Okay, it’s not Rome and there is no Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, or Vatican to visit. But if you’re here to meet with contacts or close a deal,  this is the best Italy has to offer, and you’ll note contentedly that the Milanese have a work ethic miles closer to that of the nearby Swiss than what the notoriously languid Romans have to offer. Oh, and if you do have time for a few sights, the world’s most famous fresco is here, as is Michelangelo’s last statue and an opera house that’s second to none.

 
Where to Sleep
If you can justify any expense, there’s the recently opened ultraluxurious Town House Galleria, which, among other amenities,  has a butler for every room. The Grand Hotel et de Milan, once home to Giuseppe Verdi, now lodges many Italian politicians when they come through town and is popular with the fashionistas who meander over from Armani’s nearby flagship store. The Principe di Savoia, with its impeccable service, frescoed ceilings, and modern amenities, has hosted the queen of England and George Clooney and is the first choice for most businessmen. Fashion executives and top models prefer the Four Seasons, an oasis in the center of Milan’s Fashion Triangle built in what was a fifteenth-century monastery. The sleek and trendy favor the centrally located Park Hyatt, while Middle Eastern moguls gravitate toward the Bulgari Hotel.

Where to Eat
All of Milan’s financial elite dine sooner or later—some regularly—at Cracco-Peck, where the food, considered by many to be the city’s best, is accompanied by a wine list with almost 2,000 labels. Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy’s second-richest inhabitant and the majority shareholder of eyeglass maker Luxottica, can often be seen enjoyng chef Carlo Cracco’s famous risotto. Roberto Colaninno, who led the $33 billion hostile takeover of Telecom Italia in 1999, goes for fish at Sambuco, in the slightly out-of-the-way Hermitage hotel. Federico Imbert, the head of JP Morgan Chase in Italy, and his counterpart at Rothschild frequent Boeucc, as Milanese as a restaurant can get with its formal style, attentive waiters, and menu laced with meat-heavy local specialties. Maurizio Tamagnini, who heads Merrill Lynch’s Italian operations, is sometimes spotted at the trendy Emporio Armani Caffè Ristorante, which serves lighter dishes in a minimalist setting of white chairs, tables, and walls. For an excellent pizza in a simple place, head to Pizzeria Bebel, the favorite spot of Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera.

Where to See and Be Seen
Milan is a fickle city, and what was hot in the morning might be blasé by lunchtime. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s new restaurant, Gold, is currently at the top of the trendy list; as the name implies, is decked out entirely in the color gold; and caters to a very select crowd. Barbara Berlusconi, the daughter of Italy’s larger-than-life ex–prime minister, who now heads the opposition coalition,  recently attended a private dinner at Gold. For the Milanese ritual of the aperitif there’s the H-Club, at the Sheraton Diana Majestic hotel, where models and their entourages can be found sipping cocktails in a wonderfully lush garden. The bars on Corso Como, a street just north of the city center, are the popular meeting spots for those in fashion circles; later in the evening, the crowd migrates up the street to the Hollywood, a disco frequented by Dolce and Gabbana.

Where to Close a Deal
The Milanese have the working lunch down to a science: Meet at one o’clock sharp and by 2:15 you’re on your way back to the office, having sealed the deal over a stellar lunch. The garden view and crab-topped fish ravioli at Don Lisander have helped ink the details on many a transaction, and the restaurant is a favorite of Silvio Scaglia’s, Italy’s billionaire Internet entrepreneur. If you’re looking to impress a client, head to the hushed bar at the Bulgari Hotel, where you can sip a $1,285 glass of 1885 rum from the Antilles.

Local Codes
Booking ahead is a must during the four annual fashion shows (February–March and September–October for women; January and June for men), when beautiful models are aplenty but everything else—from a cab to a hotel room to a top table—becomes painfully scarce. In Milan, northern Europe’s tradition of restrained emotions is omnipresent, but this is Italy, so family is paramount and asking how your contact’s other half is doing is nothing short of obligatory. Beware that many restaurants are closed on Sunday evenings, including Cracco-Peck, Sambuco, and the Emporio Armani Caffè Ristorante.
 
Airport Intelligence
If you fly directly from the United States, you’ll land about 30 miles northwest of the city at Malpensa, Milan’s main international airport. A cab ride to the center of town should take 40 minutes, but if there’s traffic—and there often is—you could be stuck for more than an hour. A better option is the train, which departs right underneath the airport and whisks you to downtown in 40 minutes. If you arrive from Europe or on a domestic flight, fly into Linate, one of Europe’s most centrally located airports. Within 20 minutes of touching down, you can be sipping a Negroni at a downtown bar.

The Three-Hour Tour
Start in the Piazza Duomo, Milan’s epicenter, from where you can see the Madonnina, the 13-foot gold-plated statue that adorns the top of the cathedral and is the city’s symbol. A short walk through the Galleria brings you to La Scala, behind which you’ll find the headquarters of Mediobanca, the almost mythical Italian investment bank that controlled Italy’s finances from 1945 until a few years ago (and still plays an important role in deciding who buys whom). From there, a walk down the spacious Via Dante pedestrian walkway brings you to Castello Sforzesco, inside which is the Pietà Rondanini, Michelangelo’s last sculpture. Santa Maria delle Grazie church, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Last Supper fresco, is not far off.    

-Eric Sylvers