The unforgettable works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci will most definitely highlight your itinerary in Milan, as you visit some of the world's most impressive monuments, museums, galleries and churches.

You'll also want to leave plenty of time for Milan's cultural scene that encompasses a glittering nightlife, trendy fashion shows, and the unparalleled La Scala.

This cosmopolitan, well-dressed city offers plenty of shopping venues, not to mention dazzling window displays, allure and sophistication.

When to Go: Though one can visit Milan at any time of the year and find lots to do, it's best to travel there in the autumn and spring, when the temperature is cooler. Milan's large parks offer many options for sunbathing, but travelers be forewarned: summers are quite hot and humid.

Featured Five Star Super-Luxury Hotel

Carlton Hotel Baglioni Via Senato, 5 Milan +392.770.77 www.baglionihotels.com The best location for business and leisure in Milan, with access onto Via della Spiga. The recently renovated Carlton hotel, part of the prestigious Baglioni group, is renowned for its luxury and impeccable service.

Five Star Super-Luxury Hotels

Four Seasons Hotel Milano
Via Gesù 6/8, Milan
+392.770.88 www.fourseasons.com/milan
Set in a dramatically reborn 15th-century convent.

Grand Hotel et de Milan
Via Manzoni 29, Milan
+392.723.141 www.grandhoteletdemilan.it
A hotel brimming with luxury and history. First opened in 1863 under the name, Albergo di Milano, the hotel has hosted heads of state, world-renowned artists and celebrities. Its individually appointed rooms – some dedicated to its famous guests - contain original furniture. The Royal Suite is dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi, who resided there for 27 years.

Park Hyatt Milano
Via Tommaso Grossi 1, Milan
+392.882.112.34 www.milan.park.hyatt.com
An elegant boutique hotel.

Principe di Savoia
Piazza della Repubblica 17, Milan
+392.623.01 www.hotelprincipedisavoia.com
A winning combination of old world luxury combined with the latest innovations in technology and design.

Excelsior Hotel Gallia Le Meridien
Piazza Duca d'Aosta 9, Milan
+392.678.51 www.lemeridien-excelsiorgallia.com
Supreme luxury in a hotel overlooking the renowned Piazza Duca D'Aosta.

Five Star Luxury Boutique Hotels

Bulgari Hotel
Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7/b, Milan
+392.805.8051 www.bulgarihotels.com
A refined and prestigious hotel combining contemporary design with comfort. A 4,000 sqm private garden next to the Botanical Gardens incorporates the hotel in a haven of green.  The original building dates back to the 18th century; part of the façade has been preserved during the reconstruction works and is still visible.

Town House Galleria
Via Silvio Pellico 8, Milan
+392.890.582.97 www.townhousegalleria.it
An ultra-luxurious hotel at the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Petit Palais
Via Molino delle Armi 1, Milan
+392.584.891 www.petitpalais.it
An elegant 17th century mansion recently converted into a luxury boutique hotel, with the look and feel of a private, stately home.

The Gray Hotel
Via San Raffaele 6, Milan
+392.720.8951 www.sinahotels.com
One of Milan's most striking design hotels.

Featured Restaurant

Baretto al Baglioni Via Senato, 7, Milan +392.781.255 This well-known restaurant and caffe has recently moved to the prestigious Carlton Hotel Baglioni. Nowadays as in the past, it is a meeting place for international politicians, journalists, fashion stylists and VIPs.

Cracco-Peck
Via Victor Hugò 4, Milan
+392.876.774 www.peck.it
Cuisine: Italian & Contemporary
The restaurant belonging to Peck, the legendary food emporium, features elegant dining with renowned chef Carlo Cracco.

Joia
Via P. Castaldi 18, Milan
+392.295.221.24 www.joia.it
Cuisine: Vegetarian
The restaurant is comprised of three separate dining rooms and boasts a modern, elegant ambiance.

Sadler
Via Ascanio Sforza 77, Milan
+392.581.044.51 www.sadler.it
Cuisine: International
Award-winning chef Claudio Sadler presents a new space combining exquisite symmetry, modern art and culinary art.

Duomo (Milan Cathedral)
Piazza del Duomo, Milan
+392.860.358 www.duomomilano.it
Museum: Closed for restoration since 2007.
The Gothic cathedral of Milano, begun in 1386 and completed only in 1858, is often described as one of the greatest churches in the world.  The roof (Visita ai terrazzi del Duomo) is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture (there are more than 3,000 statues inside and outside) that would otherwise be unappreciated. The roof of the cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork pinnacles and spires, sitting upon delicate flying buttresses.  The interior of the cathedral includes a huge number of monuments and artworks.

