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You can wander freely about the forest of Gothic carving adorning the rooftop of Milan’s cathedral. Duck under the buttresses, skirt along the eaves and clamber onto the peaked roof of the nave to drink in a panorama across the city (see Milan’s Duomo).

Milan is a world capital of high fashion, home to dozens of the top names in haute couture (see Things to Buy) in its Quadrilatero d’Oro, or “Golden Rectangle” of streets (see Milan’s Markets). Add in designer household objects, silk from Como, fine wines and foods, and Milan becomes a shopper’s paradise.

After 5pm or so, many Milanese bars and cafés practise the lovely habit of laying out platters of mini-sandwiches, canapés, olives, crisps and other snacks at the bar, all free for the munching as long as you order at least one drink. You can easily flit from one bar to the next, and make a decent early dinner out of it all.

Milan’s southern district of canals and warehouses has been converted to a lively evening area of restaurants, pizzerias, bars, pubs and funky shops (see I Navigli).

Italy’s premier opera house, La Scala, has now emerged from extensive restoration, and you can again enjoy one of the world’s best companies in a truly wondrous 18th-century setting.

In the city where Amati honed his craft and passed his skills to Stradivari, they take their fiddling seriously. Virtuosos from around the globe come to numerous festivals, concert seasons and trade fairs just for the chance to bow a few sonatas on the city’s vast collection of original Strads (see Cremona).

The loveliest of the Italian lakes (see Lake Como) is best enjoyed from the waters. From this vantage point, devoid of traffic jams, you can see the glorious gardens and gracious villas lining its banks (from the road, all you may see is a high wall).

The northern end of Lake Garda is buffeted by strong winds blowing down from the Sarca Valley in the north in morning (the sover ) and south up the lake in the afternoon (the ora ). Together, they make for some of the best wind-surfing and sailing conditions on any lake in Western Europe, and all summer long watersports fans flock from far and wide to Riva and its neighbour Torbole to thrash the waves (see Limone sul Garda).

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.

The prehistoric Camuni tribes etched many rock faces in the pre-Alpine valleys of eastern Lombardy with curious figurative images and symbols. The oldest date back 11,000 years, while the most recent are medieval. Most carvings are in the Val Calmonica Villages. However, if you’re on Lake Garda, detour at Torri del Benaco to the hillside hamlet of Crer, where a trail leads to some nice carvings.