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Morning

Start at 10am amid the stupendous collections of Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.

Work your way south to Via Torino and the jewelbox of a church, Santa Maria presso San Satiro , then walk north up Via Torino until you reach the Piazza del Duomo, Milan’s vast public living room.

Continue along the piazza’s western edge and divert up Via Mercanti to see the raised porticoes of Palazzo della Ragione. Now cross the huge Duomo square to enjoy the marvels of Italy’s second-largest cathedral (see Milan’s Duomo). Don’t miss exploring its roof.

Take a platter of cheese and meats in Zucca (see Zucca in Galleria (Caffè Miani)) at the entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the grandest shopping arcade in Italy.

Afternoon

Exit the arcade at Piazza della Scala, flanked by the famed opera house and Palazzo Marino . Behind the latter is the church of San Fedele. After seeing this walk northeast past the surreal Casa degli Omenoni .

Turn left to visit the excellent Museo Poldi-Pezzoli, then continue north on Via Manzoni, admiring its palazzi and Armani boutique, until you come to Milan’s prime shopping street, Via Montenapoleone .

Shoppers will spend the rest of the day here; museum hounds can take in the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi. Both should stop for drinks at Cova .

Morning

Be at the Stresa ferry dock by 10am and buy a day pass for island hopping as well as admission tickets for the Isole Borromee sights.

Ride to Isola Bella first to spend two hours exploring the collections of the Borromeo Palace and the intricate gardens above it. Then catch the 12:25pm ferry for the short hop to the Isola Superiore, where you can settle into a lakeside table on Verbano’s terrace for lunch with a view (book ahead of time (see Verbano, Isola Superiore (Isola dei Pescatori)).

Mid-Afternoon

Wander the tourist/fishing village after lunch before continuing on the boat to Isola Madre.

The Borromeo Villa on Madre takes only a half hour to wander, but the vast botanical gardens surrounding it are a delight, thick with exotic flora and populated by colourful exotic birds. The multi-lingual map handed out explains many of the rare specimens and is remarkably informative too.

Try to catch a return ferry that stops on the mainland at Lido/Funivia for Montarrone – one stop before Stresa proper. Get off here and stroll along the little-used waterfront promenade for the final 20-minute walk back to downtown Stresa. You will be rewarded with a lovely late-afternoon view of the islands on your left, and romantically crumbling, abandoned villas on your right.

Morning

To spend time with the great Renaissance genius you must transgress the division between north and south Milan.

Begin the day’s itinerary at the Cordusio metro stop, then walk west on Via Meravigli three blocks to the corner with Via S Maria alla Porta for a cappuccino at Pasticceria Marchesi. Continue west, and pop into the Museo Archeologico (see Civico Museo Archeologico) for 20 minutes of historical musing.

Make reservations long in advance for a 10am admission to the Last Supper (see Santa Maria delle Grazie). Take time to fully appreciate Leonardo’s art.

Go east along Corso Magenta to Via Carducci to relax at the Art Nouveau Bar Magenta and enjoy an early lunch.

Afternoon/Evening

Turn down Via Carducci four long blocks to Via San Vittore (you’ll see across the street the Pusterla di S Ambrogio, a remnant of the medieval city gates) and turn right for the Museo della Scienza (see Museo Nazionale della Scienza e delle Tecnica – Leonardo da Vinci).

At around 3:30pm double back along Via S Vittore to S Ambrogio. Trek down Via Edmondo De Amicis to Corso della Porta Ticinese, where your first stop is the magnificent San Lorenzo Maggiore . Peruse the works in the Museo Diocesano, then continue to Sant’Eustorgio.

A block south brings you into the bar and restaurant zone of the Navigli, ready for a post-itinerary drink and a superb meal (see Shops and Nightspots in Southern Milan, Places to Eat in Southern Milan).

Morning

There are two major museums in this itinerary, so start off early at the Castello Sforzesco when it opens at 9:30am. Work your way up to San Sempliciano around 11am, then make your way southeast to the church of San Marco.

Continue up Via San Marco to have lunch at one of Milan’s great simple trattorie, Latteria San Marco (see Latteria), then head back down the street, cross Via Pontaccio, and plunge into the vast art collections of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

Afternoon

If you’re an art fan, you’ll probably spend the rest of the afternoon at the Pinacoteca, ready for a passeggiata and dinner when you emerge near closing time. But if it doesn’t grab you, knock off after 90 minutes and you’ll have time to continue east along Via Fatebenefratelli to Piazza Cavour.