Teatro alla Scala
Via Filodrammatici 2, Milan
+392.7200.3744 www.teatroallascala.org
One of the world's most famous opera houses.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Just off Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Scala, Milan
A covered double arcade formed of two glass-vaulted arcades at right angles intersecting in an octagon. With its cafes, restaurants, shops and offices, the Gallery is prominently sited on the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo and connects to the Piazza della Scala. Named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy, it was originally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.

Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera Art Gallery)
Via Brera 28, Milan
+392.722.631 www.brera.beniculturali.it
An art collection containing one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, the gallery is an outgrowth of the cultural program of the Brera Academy, which shares the site in the Palazzo Brera.

The Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Techno (Museo Nazionale della Scienza e delle Tecnica Leonardo da Vinci)
Via San Vittore 21, Milan
+392.485.551; 480.100.16  www.museoscienza.org/english/
The largest science and technology museum in Italy, named for the extraordinary Renaissance intellect who mastered art, science and technology.  Housed in an early 16th century Olivetan monastery. 

Baghatti Valsecchi Palace
Via Santo Spirito 10/Via Gesu 5, Milano
+392.7600.6132 www.museobagattivalsecchi.org
One of the finest museum-homes in Europe showcasing this prominent family's late 19th century residence and artwork collections.  

Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle)
Piazza Castello, Milan
+392.6208.3940
This Milan castle houses several of the city's museum and art gallery collections. The original construction on the site began in the 14th century. In 1450, Francesco Sforza began reconstruction of the castle, and it was further modified by later generations.

Pinacoteca Ambrogiana (Ambrogiana Art Gallery)
Piazza Pio XI 2, Milan
+392.809.921 www.ambrosiana.it
Newly restored galleries and a library (the Biblioteca Ambrogiana) host exquisite collections from the 15th through 17th centuries. Its Biblioteca Ambrosiana contains  drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture

Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maggiore (Basilica of Saint Lawrence the Major)
Corso di Porta Ticinese 39, Milan
www.sanlorenzomaggiore.com
This magnificent structure, dedicated to the Christian martyr, was founded in c. 370 and  renovated and redecorated in the 16th century.

Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio (Church of Saint Ambrose)
Piazza Sant'Ambrogio 15, Milan
+392.864.508.95
An 11th-century structure stands where Saint Ambrose, the former bishop of Milan,  constructed his basilica in the 4th century A.D. That which remains from the original church is the Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro, a small chapel with a magnificent dome of 5th-century mosaics of saints.  

Chiesa Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro (Church of San Satiro)
Via Torino (at Via Speronari), Milan
A most beautiful and exquisite church just south of the Duomo.

Casa di Manzoni (Manzoni's House)
Via. Morone 1, Milan
Phone: +392.864.604.03
This is the opulent home of the famed Italian writer.

Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna (Modern Art Gallery)
Via Palestro 16, Milan
+392.7600.2819
This most remarkable palazzo features a collection of works by Lombardians and other Italian painters.

Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Via Manzoni 12, Milan
+392.794.889 www.museopoldipezzoli.it
This art museum was originated in the 19th century as private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and his mother, Rosa Trivulzio, of the family of the condottiero Gian Giacomo Trivulzio. It boasts a particularly broad collection of Northern Italian and (for Italy) Netherlandish/Flemish artists.

Santa Maria delle Grazie/The Last Supper
Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
+392.894.211.46; Church: 467.6111 www.cenacolovinciano.it
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a famous church and convent in Milan, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list. The church is also famous for the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent.

Sempione Park
Near Duomo, Milan
A sprawling park north of the Duomo.

Square of the Merchants
Piazza dei Mercanti, Milan
One of the few remnants of medieval Milan, with its spacious, porticoed loggia, the Loggia degli Osii. It was created as a vibrant center of city life.

Milan is a fashion shoppers' paradise. You will find chic boutiques and elegant fashion stores along the Quadrilatero d'Oro (Golden Quadrilateral), which is comprised of four adjoining streets, the renowned Via Montenapoleone, Della Spiga, Via Borgospesso, and Via Sant'Andrea. 

Be sure to visit some of Milan's well known street markets (Via Papiniano in the Ticinese/Navigli district), antique markets (Via Fiori Chiari in the Brera district and also along the Canale Grande in the Navigli district) and flea markets (San Donato Metro stop and also at Viale Tunisia), not to mention its main food market (Piazza Wagner).

Milan boasts an assortment of options for the evening hours, from bars, pubs, and jazz to the performing arts at La Scala.

Visit the Corso Como and explore its bars and glamorous clubs, which attract the young, attractive set. At Navigli quarter, near Porta Ticinese Avenue and XXIV Maggio Square, there are also quite a few air cafes, restaurants and pubs along the famed water canals.  

Other popular night spots are located on the Via Monte Nero, at the Piazzale Susa, in Brera (the Latin quarter) and the Corso Sempione near the Arco della Pace (Peace Arch).