Milan city guide: Three-minute guide to Milan (beyond its fashion)

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

WHY

Away from the hype and romance of Florence or Rome, Milan offers the chance to experience the street life and dynamism of contemporary northern Italy. Yes, it has an extraordinary cathedral, collections of Renaissance art and a great opera house, but the best of Milan is represented by its top-end fashion, design and contemporary art scene. For a lesson in unmatchable Italian panache, all Milan is a stage, and you'll certainly enjoy the spectacle.

VISIT

The facade of Milan's magnificent cathedral.

Eye-popping Milan Cathedral (www.duomomilano.it) flaunts six centuries of architectural styles and has fabulous rooftop views. Adjacent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (www.ingalleria.com/en) was one of the world's first shopping malls (1865) and remains the most beautiful. No visit would be complete without window shopping in the Golden Quadrangle of city-centre streets, home to every famous Italian fashion designer and his pet poodle, as well as taking in an opera at Teatro alla Scala (www.teatroallascala.org), which also has a quirky museum.

EAT

Brera market provides Milan with fresh seafood; stand at the counter at Da Claudio (www.pescheriadaclaudio.it) and enjoy a frutti di mare platter and accompanying prosecco at a fraction of restaurant prices. In the city centre, plunder delicatessen Peck (www.peck.it) for a sumptuous picnic or head upstairs to its fish restaurant. Bianco Latte (www.biancolatte.it) has perhaps Milan's best gelato, which comes in unusual flavours such as chilli chocolate, pink grapefruit and chestnut.

Guestroom at Chateau Monfort, Milan.

LOOK

With so much competition from other Italian cities, Milan flies under the art radar but has several superlative museums, including Pinacoteca di Brera​ (www.brera.beniculturali.it) for northern Italian art, and Museo Poldi-Pezzoli (www.museopoldipezzoli.it) for glorious Bellinis, Tiepolos and Botticellis. A former Pirelli factory in northeast Milan houses Hangar Bicocca (www.hangarbicocca.org), with gigantic contemporary artworks. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (www.legraziemilano.it/) houses Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper behind a jostle of tourists and conspiracy theorists.

MUST

Milan was once an important inland port. Its 1197 Naviglio Grande is the world's oldest navigable canal, and others were designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The once down-and-out district of Navigli south of the city centre is now buzzing, with canal-side warehouses transformed into cafes, restaurants, artists' studios and bars. It's especially lively on weekends in summer. Le Scimme (www.scimmie.it) and Brellin Cafe (www.brellin.com) both have good live jazz.

SLEEP

There's nowhere better than this city of fashion and style to blow your budget on a designer hotel such as the avant-garde Maison Moschino (maisonmoschino.com) or the minimalist Armani Hotel Milano (www.milan.armanihotels.com) with its great city views. Behind the Art Nouveau facade of The Gray (www.hotelthegray.com) runs a riot of faux fur, black lacquer and crocodile leather, while Chateau Monfort (www.hotelchateaumonfort.com) is the ultimate romantic retreat, with guestrooms inspired by fairy tales and operas.

TIP

Milan might be known for its top fashion boutiques, but for affordable clothing make a beeline for shopping street Corso Buenos Aires or department store La Rinascente (www.rinascente.it). Factory outlet Il Salvagente (www.salvagentemilano.it) offers last season's designer duds at bargain discounts.

The writer travelled at his own expense.