There are an abundance of churches here in Milan, nearly matching Portugal, but the facades are mainly brick instead of the dazzling tiles of the Portuguese. Inside however is a completely different story. The basilicas range from gothic, romanesque and baroque, or sometimes a combination of all three. Beautiful vaulted ceilings elaborately decorated with frescoes or mosaic with glittering stained glass throughout. Most are free of entry and almost all still host mass on Sunday. During the day you will hear bells ringing, each playing a different melodic tolls.

The most impressive of all being the Duomo of course, the heart of Milan. All streets radiate from this gothic masterpiece constructed over several hundred years in many contrasting styles. It is the largest church in Italy, and also boasts the highest nave (45 meters) and can host a staggering 40,000 people. Trying to accurately photograph this place is impossible from a mobile device. The exquisite stained glass a pale reminder of what your eyes see, the towering marble pillars supporting the naves inaccurately displayed without touching their true grandeur.

Unfortunately you have to pay an extra 10€ to even get to the rooftops; we instead bought a bundle to visit the Ambrosiana Biblioteca, named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan. The library itself homes 12,000 drawings, 35,000 manuscripts and over 800,000 books. Inside the library a large portion of Davinci’s Codex is displayed, along with his Portrait of a Musician in an adjacent room. The museum is a trove of Italian artifacts and masterworks from Bergognone, Bramantino, Botticelli, Luini and more. You can also see Raphael’s cartoon for The School of Athens, a staggering drawing that eclipses an entire dimly lit room at 8 by 3 meters. An entire day could easily be spent here, our time of three hours hardly seemed long enough to enjoy everything properly so be sure to be early as the museum closes at 6pm. The building itself is a work of art, in particular the outdoor gardens displaying hundreds of marble and bronze busts of scholars.

Sforza Castle is another must see in Milan. One of the largest medieval citadels in Europe, now home to ten different collections of art, artifacts, furniture, musical instruments and sculpture; most notably Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pieta. The complex also doubles as a park, one could easily spend an entire day here and not see everything it has to offer.