Milan, usually considered more of a business center than a holiday retreat, has a certain majesty to it, especially in the heart of the city, site of the Duomo, which took centuries to complete, and the four-story, iron-and-glass Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest and perhaps most unusual shopping arcade. A pleasant alternative to all that grandeur is the lovely Hotel Petit Palais, a small, restored 17th-century residence a 10-minute walk from the city center, assuming you don’t dawdle. The top floor studio suite, with its private patio, is expensive but worth the splurge. —Alan Richman

A former sportswriter for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Alan Richman has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for his journalism on food and wine, and a National Magazine Award for feature writing