Milan is Italy's forward-leaning capital of design, fashion and finance, a city that rewards those who look past its brisk business surface. Yes, the Duomo is a marble marvel and Leonardo's Last Supper a bucket-list booking, but the real Milan lives in its aperitivo ritual along the Navigli canals, its concept stores and Liberty-style palazzi in Brera, and its restless creative energy during Design Week and the fashion shows. Approach it with a plan: the Last Supper must be reserved weeks ahead, and the top sights cluster within a walkable core served by an excellent metro. Give the marquee monuments a morning, then let the city's neighbourhoods carry you, aperitivo hour in Brera or the Navigli, contemporary art at the Fondazione Prada, and rooftop drinks over the cathedral spires. Eat the local classics of risotto alla milanese, cotoletta and cassoeula, and treat the early-evening spritz-and-buffet as the city's most civilised institution. Milan is efficient, stylish and quietly generous once you slow to its rhythm.
A full, walkable day in Milan, free for everyone. Set your pace and start time.
Book a combined ticket online for the cathedral and roof; go early to walk among the spires before the square fills.
Admire the mosaics and spin on the bull for luck; peek at the Teatro alla Scala facade and its museum.
The top-floor window frames the cathedral beautifully; a quick, rewarding stop right on the piazza.
This must be pre-booked weeks ahead for a strict 15-minute timed slot; arrive 15 minutes early to collect tickets.
Courtyards are free; see the Rondanini Pieta inside, then walk through the park to the Arco della Pace.
Stand at the counter for a Campari spritz where it was invented, under the Galleria's glass dome.
Order the risotto alla milanese and the cotoletta; it is a classic old-town room, so book in high season.
The colossal Gothic cathedral bristling with spires and statues; buy a combined ticket and take the lift or stairs up to the rooftop terraces to walk among the marble pinnacles.
A 1933 old-town institution near the Duomo cooking the Milanese canon with pride, the saffron risotto, the golden cotoletta and ossobuco; a step back in time.
Leonardo da Vinci's fragile mural in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie; entry is a strict 15-minute timed slot for a handful of visitors, so book weeks in advance.
The magnificent 19th-century glass-vaulted arcade linking the Duomo and La Scala, home to grand cafes and luxury boutiques; spin your heel on the bull mosaic for luck.
The world's most famous opera house, understated outside and sumptuous within; tour the auditorium and museum by day, or book a performance for the full experience.
The vast red-brick Sforza fortress housing museums and Michelangelo's unfinished Rondanini Pieta; free to wander the courtyards, and the gateway to Parco Sempione behind.
Milan's great picture gallery in the arty Brera district, hung with Raphael, Mantegna's Dead Christ and Caravaggio; combine it with a wander through the neighbourhood's boutiques.
A stylish restaurant by the Porta Nuova skyscrapers doing refined versions of Lombard classics like risotto and mondeghili meatballs; book, and ask for a garden table.
A romantic old osteria near Porta Genova with a leafy courtyard, serving hearty Lombard cooking and a fine cotoletta away from the tourist crush.
A jewel-box 1824 pastry shop, part-owned by Prada, elegant for a morning espresso, a brioche and, at Christmas, a proper Milanese panettone.
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Italy