Attraction
Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano)
Milan's Gothic cathedral, begun in 1386 and finished only in the 20th century, with marble spires, a gilded Madonnina and walkable rooftop terraces.
The things to do in Milan go well beyond fashion and business. Italy's second city has the Gothic Duomo with its walkable rooftop, Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, the Castello Sforzesco, the paintings of the Pinacoteca di Brera and La Scala, one of the world's great opera houses. The historic centre around Piazza del Duomo is compact, and good metro lines link it with distinct districts: cobbled Brera, the canals of the Navigli, the Liberty streets of Porta Venezia and the skyscrapers of Porta Nuova.
Food is a strong reason to come. Milan has its own classics, such as saffron risotto alla milanese, ossobuco and the breaded cotoletta, alongside historic pastry shops, cheap street food such as panzerotti and pizza by the slice, and some of Italy's most ambitious restaurants. Early evening means aperitivo, a drink with snacks, and the Negroni Sbagliato was born in a Milan bar. Two or three days cover the main sights; four or five allow time for the museums and a day trip to Lake Como or Bergamo.
Attraction
Milan's Gothic cathedral, begun in 1386 and finished only in the 20th century, with marble spires, a gilded Madonnina and walkable rooftop terraces.
Attraction
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, painted around 1495 to 1498 on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie and seen in short timed visits.
Attraction
Italy's oldest active shopping arcade, a glass-roofed 19th-century gallery linking Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Scala.
Attraction
The Sforza dukes' brick fortress, rebuilt from 1450, now home to civic museums including Michelangelo's last sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà.
Attraction
Milan's main picture gallery in the Palazzo di Brera, with Mantegna, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Caravaggio and Hayez's The Kiss.
Attraction
Milan's opera house, opened in 1778, where Verdi and Puccini premiered major works; its museum offers views into the gilded auditorium.
Café
A pastry shop founded in 1824, part of the Prada group since 2014, known for its old-world bar, cakes, chocolates and panettone.
Café
Milan's historic café and pastry shop, founded in 1817 near La Scala and on Via Montenapoleone since 1950, with a coffee bar, tea room and restaurant.
Café
A family-run pastry shop and café on Corso Genova since 1936, popular for breakfast brioches, cakes, lunch and early-evening aperitivo.
Café
A contemporary pastry shop near Porta Venezia, popular for breakfast pastries, cakes, bread and its own panettone in several flavours.
Café
Milan's original specialty coffee bar, opened in 2016 near Porta Venezia, serving espresso and filter brews from a multi-roaster menu.
Café
The café at Fondazione Prada designed by film director Wes Anderson in 2015, recreating the atmosphere of an old Milanese café.
Hotel
A five-star hotel with 108 rooms and suites beside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, steps from the Duomo, with a cocktail bar and restaurants.
Hotel
A grand hotel open since 1863 near La Scala and Via Montenapoleone, where Giuseppe Verdi lived for 27 years, with 95 rooms and suites.
Hotel
A five-star hotel on a quiet street between La Scala and Via della Spiga, home to the Seta restaurant and a spa.
Hotel
A colourful design hotel with 85 rooms by Patricia Urquiola, steps from the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Hotel
A boutique hotel in a former family residence on Via Senato, with 43 quiet rooms, a courtyard, rooftop, café and bar near the fashion district.
Hotel
A family-run four-star art and design hotel a short walk from the Duomo, one of the first hotels of its kind in Italy.
Bar
The historic aperitivo bar at the Duomo entrance of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, serving Campari-based drinks since 1915.
Bar
The old-school Milan bar where Mirko Stocchetto created the Negroni Sbagliato, served in its giant stemmed glass and loved by the design crowd.
Bar
A pioneering cocktail bar near Porta Venezia, open since 1970 and known for theatrical, experimental drinks served in an eclectic room.
Bar
A rooftop bar, restaurant and pool club with two pools and skyline views, above the Dsquared2 headquarters near Porta Volta.
Bar
Milan's leading jazz club, open since 2003 in the Isola district, with live jazz, blues and soul and dinner served during the shows.
Bar
A tiny reservation-only cocktail bar on the Naviglio Grande with room for four guests, plus a takeaway window run by a masked bartender.
Restaurant
A family-run trattoria in the old Cinque Vie quarter, serving risotto alla milanese, ossobuco and cotoletta since 1933.
Restaurant
One of Milan's oldest restaurants, open since 1880 near Porta Garibaldi, with a preserved period interior and traditional Lombard cooking.
Restaurant
Chef Cesare Battisti's restaurant in an early 1900s building by the Porta Nuova park, reinventing Milanese and Lombard dishes with seasonal produce.
Restaurant
A small, hugely popular trattoria near Porta Romana, known for its daily-changing menu of Italian classics and its famous fried tripe.
Restaurant
The original Langosteria, opened in 2007 in the Tortona district, a fashionable seafood restaurant known for its raw fish and lively dining room.
Restaurant
Enrico Bartolini's three-Michelin-star restaurant on the third floor of the Mudec museum, serving creative tasting menus and a la carte dishes.
Thing to do
Milan's medieval canal quarter around the Naviglio Grande and the Darsena, known for its waterside walks, aperitivo bars and monthly antiques market.
Thing to do
Milan's old artists' quarter of cobbled lanes around the Pinacoteca di Brera, filled with galleries, design shops, cafés and restaurants.
Thing to do
Milan's central park behind the Castello Sforzesco, laid out in the 1890s and stretching to Napoleon's triumphal Arco della Pace.
Thing to do
A tour of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, home of AC Milan and Inter since the 1940s, with a museum of both clubs' shirts, trophies and memorabilia.
Thing to do
Milan's 21st-century skyline district, with the raised Piazza Gae Aulenti, the UniCredit Tower, the tree-covered Bosco Verticale and a public park.
Tour operator
A long-established Milan travel company running city tours, Last Supper visits, Navigli boat trips, hop-on hop-off buses and day trips to Lake Como.
Tour operator
A Milan company running guided cultural visits since 2004, from museums and churches to a Navigli walking and boat tour and a historic tram ride.
Tour operator
A Milan cultural heritage company founded in 1993, running guided visits, family workshops and school programmes in the city's museums and monuments.
Tour operator
A three-hour small-group food and drinks walk through the Navigli canal district, run by the food tour company Eating Europe.
Tour operator
Small-group guided bike tours of central Milan, including a three-hour highlights ride and an electric bike tour, starting near the Duomo.
Two to three days cover the Duomo, the Last Supper, the Castello Sforzesco, Brera and an evening in the Navigli; four or five days allow more museums and a day trip to Lake Como or Bergamo
The streets around the Duomo and Brera are best for a first visit, Porta Nuova and Garibaldi suit visitors who want modern hotels and good transport, and the Navigli and Porta Venezia are lively areas for nightlife
From Malpensa, take the Malpensa Express train to Cadorna or Centrale; from Linate, metro line M4 runs to the centre; from Bergamo, airport buses run to Milano Centrale
Hotels and dining in the centre and fashion district are expensive, especially during fashion and design weeks, but standing at the bar for coffee, street food and aperitivo keep daily costs down
Milan is generally safe, but pickpockets operate on the metro, around the Duomo and at Centrale station, so keep bags closed and phones out of back pockets