Climate
Milan is a beautifully temperate city with summer temps hovering around the early 20sC and winter temps a low 2-4C. It does snow often during winter, but not too heavily. It can rain often and it's best to bring a brolly.
Autumn and spring are good touring months with temps averaging 10-15C depending on how late in the season you're there.
Eating Out
Cheap, expensive and everything in between
The food in Milan is Italian all the way. You will also find food of almost every other cuisine in the world - all of it well made with fresh ingredients and invariably with an Italian twist. Milanese food consists off antipastos, pasta, osso bucco, sausage and pork. You'll find plenty of risottos and creamy pastry desserts are a specialty. The Milanese take their food seriously and only the most touristy spots will serve less that average fare - no one else could get away with it!
The budget options - your first stop is any bar serving aperitivo. This wonderful custom is the Milan equivalent of Happy Hour, although in Milanese terms it's more of a social occasion than a drink copious amounts of alcohol occasion. Many bars have a set price menu of cocktails or aperitifs and they're served with bar snacks. The budget traveller can feast on these delicious snacks and eat just a light meal later on. There are plenty of bars and restaurants close to the Duomo area. Look out for the Straf Hotel, La Ringhiera and Slice. More budget options include a pizza and a beer at any number of bars!
Mid price options - the mid price options are worth looking for. In the Duomo area look for Savini, a fancy and well-established restaurant inside the magnificent Galleria, serving meals such as Milanese-style risotto, spaghetti and ravioli, meat cutlet, lamb and beef. Da Abele on Via Temperanza 5, Loreto, is famous for its risottos.
Splurge - there are plenty of oh-so-pricey restaurants in Milan... But we think an experience you won't forget is a visit to Peck on Via Victor Hugo (Duomo area). It's a spectacular Dean and Deluca style deli and there is every foodie treat you can imagine on offer. Bring a picnic basket and fill up on specialty meats, cheeses and desserts and take your exquisitely wrapped treats somewhere scenic to indulge in. Delightful!
Sightseeing
Milan - a bustling city with plenty to see
Milan may not leap off the page like Rome or Florence in your list of Italian cities to visit - but it does pay rich rewards to the dedicated traveller. Not the least of which is the comparative lack of tourists! The sights are easy to get to, the food is just glorious and the history is the equal of many of the bigger Italian cities.
Duomo - this magnificent structure in the heart of Milan is just simply wonderful. Make sure you climb to the top and feast your senses on the view from the top. (You can actually take a lift to the top and walk around, looking at those inspiring spires up close.)
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper - you should book ahead to see this most stunning of paintings and you may have to wait a while, but what's time and frustration when it comes to one of the all-time greatest paintings. If you found the Mona Lisa a little underwhelming, there's no such let down with The Last Supper. Impressive in every respect. One way of seeing the painting is to join one of the many walking tours of the city.
La Scala - opera fans may be limited in number but this is a truly unique thing to do in Milan. Book a ticket and enjoy the building and it's content, if only to say 'I've been to an opera at La Scala.' Say it in a tone that suggests you've seen dozens and this was certainly one of the better ones. Obvious bragging never looks good!
Don't miss - shopping in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The mother of all shopping malls has every high fashion shop you've ever imagined in a 19th century building that gave the 'galleria' name to so many other malls around the world. The original mall is housed under a stunning glass roof and cupola with a splendid mosaic tiled floor. You'll find art galleries, fashion boutiques, bookstores and restaurants under the one roof and it makes other malls look, well, pedestrian!