Milan

Photo by flickr user gribbly

In spite of having some world class sights, Milan is not a tourist city and the hotel scene reflects this. About 80 per cent of the Italian HQs of international companies are based here or in the immediate surrounding area, so it stands to reason that the accommodation on offer is geared towards executives travelling on high end expense accounts. Then there's the fashion industry, of which Milan is a world centre, and fashionistas flock to some of the coolest hotels with the sharpest design in the country. This has negative repercussions on the tourist, especially if you want to avoid large, outrageously expensive, corporate-style hotels, however hip they may be. While bargains in this city are thin on the ground, there are some delightful small hotels where it's not de rigeur to be dressed in head-to-toe black Prada crowned with a massive pair of dark glasses; we have listed our favourites. If you are visiting Milan for pure leisure and want to contain the budget, it's important to avoid the frequent big trade fairs when hotel prices are at their maximum and rooms may be booked months in advance. The order by which the hotels are listed bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by Nicky Swallow