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Light
All extraneous detail has been stripped away from this former woodworking factory, drawing your attention to the exposed brick archways, fuschia walls and the person positively glowing on the spotlit sofa next to you. The illuminated alabaster bar inspires a reverence usually reserved for altars, though you'll hardly see it for the aperitivi crowds around .
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Living
Score an armchair at this former post office before and after a couple of cocktails with your choice of 100 kinds of vodka, they may have to fold you up and mail you home. Enjoy the vast buffet, but don't leave your seat for long - the wait for another cushy spot is longer than post office lines at Christmas.
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Magazzini Generali
When an entire former warehouse full of people is working up a sweat to indie international acts, cutting-edge DJs and the best local bands, there's no cooler place to be in Milan. Can't argue with the price, either: most acts are under €15 , there's free entry Wednesday, a.k.a. Night of Contemporary Beat, and the legendary Jet Lag Fridays are free with a drink.
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Martini Bar
As seen through the bottom of your martini glass, these glossy black marble walls enclose a magical realm of Prince Charming waiters ruled by a gargantuan red jellyfish… oh wait, that's a chandelier, and this is Dolce & Gabbana. Have another and you'll be willing to forgive the tacky neon signage, if only because it won't stay in focus.
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Museo del Cinema
The best way to pick up Italian is to attend screenings of Italian films shown here at and , ranging from rare documentary footage of Milanese glitter-rock bands in the 1970s to Sergio Leone's ever-popular Spaghetti Westerns.
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Noy
Only in Milan could a garage find divine inspiration. The almighty bar fills the void where a truck might once have been, and leather armchairs clustered convivially around tables are haloed in light from skylights in the corrugated roof above. Drop by for brunch or aperitivi after a heavenly wellness treatment at Habits Culti next door.
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Nuova Idea
Go club-hopping without leaving this many-splendoured nightlife theme park, Milan's premier gay club since 1975. One room features ballroom dancing with an orchestra and tiaras galore; the next has cages with greased-up gogo dancers plying their trade in nosebleed-inducing heels. At the centre of it all, Milan's most celebrated transvestites are constantly putting Fashion Week runways to shame.
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Piccolo Teatro (Teatro Grassi)
Opened in 1947 by Paolo Grassi and the late, great theatre director Giorgio Strehler, this risk-taking little repertory theatre started a big nationwide movement with avant-garde productions and Commedia dell'Arte revivals. For additional programming, including ballet and the Mediterranean Theatre Festival, check out Nuovo Piccolo/Teatro Strehler on Via Rovello 2.
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Plastic
How does Plastic keep throngs at the door six days a week, in a town as fickle about hot spots as footwear? Simple: strong drinks, fresh DJ line-ups each season, dim lighting and low seating to encourage a certain amount of groping. Saturdays are Bordello Night and Sundays are pan-sexual free-for-alls that make Studio 54 seem amateurish - go early, or face ruthless door selection after .
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Roialto
Like an old-school movie star, this ruggedly handsome warehouse-turned-bar pretends to be unaware of its good looks. But there's no denying the appeal of those high ceilings, vintage leather club chairs, billiard tables and the wooden bar brought from Cuba - it's worth the lines and face patrol on weekends, and even returning to the scene of the crime for Sunday brunch.
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Rolling Stone
Belle and Sebastian, Artic Monkeys, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and local bands you never heard of (but should) play Milan's leading rock venue. Patrons have been known to shower bands with adoration and contempt by spraying them with beer from the bar above the stage, but nowadays management keeps a look out for amp-destroying rabble-rousers (you know who you are).
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Scimmie
A historic canalside pizzeria that puts on 363 live shows a year - only in Milan, baby. Jazz, alternative rock and blues are the strong suits of the emerging talents who play to overflow crowds inside Scimmie, in the garden, and on its new Jazz Boat (with dinner, around €35 ). Concerts start at 10, and €8 to €12 entry includes your first drink.
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Shu
The mothership has landed and it's a great place for a drink. Two monumental gold arms support a green ceiling with a matrix of circuitry and box lights like a motherboard from Jupiter. Pull up a frosted glass chair and tuck into your tuna tartare and eggplant-scampi timabllo (casserole) before you're beamed up or happy hour ends, whichever comes first.
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Yar Bistrot
Once the pitchers (yes, pitchers) of vodka start pouring around , you'd better order some borsch and blinis; it's going to be another long, outrageous night at rococo Russian Yar. Tonight you're going to party like it's 1899, the Iron Curtain never went up or came down and men in fur coats weren't necessarily Italian fashion designers.
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Yguana
It's a jungle out there during happy hour, when trailblazers lead expeditions to the packed buffet and back out to coveted kerbside wicker chairs. Head to the rainforest-themed balcony, where seats aren't such an endangered species.
