Things to do in Milan

Milan is the business and fashion capital of northern Italy, a flat city laid out around one cathedral. Things to do in Milan cluster in the middle. The Duomo, La Scala, Brera and the Castle lie within a 20-minute walk of each other.

What the centre holds

• The Duomo. Begun in 1386 and finished in 1965. Stairs or a lift reach the roof, among 135 spires.
• Galleria and La Scala. The arcade was built between 1865 and 1877. The opera house opened in 1778 and starts its season on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's day.
• Castello Sforzesco. Rebuilt by the Sforza from 1450. Michelangelo's unfinished Rondanini Pietà has its own museum inside the castle.
• Brera. The gallery quarter. The Pinacoteca, opened in 1809, holds Raphael, Mantegna and Caravaggio.
• Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo's Last Supper, painted on the refectory wall in the 1490s.
• Navigli. Bars line the Naviglio Grande and the Darsena. The canal ring around the old centre was covered in the early 1930s.

What people book

Day trips from Milan lead with Lake Como, by ferry to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio. Some go on to Lugano, across the Swiss border. Venice, Cinque Terre and the Bernina Red Train to St Moritz run as full days.

Tours in Milan itself centre on food and evenings. An aperitivo walk with a tram ride, coffee and tiramisù tastings, and a street-food tour of Brera lead the list. E-bike tours and self-guided quests fill the rest.

Private transfers run to Genoa, Turin, Parma, Bologna and Florence, and across the border to Nice and Monaco. A 12-day circuit of Italy starts here too.

Practical

• Weather. July afternoons average 31C, and the hottest days pass 35C. January days sit near 7C, with nights just below 0C. April and May run 19 to 24C; November is the wettest month.
• Mondays. Brera, the Castle museums and the Last Supper are closed. The Duomo stays open.
• The Last Supper. Booking is compulsory, and slots open in three-month blocks. Visits last 15 minutes, with up to 40 people.
• Getting around. Five metro lines cross the city. A ticket costs 2.20 euros and lasts 90 minutes. It covers trams and buses, with one metro ride.
• Airports. The Malpensa Express reaches Cadorna in 37 minutes. Linate is on the M4 metro, 12 minutes from San Babila.
• Aperitivo. From about 6 pm a drink comes with a buffet, and in Navigli or Brera that can be dinner.
• Peak weeks. The Salone del Mobile in April and the women's fashion weeks in late February and late September fill the hotels.