Milan

Milan is an amazing city, though perhaps not the prettiest. The old part is beautiful and full of baroque and gothic buildings, but the majority of the city is fairly industrial looking. I went absolutely art-mad while I was there. I was positively saturated in art, you might say.
I pre-booked to see The Last Supper, which is necessary. I booked two weeks in advance and I still only just got in, as I got an 8:45am slot. The Last Supper is actually in what was the eating hall of a monastery attached to the Santa Maria Della Grazia. Really, it’s not until you actually see The Last Supper in person that you can truly appreciate the genius of Da Vinci, as it was painted to be viewed from the back of that room. The room is lit by two windows to the side of the painting, and he has painted it, to look as though the scene is lit by these windows - if you look closely at it, you will see that the left side is darker than the right side. He has also painted it to look as if Jesus and the Apostles are seated in a continuation of the room, like a trompe l’oeil.

From there I went to the Sforcezco Castle, the Duomo, the Basilica di Ambrogio shopping centre (home to Versace, Prada etc) which is possibly the loveliest shopping centre I have ever seen (and I have been to a lot in my lifetime, being a dedicated shopper). It was very posh and of course, priced way out of my league. I popped into La Scala, Milan's famous theatre, which is utterly gorgeous and glamorous. There was something rather dull on though (can't remember what though...) so I didn't go to a performance.

From there I went to the Pinoteca di Brera and saw more scenes of the annunciation than are perhaps strictly necessary, and the same amount of Madonna holding baby Jesus statues. The Brera is home to many great masterpieces though, by Raphael and Carravagio and is well worth the visit. Even the building itself is a work of art, a really lovely old Piazza.

The best bits of Milan are to be found off the beaten track, like most cities. You'll be walking down some scody little street and come across some store for a famous designer standing out amongst the other shops like a peacock amongst the pigeons, or some shop selling bits of glass for a mere few thousand euros. This is also where you will find other delights like the best gelato. I know cause I ate some. My lips are sealed as to it's exact location. Such things must be kept a secret.