Milan: A city with style and history

The Argentinean architect Caesar Pele has a project to build three glass and steel towers that will be suspended 6 metres above street level. There is a feeling in the clean air that is making everyone stand proud and tall as he or she strut the streets as though on a catwalk. An extended Metro system will enable the crowds to travel with ease.

For the history minded traveler, the dreaming spires of the Duomo and its piazza are a great starting place for any visit. The ornate Gothic structure dominates. If you are fit, climb the many steps up to the roof. Among the ornate spires and gargoyles, I got a great pigeon eye’s view of the city. It may have been 450 years in the building; it is a granite and marble miracle.

While in the piazza visit the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This glass and wrought iron extravaganza was years in the building too. Poor Emanuele’s nerves cracked and he never saw its completion. He threw himself from the roof in dismay at the spiralling debts and engineering problems. However, for luck I put my well-healed foot onto the bull in the centre of the mosaic floor and did a 360 degree turn. It houses top restaurants and fashion houses like Prada.

Within walking distance is the famous La Scala Theatre where I took a tour back stage and viewed the stage from a box for 5 Euros: even if I couldn't afford the price of a performance.

Next, saving the feet, I jumped onto the Metro to the Castello Sforzesco in Sempione Park. A must see is the painting of The Last Supper, one of Leonardo’s most revered paintings. OK, the Mona Lisa is well known too, but it is such a disappointment in the real and they are still saying it is a self-portrait and a great fraud. The Last Supper covers the refectory wall in the Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church. At 8.7 by 4.5 metres (about 8 1/2 feet by almost 15 feet), it is huge and seeing it for real is spectacular. Booking before hand is necessary.

Close by is the Liberia garden where Leonardo da Vinci gained inspiration for his genius creations both art and scientific projects. My love of science meant a visit to the Museum Art and Science in via Q Sella that is dedicated to the great man. It was in 1483 that Leonardo presented himself to the Duke of Milan and in the following 20 years, he not only changed Milan but the world. Then off to Rome he went. Milan has never forgotten the man from Vinci.

Serious Shopping Ahead

The golden triangle of fashion has the largest Armani boutique in the world. Brave the zero temperatures in January and February to bag some serious bargains. Milanese would not be seen dead in last season's fashions. Trash the credit card limits in the San Babilo area. Designer names keep coming at you.

I enjoy the street markets around the Central rail station area, as they are great places to find real bargains. I love and have the patience to wade through piles of top quality cloths at give away prices. This is the Bermuda triangle for lost money.

Navigli

Live jazz and great places to eat are found in the Navigli area complete with banister houses formerly the homes of artists. The Duke of Milan commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to construct the miles of canals that run through the area. Indeed the great marble blocks to build the Duomo came this way into the centre. At the end of each month, an antique market takes place with over 400 stalls along side the canals. It's a great time to drink coffee and people watch for stars mingling with the crowds. It is so easy to hire a bike and pedal along the waterways or take a boat instead. I found it difficult not to believe that I had peddled into Venice or Amsterdam.

Lodging

I stayed in the newly opened Sheraton Hotel at Malpensa Airport, as an early morning departure dictated the shortest of walks to the terminal. It turned out to be a stunning linear building with miles of corridors. I was lucky enough to get a great ‘virgin’ room in this beautifully spacious and designed newbie. Whether it is for business or pleasure, I could not fault it. With a spa and swimming pool with a view of the planes taking off what more did I need for a city break? Situated within Terminal 1 of Milan Malpensa airport, you just walk off your flight and straight into the hotel. The Malpensa Express Train takes 30 minutes into the centre of Milan. There is also an express coach service that takes 40 minutes from right outside the terminal building. Local buses also run to local towns from the terminal.

Therefore, whether you have visited Milan before or are a first timer, the Madam of the North, it is worth a visit before the world comes to Expo 2015.