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Why?  Travel to Milan to discover the 'alternative' Italy, for the city embodies everything that is chic and sophisticated in Italian culture, far removed from quaint Tuscan villages or warbling gondoliers. Milan is the home of haute couture and haute cuisine, world-class shopping, supreme opera, sleek skyscrapers, tasteful galleries and museums and spacious piazzas. A holiday in Milan is a stylish experience.

When?  Mid-summer is stiflingly hot and humid in the city, and most locals head for the lakes at this time of year. The best time to holiday in Milan is in early summer, or early autumn, when the weather is warm and sunny. Winters are very chilly, wet and foggy.

Who for?  Fashion fundis, shopaholics, opera-lovers and anyone who enjoys the finer things in life (and can afford to pay for them) will revel in a holiday to Milan. Art-lovers are also drawn to travel to Milan to see the treasures stored in its leading galleries; but the piece de resistance, da Vinci's The Last Supper fresco, is in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie.

More Info:  To plan a holiday in Milan, make use of our Milan travel guide, which gives details of the major events and attractions in the city, including how to make essential advance bookings for viewing The Last Supper.

Overview

Sophistication reaches new levels in Milan. The financial and commercial centre of Italy, Milan attracts fashion fundis, opera lovers, the young, the beautiful and the bold. Shopping, eating and clubbing is serious business here - and it is no surprise that the city boasts the world's 'most beautiful shopping mall', the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Equally vying for admiration are the Milanese icons of La Scala Theatre (Teatro della Scala) and the Gothic Duomo, one of the world's largest churches. Milan's frenetic pace surges ahead in its drive towards progress, forsaking the lengthy siestas enjoyed in other parts of the country.

The city's urban tentacles stretch for miles, although many of the significant historical attractions are contained between the two landmark sites - the Duomo and the Sforzesco Castle, which, together with the two still-standing medieval gates (Porta Nuova at the end of via Manzoni and Porta Ticinese), delimit the city's central area.

The city, bound first by ancient Roman, then medieval, then Renaissance walls - none of which are still standing in their entirety - still evidences a concentric design enveloping five squares: Piazza Duomo, Piazza Cairoli, Piazza Cordusio, Piazza San Babila and Piazza della Scala onto which looms not only the famous opera house of the same name, but also a Renaissance mansion serving as the civic government's principal seat since the 19th century. The skyline around Mussolini's colossal train station built in 1931, the Stazione Centrale, is dominated by skyscrapers from which the sleek Pirelli Tower emerges. There are now two convention centers: the original Fiera district that opens up at the end of via Monti and the new Fiera district in the suburb called Rho-Pero are centers for trade and fashion fairs.