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This beloved old pensione may be turned into a boutique hotel in years to come.

Verbania’s best restaurant serves classic Piemontese dishes and lake fish in lovely grounds.

The big Milan market is Saturday’s Fiera di Senigallia along the Darsena canal. Milan’s Sunday flea market surrounds the San Donato metro stop in the south. Local markets are on Via San Marco (Mondays), Via Benedetto Marcello (northeast of the Giardini Pubblici) on Tuesdays, and Viale Papiniano in the Navigli (Saturdays). Markets tend to shut by 1pm, except on Saturday.

The Museo del Giocatolo e del Bambino in Milan traces the history of play from the 18th century to today in display cases built at a child’s-eye level. The exhibits are protected behind glass, but there is a small playroom for some hands-on fun.

Vittorio de Sica’s 1951 fable of a magical dove that grants wishes to the inhabitants of a Milan slum uses an early version of “special effects”, bridging the popular Neo-Realistic style of Italy’s post-war cinema with the era of magical realism in film-making that Fellini would make famous.

Colourful knitwears from Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, who turned the fashion maxims of minimalism and basic black upside down.

This husband-wife team has charmed the fashion world since 1953 with its multi-coloured, zigzag knitwear.

Milan’s most important holiday is a biannual fashion trade fair. Even if you’re not here for the fashion shows, MODIT will affect your stay: hotels are booked well in advance. Plan (and pack) accordingly.

Tired of boutique-hopping? Here’s just one shop stocking a dozen major women’s labels: Ferré, Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, Allegri, Eva Branca and more.