Lombardy Travel Guide

Lombardy is a landlocked province in northern Italy, comprising the gorgeous Lake Como, elegant Lake Maggiore and wild Lake Garda to the north and the wide plain of the Po river valley to the south.

The regional capital is Milan, Italy's most important commercial city and an international fashion centre, just an hour from the Italian Lakes.

The province is strewn with jewels of Renaissance architecture. Visit Mantua, seat of the powerful Dukes of Gonzaga, to see Mantegna's frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale. Take in Bergamo (with its perfect Piazza Vecchia) whose Accademia Carrara has an outstanding art collection of works by Canaletto, Lotto, Bellini and Botticelli.

Dine on risotto alla Milanese (made with Po Valley-grown Arborio rice and hefty doses of saffron), osso bucco (veal knuckles) and that old winter favourite, minestrone soup. Gourmands should eat at L'Albereta, a country inn under the gifted hand of chef Gualtiero Marchesi. It is by Lake Iseo, in the Franciacorta wine-making region.

Ski in winter (Jan 1°C), sunbathe in summer (Aug 30°C).