STYLISH

Duomo and you'll find the Trattoria Milanese (11, Via Santa Marta). Surprisingly untouristically, the menus here draw heavily on Lombardy's cooking traditions, including saffron flavoured Risotto alla Milanese, which tastes all the better with a few glasses of Oltrepo Pavese red.

Having restocked your wardrobe and compromised your waistline, there's really only one area left to expand - your cultural knowledge. And given that Milan has many of the world's greatest classical and contemporary art galleries and collections, you've come to the right city.

Top of the list for viewing is Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, which you'll find in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, on Corso Magenta, in the west (Metro Conciliazione). Bombed in 1943, da Vinci's mural was on the last wall left standing. Almost perpetually under restoration and infinitely re-touched, its magic somehow remains. Wider-eyed wonders await when you behold the imposing red-brick Castello Sforzesco, beyond Piazzale Cadorna. Under Ludovico Sforza's rule, this was a literal powerhouse of the Renaissance, nurturing the talents of da Vinci himself, and also Milan's signature architect, Bramante.

Milan's architectural trump card, however, is the astoundingly ornate Duomo, the city's cathedral, which is just a short stroll away, down the Via Dante.