s not super central, you could spend the whole day here if you wanted to, with exhibition spaces, historic buildings, a library and architecture, including a gorgeous golden building that you absolutely cannot miss!
Overall impressions:
We had one mission on the way to the airport, to visit Bar Luce, the cafe designed by Wes Anderson. If you’ve ever seen any of his films then you’ll be familiar with his quirky pastel, retro aesthetic.
The bar is literally like walking into one of his movie sets, and the furniture is so sleek and comfy, I get why there were so many people with laptops working away here - it would be a great place to go on a non-office day.
There was not any film memorabilia, although there were two pinball machines, one with characters from The Life Aquatic and one from a film I didn’t recognise. But I don’t think that was the point. I think the vibe they were going for is a cool place to hang out and be inspired, and they captured that, with abundance.
It’s a popular spot for both coffee and film enthusiasts, and it often hosts cultural events and exhibitions. If you’re visiting Milan, it’s worth popping in, even if it’s a slight detour! Uber’s in Milan are super efficient and pretty decent value if you only have a short amount of time too.
The food and drink:
I had the caprese sandwich made up of mozzarella, tomato and basil, and a lemonade which frankly was not the most exciting drink on the menu, but on a travel day, I always find going without alcohol to be the best option! The food was tasty enough for a sandwich, and although I WISH we had more time to come back and explore a little more of the menu, it was more about the experience of visiting the cafe that I was after, and it definitely delivered. If you have the chance to go, I’d recommend perhaps spending a day (or at least half-a-day) visiting the whole complex, but as always it can be a struggle to fit everything into a short weekend trip!
