Lake Maggiore Express
This round trip by boat and train, taking in the main sights and towns is a fantastic way of seeing the area around Lake Maggiore.
A majestic, five-star Milanese hotel experience
The Palazzo Parigi hotel is in an ideal location on the northern edge of the Brera shopping district. The luxury decor of the hotel is an ode to Milanese style and history, and the many top-drawer services and facilities will want guests wanting for little else.
The hotel is the height of luxury throughout, from the marble-framed grand staircase in the foyer to the bar and hotel garden and courtyard. Works of art and antiques adorn much of the hotel.
The 65 rooms and 33 suites are spacious with balconies overlooking either the city centre or the hotel garden and courtyard. They are furnished to the highest standard, in either a "Parisian" or "Milanese" style, and have separate bath and shower in marble-finished bathrooms.
There are wide selection of personal services available upon request, including babysitting, dog and cat sitting, personal shopper and tourist guide. The hotel will try to cater for any other service that is desired.
Caffè Parigi is regarded as one of the best bars in Milan, and serves as the hotel's informal lounge. Guests can enjoy breakfast, a light lunch and evening drinks in the sophisticated surroundings of the bar or the relaxing private garden and terrace.
The Caffè is well known for it's Maitre Patissier producing wonderful delicacies to accompany the bar's selection of teas.
The restaurant's high, hand-painted ceiling and seventeenth to nineteenth century works of art set the scene for fine dining of traditional Italian cuisine. The hotel's private garden allows for a relaxing outdoor dining experience during spring and summer.
This round trip by boat and train, taking in the main sights and towns is a fantastic way of seeing the area around Lake Maggiore.
Elevated in the hills on Lake Garda's western side, Bogliaco golf course and resort is blessed with a Mediterranean setting and superb views.
The great little trains of Orta tour around this part of the lovely lake, taking in the main square of Orta San Giulio, the holy mountain of Sacramonte and its chapels, and the painted village of Legro. It's a great way of seeing this outcrop of land and is a big hit with children.
This 18-hole, par 72, golf course was designed by Franco Piras and realised in 2002.
Amidst the beautiful surroundings of the Piedmontese coast of Lake Maggiore, this adventure park offers fun for all with high suspension bridge courses, cycle-cross, a free-climbing wall and an acro-jump. A great day out.
If you want to see an overview of Switzerland in miniature, then this is the place to come.
The 2-Michelin-starred Seta restaurant located in the Mandarin Oriental Milan hotel is a new kid on the block for the Milanese restaurant scene. An open-plan kitchen gives guests a peak of how the stunning dishes are prepared and a more complete experience to their choices.
This elegant and sophisticated restaurant is located in a luxury hotel right in the heart of Milan and has been awarded a Michelin star. They serve traditional Italian dishes with innovative touches using local fresh ingredients.
Located at the luxury Excelsior Gallia Hotel, this rooftop restaurant boasts a menu created under the consultancy of three-Michelin starred chefs Enrico and Roberto Cerea and the Lebano brothers. They serve modern Italian cuisine with a focus on the Lombardy region.
Il Baretto has been running for over fifty years, delighting the great and the good of the city for half a century. The sophisticated, old English club house decor is host to a refined menu taking cues from Milanese and international cuisine.
Michelin-starred experience that draws on the experimentation of the Venissa culinary approach. The enchanting decor completes the tone for dining in a very unique setting.
Part of the Armani Hotel Milan, this Michelin-starred restaurant takes a modern approach to classic Italian wining and dining. The stylish decor has been designed to the smallest detail by Giorgio Armani himself.
Located in the historic centre of Milan, in front of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, this is one of Milan’s hottest and trendiest bars in the city at any time of the day.
Located in south-central Milan, this former cycle shop is a funky art bar decorated with old bicycles and is a great place to enjoy an aperitivo, a tasty dinner or start your evening.
This unconsecrated small church was built at the end of the 18th century and, in 2006, it was converted into a bar. With a unique atmosphere, this bar is specialised in beers, cocktails and shots.
With a number of different dancefloors, and known for attracting classic 80s pop icons, this is a fashionable gay-friendly club with a selective crowd.
This super-cool cafe/bar, whose name is taken from the Austrian General who ruled over Lombardy, is frequented by the Brera fashion and arts crowd and is a great place to unwind. It has an old-world feel, fantastic aperitivo and superb brunches. Best enjoyed in summer.
Founded in 2005, this glamorous nightclub offers event 5 nights of the week characterised by elegance and fun.
The Brera Art Gallery hosts one of Lombardy's most important permanent art collections. Though modest in breadth, the collection is outstanding in quality covering the works of acclaimed Italian artists from the 13th to the 20th centuries including masterpieces of Bellini, Raphael, Carvaggio, and Bramante.
This gallery is the oldest in Milan, originally founded in 1957, and initially focussed on post-war avant-garde.
A private foundation, set up by the Bagatti Valsecchi heirs, to open the family's late 19th-century residence and collections of artworks to the public.
This gallery showcases the work of 19th and 20th-century local artists from the Lombardy region and the area around Venice.
This museum is one of the most significant house-museums in Europe and shows the taste of one of the finest collectors in the 19th century, the nobleman Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli.
Alessandro Mazoni, the famous literate and author of "I Promessi Sposi" or "The Betrothed", lived in this house from 1814 until 1873. It has been restored to show how it must have been when Manzoni died in 1873.
Located just within 15 kilometres north of Milan, this big but picturesque town, the third largest in the Lombardy region, has been transformed from a mainly industrial trade centre to a popular spot for good cuisine, pretty squares and of course the F1 Gran Prix.
The city of Bergamo is perched atop a hill just within a 30-40 minute train or car ride from Milan. The fourth largest city in Lombardy, it is located at the foot of the Alps.
The lovely town of Angera dates back to Roman times when it was an important stopping point for boats transferring their wares to the road, and vice-versa. Sitting high above the town is the Rocca Borromeo, a fortress dating back to the 11th century.
High up above the lakes is the village of Arcumeggia in the mountains. It is famous because in 1956 the local tourist office decided to ask important Italian painters to fresco the walls of the town's stone cottages.