How to Visit Bar Luce, Wes Anderson’s Dreamy Pastel Café
Last Updated on 8th August 2023 by Sophie Nadeau
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If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through Social Media, ogling over #accidentallywesanderson, and wondering how you can be transported into a pastel-hued world for yourself, then Bar Luce in Milan will truly be a dream come true for you. Here’s how to visit Bar Luce, as well as what to know before you go.
Bar Luce is located in Milan, the bustling and vibrant city in northern Italy which is best-known as being a fashion capital and as a business powerhouse of the boot-shaped country.
Some of the best things to do in Milan include going onto the Duomo rooftop and strolling through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (the ceilings of which have been used to inspire the ceiling of Bar Luce).
Introducing Bar Luce
The history of Bar Luce dates back to 2015, when iconic American film director Wes Anderson decided that he wanted to create a bar which invoked the feeling of a 1950s/ 1960s Milanese café. Much of the decor and themes of the café are borrowed from this time period.
Located at the entrance to the Prada Foundation (Fondazione Prada- a multi-discilpinary arts centre), the eatery functions as a café during the daytime and a bar in the early evening where you can enjoy an Italian aperitivo.
Step inside and you’ll find the walls covered in a trompe l’œil wallpaper, while one of the pinball machines in the bar features a character from one of Wes Anderson’s shorts.
Anderson wanted to create a space that was not only aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical, but also one that he would enjoy spending an afternoon in chatting with friends, reading, sipping on an Italian coffee, watching the world go by.
When speaking about creating the bar, Anderson is quoted to have said “the approach I used to design this bar is exactly the opposite I usually use for the set designs of my movies. I tried to make it a bar you’d like to go to five times a week. When I was really young I wanted to be an architect, and this chance I’ve been given to pretend to be a real one is a childhood fantasy come true!”.
How to visit Bar Luce
The café is open every day of the week, apart from Tuesdays when it’s closed. From Monday to Friday, the eatery operates from 8.30 am – 8 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday, from 9 am – 8 pm. On the 15th August, the bar is open from 9 am – 8 pm.
