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Milan is not short on pizzazz – twice a year, paparazzi, catwalk models and designers descend on the city for Milan Fashion Week. But even during the rest of the year, this remarkable city continues to revolve around sartorial elegance, fashion and couture.

But fashion is not the only thing on offer. The Duomo, the cathedral at the city’s centre, is one of the most striking buildings in Italy. For culture lovers, La Scala is Milan’s famous opera house, and home to the finest opera and ballet performances in the city. La Scala opened in 1778 and has its own museum, the Museo Teatrale alla Scala, which is also worth your time.

Milan’s city limits are sprinkled with hundreds of museums, monuments and attractions. Ultra-modern contemporary art is housed in the grandiose Hangar Bicocca. The Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology showcases both the man himself and the development of science and technology during the Renaissance and beyond. Alternatively, the Pinacoteca di Brera is a world-class museum that’s home to one of Italy’s most important collections of old masters.

No trip to Milan would be complete without seeing one of the most famous paintings in the world – da Vinci’s The Last Supper at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. However, tickets sell out months in advance, so if you are planning a trip to Milan, be sure to think ahead.

This is a city of piazzas, and they create ideal surroundings for the Italian café culture. People-watching over a sublime espresso is never time wasted in Milan. Discover more about Italian food with culinary courses and displays.

If the metropolitan bustle is not living up to your relaxation requirements, you can always head for the many wellness spas dotted around the city. For a stranger way to see the city, take a segway guided tour.

Eating in MilanThe Italians love their food, and any trip to Milan is a fantastic opportunity to taste some of the best Italian cuisine in the world. Northern Italian dishes are not as spicy as their southern cousins. There are some local specialities to look out for, and they’re not all pasta-based dishes. Cotoletta alla Milanese is a thin, fried veal cutlet, and fried foccacia with chicory is another local favourite.

There are countless exceptional restaurants dotted throughout the city, as well as some international outlets, such as Japanese and Lebanese. There are also plenty of bakeries, patisseries and ice-cream shops, for lighter, on-the-go snacks.

Many people travel to Milan to shop. This city is a retail paradise and street after street, piazza after piazza, of outlets greet you, all bearing international and top-name brands. The 18th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is a magnificent glass-and-iron gallery that’s home to some of the most exclusive shops in Milan. But the must-visit area of the city for designer brands is the so-called “Golden Triangle” of Via Monte Napoleone, Via della Spiga and the streets that interconnect, including Via Sant’Andrea, Via Gesù and Via Borgospesso.

Shoppers travelling to Milan don’t have to head for the exclusive designer outlets, though, as there are plenty of markets, malls and more affordable boutiques scattered around the city. One of the more eclectic malls is 10 Corso Como in the Garibaldi district, near the Centro Direzionale (take the Metro to Pta Garibaldi). It’s a little more laid back than the more exclusive flag-stores around Piazza Duomo, Piazza Cavour and San Babila Square.