Milan stopover

Hi Ro! I will give it a go, mind you I am no Milan expert. I have been to Milan a couple times and will be flying into Milan for an overnight stay before I head to Florence in a week or so, so I am kind of in the same position as you. I think any trip to Milan deserves a trip to the Duomo. It's so different from all the other churches in Italy (more like Notre Dame than St. Peter's). Quite near is the Galleria and Teatro della Scala (even if you can't tickets). Piazza della Duomo is also near some fantastic shopping, and I was thinking of checking out the Brera district this time around. I don't know when you are going, but about 6-8 weeks ago I tried to get tickets to see The Last Supper but they were sold out for our date. You may want to give it a try.
Also, I am not sure exactly what your hours are, but my sis and I were going to try and head to Como for half a day, just to get away from the city and see the lake district a bit, perhaps take a ferry to Belaggio or track down George Clooney or something... Happy travels.

Thanks, Monique. Very helpful. Our trip is not until next Spring, but I will get on the Last Supper tickets early. Other suggestions sound perfect too. Safe travels to you.

I was in Milan in Sept. and my friends and I booked a 1/2 tour of Milan, including the Last Supper and we were very pleased. We used viators.com - it is a consolidator and the tour was part bus and part walking. We had a very excellent overview of Milan , stopped and toured La Scala Opera House/Museum, short stop at the Duomo, short stop at Sforza Castle. Then we were able to decide what we wanted to go back and visit with a bit more time. Like going to the top of the Duomo - fabulous views from the roof. (you can walk up, or take the elevator) Had lunch at a sidewalk cafe, visited the famous cemetery Cimitero Monumentale di Milano (well worth spending some time here).
We used Rick Steves Italy Book to master the bus and metro system.

Go visit Michelangelo's last Pieta in Sforza Castle.

I just came back and saw The Last Supper. I was not a fan of Milan. The Last Supper was certainly worth seeing.

Ro, Like Monique, I am not a Milan expert, but I will tell you our plans for our 2 day stay in Milan as we end a two week trip beginning in Paris and ending in Italy (flying out of Milan) this fall. We reviewed Rick Steve's recommendations regarding the high points of Milan: the Last Supper at the Santa Maria delle Grizie Church, The Duomo, The Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, Castello Sforzesco ('the castle'), and the Scala Theatre/Opera House. We are typically independent travelers who book activities on our own and occasionally utilize tours. For our first of two days, it was more efficient to book a tour to see all these stops in one day. We've used Viator in the past (out of Florence) and were very pleased. This time, we are using Dark Rome:
www.darkrome.com/tours/milan-tours For our second day, we plan to book a tour up to Lake Como; haven't finalized that yet.