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.

Rotonda di Via Besana

This Greek-cross church, dating from 1713, is now used for exhibitions. It is surrounded by a small green park bounded by a lovely rosette-shaped ring of a cloister. Here, in summer, films are shown al fresco.

Rotonda di Via Besana
Rovello

The most characterful of the Via Rovello hotels has been renovated with shiny wood floors, stylish furnishings, and orthopaedic beds. But it has kept the wood-beamed ceilings, classy dressing rooms and unusually spacious bedrooms.
Rufus

Discounts on designer shoes, with some top names coming in at under €90 a pair.
Sabbioneta

Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga had this town built from scratch in the late 16th century, the closest any potentate ever got to fully realizing the ideal Renaissance city. A single ticket lets you in to all the major sights: Palazzo del Giardino (the summer palace); the fabulous trompe-l’oeil frescoed Galleria; and the Teatro all’Antica, the first purpose-built theatre since antiquity.
Sabbioneta

An entire town planned between 1556 and 1591 to Renaissance ideals, Sabbioneta is the legacy of Vespasiano Gonzaga Borromeo, who, bereft of heirs, put his energies into a complex of palaces and a theatre.
Sadler

Claudio Sadler, perhaps the top chef in Milan, melds modern techniques with regional cuisine in a contemporary setting.
Sagra del Carroccio

Two years after the Lombard League trounced Barbarossa in 1176 (see 1176: Lombard League Defeats Barbarossa), the town of Legnano began celebrating the victory. Over 800 yeas later they’re still at it, putting on a display of pageantry that ends with a horse race between the town’s eight contrade (districts).
Sailing

The same breezes that fuel windsurfers are enjoyed by sailors, especially on Lakes Garda, Como and Iseo.
Salò

This genteely faded resort became the capital of Mussolini’s short-lived Republic of Salò (1943–5) in the closing chapters of World War II.
San Colombano

Milan’s own red is chiefly significant for making the DOC level despite being grown on the outskirts of an industrial city.

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Hotel price categories

For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.
- under €110
- €110-€160
- €160-€210
- €210-€270
- over €270
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
- €30-€40
- €40-€50
- over €50