DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes

Milan is Italy’s economic powerhouse, a bustling city of finance and industry, media empires and fashion houses, backed up by an impressive cultural heritage of important art galleries and ancient churches. Yet a 40-minute train ride takes you to the azure pools of “the lakes”, lined with fishing villages, villas and laid-back resorts.

Gucci

The mating “G”s that once decorated the leather goods of this firm, founded by a Florentine saddlemaker, are a thing of the past, but the quality’s still topnotch.
Handbags

Swoon over the designs from Prada and Bottega Veneta, or the slightly less pricey Coccinelle. Or, plump for one of the many well made, non-label leather bags, still in great Italian style.
Hiking

Take a bracing trek into the hills above the lakes.
Hill-Walking near the Lakes

Local tourist offices can often supply maps of mountain trails ranging from 15 minutes to two hours or more. Pick a point of interest as a goal: a ruined castle (Arco on Garda, Varenna on Como), medieval church (Madonna del Sasso above Locarno on Maggiore, San Pietro above Civate on Como), surging mountain stream (Lattefiume above Lake Como’s Varenna, Cascata del Varone above Riva del Garda), or prehistoric rock carvings.
Hollywood

Fashion models and designers still hold on to the Hollywood as their own club.
Hollywood

This stalwart from the mid-1980s still offers you the best chance in all of Milan to spot a genuine international supermodel. Though a perfectly standard discotheque from 1986, glitzy Hollywood continues to draw the most beautiful people in town, so dress to impress.
Horse Racing

Milan’s Ippodromo is the place to go for a flutter at the races.
Horse Riding

The hills and valleys around Lake Maggiore provide the best terrain for saddling up.
Horse Riding

Choose between English- or Western-style saddles and trek through mountain valleys off the Menaggio-Porlezza Road.
Hostaria Borromei

Milanese and Italian dishes utilizing fresh seasonal ingredients.

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Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- under €20
- €20-€30
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