Michael Portillo's Long Weekends

Join Michael Portillo as he takes us on a Long Weekend to Italy's capital of fashion, design and industry: the dynamic, northern powerhouse of Milan.
Michael's weekend begins on the back of a classic 1960's Lambretta, the iconic Italian scooter that was invented in the city. Meeting a group of biker aficionados, Michael soaks up La Dolce Vita as he's whisked off to see some of Milan's must-see landmarks.

Michael is then given a crash-course on the strict rules of Italian coffee drinking etiquette, before he's given a dressing down by a personal shopper keen to improve his fashion sense.

Feeling courageous, Michael climbs to the roof of the spectacular Duomo Cathedral, the jewel in Milan's crown which is open to the public, and ventures into the "city of the dead" with its impressive graves and tombs in the Cimitero Monumentale. He's also let loose racing a vintage Alfa Romeo, every petrolhead's dream, before taking on all-comers in a game of Bocce, an ancient Italian equivalent to bowls.

Michael soaks up more Milanese culture by going behind the scenes at the Leonardo Da Vinci museum, where one of the master's original 15 century drawings is bought to life in the shape of a huge mechanised lion.

During this action-packed Long Weekend, Michael also learns how to cook the perfect risotto before turning cocktail maker by mixing a Negroni Sbagliato at Bar Basso, the home of this universally popular aperitvo.

He also visits the Torre Branca, the highest point in the breathtaking Sempione Park, spins himself good luck at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy's oldest shopping arcade, and spends the night in Nivigli, the vibrant, Venice-like canal quarter of the city.