2:30 p.m.

7) DATE WITH A MASTERPIECE

Tickets to see Leonardo's “Last Supper,” in a refectory at Santa Maria delle Grazie (39-02-8942-1146; www.cenacolovinciano.org), sell out months in advance. To protect the painting from excess humidity, the number of visitors is strictly limited. Luckily, the tour company Zani Viaggi (39-02-867-131; www.zaniviaggi.it) will get you in to see it for the price of a 50-euro tour. A guide will walk you to Milan's twin centerpieces: the Duomo, among the largest cathedrals in the world (and very possibly the most beautiful), and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, an astonishing glass-covered arcade built in 1867. Your appointment with Leonardo's masterpiece is at 5:30 p.m. The electronic doors open precisely at that time, and again 15 minutes later to let you out. The 50 euros will seem like a bargain — unless you were saving up for that McQueen T-shirt.

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