Matilde Boutique Hotel, WorldHotels Elite

A short walk from the Duomo and the shopping streets, the Matilde Boutique Hotel, WorldHotels Elite, Milan, Italy, is an elegant, intimate hotel where contemporary design meets old Milanese charm in the very centre of the city. Its 25 individually styled rooms are dressed with care, soundproofed, and fitted with blackout curtains and fast Wi-Fi for a restful night, and a restaurant inspired by Italian tradition sets a warm, welcoming tone. A small, personal scale makes it feel more like a refined home than a large hotel, with attentive staff and a quiet lounge for a pause between outings. All the great sights lie within walking distance: the pinnacled Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II a short stroll away, Castello Sforzesco with its courtyards and the Pinacoteca di Brera close by, and Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper waiting in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie nearby, a Renaissance masterpiece painted in the 1490s and recognised as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After dark the fashion houses of the Quadrilatero, the cafes of the centre and the aperitivo bars of the canal-lined Navigli fill the surrounding streets with life into the evening. Teatro alla Scala keeps the city's opera tradition alive a short walk away.