Bar Martini Dolce & Gabbana
Corso Venezia 15
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02)760-11154
There is no sign indicating this bar from the street, but don't let the snooty shop assistants stop you from walking through Dolce & Gabbana's menswear store to reach the sophisticated bar, in a courtyard at the rear. Inside, slick black columns and sofas are off-set by a giant red-and-crystal chandelier by Venini, with a distinctly 1950'sfeel. Come here for a quick lunch, or for cocktails - mostly made with Martini, of course. The bar is open from 10am-9.30pm.

Fashion Work Library Club
Via Vigevano 35
Milan 20144
Tel: +39 (02) 8356020
Open: Mon-Sun 8.30am-7.30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-1pm, 2-7pm
It costs around €110  to join this cosy hideaway and regular visitors to be Milan involved in the fashion industry may want to consider it. This is a comfortable spot in which to browse through stacks of vintage fashion magazines, newspapers, books and manuals (many of them in English) while lounging on a sofa, listening to jazz. There is an excellent little bookshop, stocked with fashion-related items.
The club is also available to rent for meetings, events or parties.

Roialto
Via Piero della Francesca 55
Milan 20154
Tel: +39 (02) 3493-6616
The Roialto is still one of the hottest post-work spots in town, despite its offbeat location near Piazza Firenze (off Corso Sempione, north-west of the centre). This former industrial warehouse has bags of attitude, and features vintage chairs, kitschy 70's chandeliers and Colonial-style palm trees and objets. Head here for aperitifs from 6.30-9pm, when you wll find yourself mixing with an unpretentious crowd.

Bars and clubs

Blue Note
Via Borsieri 37
Milan 20159
Tel: +39 (02) 690-16888
Inspired by the famous Blue Note in Greenwich Village, New York, this recently opened jazz club in the bohemian Isola area hosts international stars, from Sarah Jane Morris to the Count Basie Orchestra. Use the website to book tickets. You can dine here, too. In the evening, concerts begin at 9pm and 11.30pm.

Chandelier
Via Broggi 17
Milan 20129
Tel: +39 (02) 2024-0458
True to its name, this bar-restaurant is crammed with chandeliers and other kitschy baroque furnishings - all of which are, supposedly, for sale. Call ahead to book a table, as space in the limelight is at a premium. Once here, focus on the cocktails; dinner is overpriced and mediocre.

Just Cavalli Café
Via L. Camoens
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 311-817
In a leafy spot at the foot of Giò Ponti's Torre Branca within the Sempione Park, this glass-walled temple to Roberto Cavalli looks like a set for one of the flashy fashion designer's ads: think chairs in muted animals prints, loud techno music spun by an in-house DJ and hordes of beautiful people spilling into the adjacent garden in the warmer months. You may not be able to afford Cavalli's €1,000 ($1,200) jeans, but for €10 you can splash out on his cocktails or wine (€5 for wine). The restaurant serves food from 8.30pm to 1am.

Light
Via Maroncelli 8 (entrance on Via Speri)
Milan 20154
Tel: +39 (02) 6269-0631
Fashion-conscious Milanese come to Light for its elegantly chic atmosphere. Dinner and after-work cocktails are served by unintimidating staff (though customers tend to make sideways glances at everyone who walks by). The wildly coloured bathrooms may seem radical, but as one sharp-eyed guest noted, “They bought that toilet plunger at IKEA.”

Milano
Via Procaccini 37
Milan 20154
Tel: +39 (02) 36536060
Opened in 2004 by the same team that owns the Roialto, Milano is one of the most sophisticated spots for a drinking bout in northern Milan. In a vast former industrial space, it is divided up into mini “lounge” areas, each furnished with 1950s' furniture and art. In the evenings, the place is packed with 30-somethings sipping cocktails and flicking through coffee-table books and style magazines.

Shu 
Via Molino delle Armi (at Via della Chiusa)
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 58315720
Shu is a handsome bar designed by the tousle-haired Fabio Novembre (a young Milanese architect popular with glossy magazines). The lighting changes each evening: if you are lucky you will be bathed in a flattering red glow - though on some nights, the sickly green glow turns everyone into E.T. Look out for the huge hands propping up the ceiling, and the mirror peppered with real bullet marks in the restaurant area. The food is average, but the cocktails are rather good.

