The best of Milan

Like all big cities, Milan goes through phases - of both wearied inertia when nothing seems to happen, and frenzied activity when it's almost impossible to keep pace.

Like all big cities, Milan goes through phases - of both wearied inertia when nothing seems to happen, and frenzied activity when it's almost impossible to keep pace.

Right now, Milan is moving fast. The past three years have seen the arrival of no fewer than six seriously chic design hotels (with another to come this summer from the Bulgari jewellery house), a clutch of ice-cool bars and three sublime spas created by Dolce & Gabbana, Gianfranco Ferre and leading homeware company Culti. In December, La Scala will re-open with its new Mario Botta-designed tower, followed by the Museum of the 20th Century housed within a striking Fascist-era palazzo next to the Duomo.

Best hotel

The recent wave of designer accommodation was started by The Gray (via San Raffaele 6; 00 39 02 7208 951; www.sinahotels.com; doubles from €330/£220) and it has yet to be upstaged. The location - next to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele - is as central as it's possible to be, and the faintly boudoir-style decor is both amusing and modish. The lobby is dominated by a huge pink velvet swing and some of the 21 rooms have beds suspended from the ceiling by steel wires. Feeling the pinch? Opt instead for the Antica Locanda dei Mercanti (via San Tomaso 6; 00 39 02 8054 080; www.locanda.it; doubles from €135/£90) where 14 charming rooms featuring light, summery schemes are housed within a 19th-century merchant's palace complete with internal courtyard and fancy iron gates.

Best restaurant

You'd be pushed to eat badly in Milan, but finding the best food at the right price requires insider knowledge. For lunch, squeeze your way into La Latteria (via San Marco 24; 00 39 02 6597 653; open 12.15-2.30pm; no bookings; mains from €11/£7.50), a tiny café-style eatery serving Italian specialities such as duck salami, the softest calves' liver, and butter-baked eggs. Come the evening, Paper Moon (via Bagutta 1; 00 39 02 7602 2297; mains from €14/£9.50) offers irresistible pasta, for example giant ravioli tossed in truffle oil. Chic but laid-back atmosphere (geometric black tables, white walls showcasing black-and-white cinema stills) that attracts elite fashionistas looking for low-key style.

Best cultural attraction

Constructed in 1368 as a defensive fortress, the Castello Sforzesco (piazza Castello; 00 39 02 8846 3651, admission free) houses 10 museums, including an Egyptian collection, a display of 16th-century weapons, and - until it is transferred to the new Museum of the 20th Century - much of the city's stash of Futurist art, a movement that gained momentum in Milan in the early 1900s. The star exhibit, however, is the Rondanini Pietà, Michelangelo's final and unfinished example of his incomparable talent, closely followed by the Asse room which has frescos by Leonardo da Vinci.

Best shopping

Fashion and furniture (including portable homeware items) are the obvious things to buy here. Head for Corso Como 10 (corso Como 10; 00 39 02 626 163) which has both. Located within Carla Sozzani's design complex - which includes a hotel, restaurant and gallery - the boutique stocks funky ranges from Prada, Comme des Garçons, Alaia and Galliano, plus shoes, jewellery and, next door, objects for your house. Even better, the new Corso Como 10 outlet, located round the corner at via Tazzoli 3, sells last season's collections and some shoes at half their original price.

Best sightseeing

For an authentic taste of pre-war Milan, take a stroll round Brera, Milan's oldest and prettiest district. Its narrow cobbled streets - particularly those coming off via Brera and via Mercato - are lined with unusual, one-off shops selling Milanese goods. The main piazzas house spectacular churches such as San Simpliciano, a fourth-century basilica with an exquisite Romanesque interior erected by St Ambrose before he decamped to the more famous basilica of Sant'Ambrogio. Nearby, the church of Santa Maria del Carmine is a late-Gothic construction built using materials from the demolished Visconti castle.

Best nightspot

After-hours entertainment starts with a good strong aperitivo (cocktail and free canapés) in the company of models, agents and wannabes in one of the trendy fashion bars. The big four are Armani on via Manzoni, Dolce & Gabbana on corso Venezia, Trussardi in piazza della Scala, and Cavalli in Parco Sempione, the last the most outrageous of them all with springbok-hide seats, live goldfish on the tables, and silicon-enhanced clients. If seen-and-be-seen bars aren't your thing, book a table at Blue Note (via Borsieri 37; 00 39 02 6901 6888; tickets €10/£7-€40/£27), Milan's newest and best jazz venue. There are two performances every evening (9pm and 11.30pm) and dinner (about €30/£20) is available before each show.

Best way to get there

Milan has two airports; Milan Linate, 10km from the city centre, and Milan Malpensa, 29km from the centre. Milan Linate is served by low-cost airlines including easyJet (0871 750 0100; www.easyjet.com), which flies from Gatwick and Stansted from about £60 return. BMI (0870 607 0555; www.flybmi.com), which flies from London Heathrow to Linate, offers return fares from about £75, and British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) offers return fares from London Heathrow from about £70.

A taxi from Linate into the centre will cost about €15/£10. Alternatively, there are two bus services: ATM number 73 which stops at Corso Europa near Piazza San Babila, and the dedicated STAM airport bus to and from Piazza Luigi di Savoia next to Centrale station.

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