Car Hire: Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk or call +39 (0)2 7611 0258. Open from 7.30am-midnight seven days a week.

Airport Transfer: Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport, then city or resort (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com).

Taxi: The journey to the centre costs about €25.

Bus: ATM's 73 bus connects with the metro at San Babila. Tickets: €1. The Starfly goes to Centrale station, roughly every 30 minutes from 6.10am-11.30pm (10pm on the weekend). Tickets: €3.

Car Hire: Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk or call +39 (02) 585 8621. Open from 7.30am-midnight seven days a week.

Airport Transfer: Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport, then city or resort (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com).

Train: The Malpensa Express departs from Terminal 1 for Cadorna station roughly every 30 minutes from 5.53am-1.30am. Tickets: €11.

Taxi: The journey to the centre costs about €70.

Bus: The Malpensa Shuttle departs for Centrale station roughly every 20 minutes from 6am-10.45pm and takes 50 minutes. Tickets: €6.50.

Risotteria Pandemonio
( 31 Via Pietro Calvi. Tel. 02 7010 2074 )
'The Pandemonium Rice Restaurant' is the full title of this little eatery which serves up a long list of variations on the local delicacy. Unpretentious décor and low prices.

Seven
( 29 Viale Montenero. Tel. 02 5401 9867 )
Traditional Italian cuisine, but the speciality is kebabs. In Italian, they are called spiedini. You can also choose from a wide range of other meat and fish main courses.

Circolo Amici del Liberty
( 20 Via Savona. Tel. 02 839 4302 )
This popular restaurant not far from the bustling canal streets of the Navigli district serves quality Neapolitan cuisine with a difference. A Milanese institution, it's just celebrated its 20th birthday.

Pane e Acqua
( 14 Via Bandello. Tel. 02 4819 8622 )
This chic eatery is part of the trendsetting boutique owned by Rossana Orlandi and there's just as much to excite the eye as the palate. The food is all modern Italian/creative with dishes such fresh king prawns and wild rice.

Spazio Fitzcarraldo
( 41 Via Filipetti . Tel. 02 5843 0365 )
Rather over the top with its postmodern décor, but this popular basement nightspot with big sofas and soft lighting is a handy place to kick off the evening, or you can stay later and catch the DJs.

Rock 'n' Roll
( 11 Via Bruschetti. Tel. 02 669 1971 )
A recent arrival, this is Milan's temple of rock, with DJ sets during the week and live music from local goths on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

G Lounge
( 8 Via Larga. Tel. 02 805 3042 )
This ethnic-looking disco-bar is situated right in the centre of town and offers quality music from DJs. The venue also opens during the day for coffees and light meals.

Plastic
( 120 Viale Umbria. Tel. 02 733 996 )
Milan's best-known nightspot for more than two decades, Plastic opens till the small hours for a loyal band of twentysomethings. The entry fee varies, but a drink is usually included in the price.

Via Torino, leading off from the Piazza Duomo, is well known to locals but not so much by visitors. It's a great place to shop for clothes and the prices are far more reasonable than in the expensive boutiques in more up-market parts of the city. You'll find all the typical Italian high-street brands: Levi's, Marlboro Classics, Tezenis, Yamamay—plus there's a large multi-storey FNAC megastore with a cool café inside.

Milan has a plethora historic churches and many of these forgotten monuments are well worth visiting. One of the most interesting is the Basilica of San Simpliciano, built in the fourth century AD. Although modified throughout its history, much of the church retains the architectural style of the early Christians. The building is in the Brera district, in a square off fashionable Corso Garibaldi.

Milan's castle, the Castello Sforzesco, sits at the end of Via Dante in front of Largo Cairoli, and even in winter this attractive area is a magnet for visitors. The castle is a medieval brick-built fortress on a grand scale that originally guarded the north-west corner of the ancient city. Today it is an art museum (with a well-stocked gift shop) as well as an interesting monument in its own right.

Catch Magritte—The Mystery of Nature, a large-scale exhibition devoted to the work of the famous surrealist painter. The show focuses on Magritte's response to nature and includes more than 100 paintings, gouaches, collages and sculptures from the collection of the Musée des Beaux Artes in Brussels, curated by Michel Draguet (until 29 March. Palazzo Reale, 12 Piazza Duomo. Tel. 02 6208 3868).

Parma – An attractive, prosperous city about 120 kilometres south of Milan, Parma is easily reached by train or autostrada. Its main attractions are its cultural heritage and its food. You can visit the Oratorio of Santa Maria delle Grazie with its art treasures, as well as the birthplace of conductor Arturo Toscanini, one of the 20th century's most famous conductors at La Scala, Milan. If you want to tour the area you can also visit Roncole near Busseto, birthplace of composer Giuseppe Verdi and see the Teatro Regio in Parma, where he conducted his operas. There is a fine collection of Italian paintings at the Galleria Nazionale, plus a famous bust of the Madonna by Leonardo Da Vinci. Make sure you sample Parma's local delicacies: its meats and parmigiano cheese are world famous.

The two wings of the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) were originally known by the Milanese as the Short Sleeve and the Long Sleeve—until 1936 when, during redevelopment work, the latter was shortened and the two wings became equal.

Compiled by Charles Searson