Dressed to impress

Stylish, beautiful Milan is a people watcher’s paradise, finds

The past ten minutes have been eventful. A Vespa screamed round the square in front of me narrowly missing a chihuahua on the end of a long lead held by an elegant elderly lady. Then I witnessed a supercar sandwich as a Lamborghini nearly hit an opentop Ferrari which abruptly stopped when the driver leaned out to chat up a leggy blonde. Next a group of smartly-suited businessmen pulled up a table next to me at the cafe for an impromotu business meeting. Never has people-watching been so exciting.

I’m not sitting in front of any old square but the Piazza del Duomo in the heart of Milan. Straight ahead is the famous cathedral with its towering spires. To the left is a shopping arcade which looks like it hasn’t changed in the past 140 years. It hasn’t.

Covered by a huge wrought-iron and glass conservatory, the Galleria Vittorio opened in 1877 and connects two of Milan’s most famous locations – the cathedral and La Scala opera house. It’s a window-shopper’s paradise as Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton all have outlets inside.

Of course the floor is marble and the central mosaic shows the four coats of arms of old kingdoms that make up modern day Italy – Milan, Florence, Rome and Turin. Every time I walk past it there is a commotion in the middle so I finally summon up my best GCSE Italian and ask a local what was going on. The response isn’t what I expected.

The coat of arms for Turin features a bull and legend has it that it brings good luck if you put your right heel on the bull’s, ahem, tackle and turn around three times. It’s a myth that’s clearly treated very seriously as there’s a huge hole in the mosaic where the bull’s modesty should be.

Sitting under a cloudless sky at Bar Duomo on the square you feel like you’re in the middle of the action whilst watching the world go by.

Cafes and shops line the rest of the square and there’s no mistaking that it’s Italy. Trams glide down the streets and everyone seems to be immaculately dressed. Men tend to be in neatly-pressed shirts and shorts or sharp suits whilst tiny clutch bags are all the rage with women.

Italy’s unmistakable style is apparent from the moment you set foot in the city. Landing at Malpensa airport there’s an express train into town which takes around 50 minutes and costs £11.40 (€13) each way for adults. It arrives at Milan’s Centrale station with its vaulted stone ceiling which has statues carved into the sides.

Aside from showing off their good

looks, Italy’s national pastime is shopping and a trip into one of Milan’s many department stores soon reveals why its locals are so stylish. The biggest of the bunch is Rinascente. Think Jenners packed with very high-end Italian goods from socks to chocolates in the shapes of slippers, sofas and handbags. You soon find that dogs in department stores are the norm in Italy and are just as well groomed as their owners.

The escalators inside seem to keep on going upwards and there’s a real reward for those who persist. The top floor of Rinascente is filled with outdoor bars and restaurants under parasols directly opposite the cathedral. Down below, the crowds fight for the best view of it but all you need to do to get the perfect shot is buy a drink on the top floor of Rinascente. If you’re feeling peckish the place to visit there is Il Bar as it offers reasonably-priced plates of cheese and ham as well as main courses of pasta.

Even Milan’s hotels take their looks seriously. Buildings shaped like rectangular boxes aren’t the done thing in this city and perhaps the best example of that is the Four Seasons

Clockwise from main: view of the Duomo in Milan; Galleria Vittorio; the Campari bar on the Piazza del Duomo

which is one of Milan’s leading hotels.

Discretion is the name of the game as the hotel is hardly visible from the outside. It is on a cobbled alley and integrated into what looks like a row of houses, complete with shutters on the windows. It was actually a 15th century convent and there’s no mistaking it inside.

Parts of original frescoes line the lobby and tapestries hang on the corridor walls. There’s a covered central courtyard and the rooms around it still have lamps outside the doors from when it was open air. The original structure of the building has been preserved in some of the rooms which have arched stone ceilings and stone floors.

The only downside of being in such a central location is that you have to watch out for prying eyes which I failed to do one morning. On getting up and looking out the window, dressed in only my boxer shorts, I found the resident in the house opposite staring right at me.

The houses are above yet more high-end clothes shops, this time, men’s fashion brand Brioni and Cartier which explains the smell of eau de toilette in the air as you walk down the road. The high fashion and scented air of Milan are far from the real world and a few days in the city just serve to remind you that you’re not really stylish enough to be in it. ■

Parts of original frescoes line the lobby and tapestries hang on the corridor walls