Milan

If the Italian cities are a family – and really they are, banded together from independent states in 1871 – Milan is the enigmatic middle child: she wears sunglasses at the dinner table and dropped out of her MBA to go to fashion school. She might have garnered a reputation for being a little industrial and uptight compared to her southern siblings but scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find a dynamic, forward-thinking and eminently liveable city.