If it’s between Friday and Sunday, you can turn up Via Manin to pop inside the Palazzo Dugnani ; otherwise, skirt the Giardini Pubblici on Via Palestro to peruse the modern art inside the Villa Reale, then the dinosaur skeletons and wonderfully outdated 19th-century dioramas inside the Museo di Storia Naturale .

Finally, to round off a full and busy day, head for your dinner reservations at La Terrazza .

Morning

To cruise the lake you can buy point-to-point tickets, or peruse the single-ticket cruises that visit several towns and may include villa admissions. This itinerary assumes you have already checked out Como’s sights before spending the night in Bellagio.

Begin the next day with a cappuccino at Bellagio’s Caffè Rossi across from the dock before boarding the 10:30am boat to Villa Carlotta, where you have an hour to visit the collection of art and lush gardens of the lake’s greatest villa.

Catch the ferry down to Isola Comacina to dig into a sumptuous feast at the Locanda (see Locanda dell’Isola Comacina, Ossuccio). After a second helping of their “spiked” coffee, you’ll have a bit of time to work off the meal by exploring the island’s overgrown church ruins before grabbing the boat back up the lake to Varenna.

Mid-afternoon

Continue walking off the big lunch by climbing up to the romantic, panoramic Castello di Vezio above town, then descend and pop into Varenna’s little churches. Poke around the gardens of Villa Monastero, then finally head down to the lakefront arcade for a short stroll then a meal by the water at the splendid Vecchia Varenna (see Vecchia Varenna, Varenna).

Unless you decide to spend a relaxing night in quiet and little visited Varenna, make sure you finish dinner before 9pm, when the last ferry leaves for Bellagio.

Day One

The smaller lakes and towns are scattered across Lombardy and eastern Piemonte, impossible to see in one short trip, but some of the best can been enjoyed on a leisurely two-day drive from Lake Garda to Lake Como.

Head west on the A4 Autostrada to Brescia to spend your first morning admiring its museum and Roman sights. Having lunched at Due Stelle (see Due Stelle, Brescia), continue to nearby Lake Iseo. Explore the eastern shore, especially the Romanino frescoes in Pisogne, the small museum in Lovere and the weird rock pinnacles outside of Zone.

If you can, spend the night at I Due Roccoli (see I Due Roccoli, Iseo), or at least have dinner there (see I Due Roccoli, Iseo, Lake Iseo).

Day Two

On Day Two, drive north into the Val Calmonica (see Val Calmonica Villages) to view some of the valley’s prehistoric rock carvings. Then head back south to diverge west at Lovere for the back road to Bergamo.

Check into your hotel and spend the afternoon enjoying the Renaissance architecture and carvings of the Colleoni Chapel, the excellent Accademia Carrara gallery, medieval town square and, of course, the town’s shops, cafés and wine bars.

End your day with a hearty meal at the aptly named Antica Hosteria del Vino Buono (the “Ancient Inn of Good Wine”; (see Antica Hosteria del Vino Buono, Bergamo)).

Day One

If you’re here to relax and sightsee rather than thrash the waves up near Riva (see Riva del Garda), then spend your days on the southern end of the lake. Sirmione is both a charming and lively base.

On your first day, stop in Desenzano to see the Villa Romana before driving out to Sirmione itself. Walk out to the far tip of the peninsula to wander the ruins of the Grotte di Catullo (see Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione). On your way back into town, divert to the right to pop into San Pietro and see its medieval frescoes.

Navigate the throngs of the tiny centre to clamber up the balustrades of the Rocca Scagliera (see Rocca Scagliera, Sirmione) for a sunset panorama.

Take a passeggiata (stroll) with the crowds before heading down to the Vecchia Lugana (see Vecchia Lugana, Sirmione) for an exquisite evening meal.

Day Two

On day two, drive around to Gardone Riviera to tour Gabriele d’Annunzio’s delightfully idiosyncratic Il Vittoriale, then have a refined meal on the terrace of the Villa Fiordaliso (see Villa Fiordaliso, Gardone Riviera).

After lunch, take the time to wander the grounds at Giardino Botanico Hruska before either making your leisurely way back to Sirmione – if you are basing yourself there – or heading further up the lake to explore the small lakeside towns of Limone or Riva (see Limone sul Garda, Riva del Garda).