Visiting Lombardy: when to go, budget and itinerary

Milan can be seen in two or three days. The white marble cathedral with its accessible roof, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Sforza Castle and the Brera gallery form the core. Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, must be booked weeks ahead for a 15-minute slot. In the evening, aperitivo on the Navigli and a wander through the design districts of Porta Nuova and the Fondazione Prada, a converted distillery.

An hour from Milan, Bergamo sets its modern lower town against its perched Citta Alta, ringed by UNESCO-listed Venetian walls and reached by a funicular from the Piazza Vecchia. Further afield, Brescia and its Roman ruins and the Mille Miglia museum, Mantua encircled by three artificial lakes with Mantegna's Bridal Chamber and the Palazzo Te, and Cremona, home of Stradivari and violin making, each deserve a full day. These towns stay little visited by foreign travellers and keep everyday prices.

Lake Como begins 40 minutes from Milan by train: villas, botanical gardens and frequent ferries between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, with the road best avoided. The south of Lake Garda, around Sirmione and its Scaliger fortified peninsula, is just as easy to reach and mild enough for olive groves. Between the two, the quieter Lake Iseo holds Monte Isola, Europe's largest lake island, car-free and criss-crossed by trails through vineyards and chestnut woods.

Between Brescia and Lake Iseo, the Franciacorta hills produce Italy's best sparkling wine by the traditional method, tasted in a cellar in half a day. The Lombard table is rich and wintry: saffron risotto, slow-cooked osso buco, Bergamo casoncelli, panettone at Christmas. The Valtellina alpine cheeses, such as bitto and casera, go with polenta taragna and pizzoccheri, buckwheat pasta layered with butter, cabbage and cheese.

To the north, the Valtellina climbs towards Bormio and its thermal baths, the Stelvio national park and its 2758-metre pass, open June to October. The Valcamonica lines up tens of thousands of listed prehistoric rock carvings. These valleys offer hiking in summer and skiing in winter, two hours' drive from Milan, and extend a city break with a few days in the mountains.