(19 Corso Lodi. Tel. 02 5990 1699) A classic, tiny pizzeria with pavement tables that are well shielded from the road when the weather is warm enough to eat outside. It's not the most central eatery in Milan, but honest prices for the variety of pizzas plus spaghetti and meat dishes make the trip worthwhile.

  (1 Via Corsico. Tel. 02 8941 0103) A lively welcoming osteria (the Italian equivalent of a wine bar), right in the heart of the Navigli district. It offers live music, as well as good traditional fare, including pasta dishes plus salami and cold meats.

  (4 Via Cuccagna. Tel. 02 551 6154) The full name of this cocktail bar-restaurant is quite a mouthful: in English it's The General Company of Travellers, Sailors and Dreamers. Impeccable Japanese-style nouvelle cuisine served in a hip ambience.

  (1 Via Marcona. Tel. 02 5412 1637) Exclusive in all but price, here you can enjoy high-quality cuisine at less than €50 a head. The cooking is traditional but with a creative twist, including dishes such as paella made with turbot.

  (4 Via Boccaccio. Tel. 02 4802 4607) Popular with young professionals after work, this airy, split-level bar is next to Cadorna station. An ideal venue for the Milanese ritual of aperitivo—wine or cocktails accompanied by a selection of savoury snacks from the bar from about 6pm.

  (10 Via Noto. Tel. 02 3705 2223) This unusual venue combines quality Caribbean cooking with live Latin music at the weekend. Well worth a visit if you're looking for a change from the standard bar/club format.

  (37 Via Watt. Tel. 347 977 5664) Opened in 2007, this huge Berlin-inspired space on two floors features DJ sets as well as videos. Attracts a studenty, dreadlocked crowd.

  (15 Corso Como. Tel. 02 659 8996) Milan’s best-known disco is set in one of the city's most bustling night-time streets and is always an old favourite with models and footballers. It's worth the considerable hassle of trying to get in just so you can say you've been. The ample entrance fee includes a first drink.

Mandarina Duck, in the middle of one of the city's busiest shopping precincts, is the flagship store of the world-famous maker of rucksacks, wallets and cool bags for men and women. Ideal for that last-minute gift (Galleria San Carlo. Tel. 02 782 210).

Leonardo da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper is Milan's most important cultural attraction, painted on a wall in the refectory at the side of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It's worth a look, even though it has deteriorated over the centuries and was the subject of several expensive and controversial restorations. But the church itself is fascinating, too. Built between 1463 and 1490, it is in Lombard gothic form with a tribune by Bramante. The church is open every day except Monday. The painting may be viewed by booking ahead (Tel. 02 8942 1146. www.cenacolovinciano.org).

The Navigli, once a modest working-class district around the old canals to the south of the city, is now a bohemian artists' quarter with bars, ice-cream parlours, restaurants, book and antiques shops, and studios. The best time to visit is in the evening, when the streets are packed with young people and the market stalls give the area a fairground atmosphere. Take the metro to Porta Genova, then follow the crowds.

This month the world-famous opera house La Scala plays host to Big Brother—not the reality TV show but an opera based on the novel 1984 by George Orwell—written and conducted by Lorin Maazel and directed by Robert Lepage. Orwell's modern fable of an evil totalitarian society has created a memorable opera, first seen at London's Covent Garden in 2005. Performances on 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 and 17 May (www.teatroallascala.org).

 – This lake is the least spoilt of the northern Italian lakes, even though you can reach it quite easily by car or public transport from Milan. The lakeside towns and villages are much prized by locals for their restaurants serving fresh fish. In the middle of the water a romantic island rises steeply. Known as Monte Isola, you can get there by ferry from the towns of Iseo, Sulzano and Sale Marasino.

Milan's splendid Gothic cathedral, the Duomo, is decorated with no fewer than 3,400 statues.