Scimmie
Via Ascanio Sforza 49
Milan 20136
Tel: +39 (02) 894-02874
In the heart of the Navigili quarter, Scimmie (“monkeys”) is a classic jazz joint, with live music most nights. In the adjoining restaurant you can see (but not hear) the musicians.

Le Trottoir a la Darsena
Piazza XXIV Maggio 1
Milan 20143
Tel: +39 (02) 837-8166
This self-styled “intellectual” bar has moved from the Brera district to the inside of a large former customs building at the end of Corso di Porta Ticinese in the canal area. Come here for excellent cocktails at reasonable prices, soulful chill out music, and a slightly older crowd.

APERITIF & AFTER-DINNER
Even the stars of fashion are not immune to the allure of a good aperitif. The cocktails most in demand at the moment are those served in the bars of the city's most exclusive hotels, where the models and foreign designers stay while in town for the shows.

HOTEL FOUR SEASONS
Via Gesù, 8
luxurious, chic

BAR CAFÉ RADETZKY
Corso Garibaldi 105
Young and the not-so-young clients from the fashion and advertising industries. Lots of quick snacks, great bakery treats! trendy

BAR MAGENTA
Via Carducci 13
A traditional Milanese meeting place, an ideal stop-off for an aperitif or night-cap. A raucous and very busy brasserie bar with bench seating in the centre. Favoured by the scions of Milanese high-society. Self-serve sandwiches and light snacks.trendy

EXPLOIT
Via Pioppette, 3
Ph 02 894 086 75
Famous for the Italo-American jazz brunch on week-ends. An interesting aperitif during the week.
jazz-brunch, trendy

HOP
Viale Regina Margherita, 49
Situated right in front of the magnificent Rotonda della Besana, it's the bar of the Milanese brewery Burrificio Lambrate.
giovane, trendy

ROIALTO
Via Piero della Francesca, 55
One of the best places to go for happy hour. The crowd mainly consists of employees of RAI, designers and graphic artists. 
Lounge bar, trendy

GATTOPARDO CAFÈ'
Via Piero della Francesca, 47
A de-consecrated chapel which has sacrificed its holy past on the altar of trendiness. barocco, trendy bar

LE BICICLETTE
Via Torti Corner of Via Conca del Naviglio
Post-modern decor and efficient service, friendly encounters and courtesy of the exhibits by artists and designers. Excellent brunch on week-ends.
Trendy

JULIEN CAFÉ
Via Carlo Maria Maggi, 6
This pulse point of the fashion scene is always full, frequented by creative professionals, models and advertising people.
It is characterised by Framed partitions lit by innumerable tiny lights, velvet and by its many small tables and chairs. You can get a bite to eat quite late, the crowd permitting! A card reader is on hand on Wednesday nights and 60's night is on Thursdays.

ATM
Bastioni di Porta Volta, 15
Formerly the ticket office of the Municipal Transport Authority, the offices are now a post-modern and Baroque bar, with a breathtaking view of the city's traffic. Frequented by foreigners and creative types. Serves snacks, sushi and original drinks with rock and pop music in the background.

LE TROTTOIR
Via Tivoli 2
Originally a tobacco shop, it's now a pub with cultural discussions wafting through the air, full at every hour of the day. A must stop for Milan-by-night explorer. The bar is on the ground floor, restaurant open late is located on the first floor. closed circuit TV lends a post-modern touch. A keyboard is provided for impromptu performances, art decks the walls. Event night are scheduled weekly. A Beach Party, for example, is held on Tuesdays. Exhibitions and gatherings are frequent diversions here.

 DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY

It's often possible to meet famous people from fashion, show business and sport late at night in one of these discos. They are not necessarily the trendiest, loudest, and most popular, such as Magazzini Generali, Plastic are today. But habits are hard to change...

HOLLYWOOD
Corso Como 15
the fashion temple of Milan. Frequented by models, show business personalities, as well as celebrities from sports and fashion. Often the site of closed parties. All this adds up to a constant full house! For anyone who manages to get in, an evening of star gazing is guaranteed. The music ranges from pop to rock, from oldies to underground.

MAGAZZINI GENERALI
Via Pietrasanta 14
Huge disco-bar on two floors located in an old refurbished hangar with a variety of music. The top floor is intended for conversation while dancers below pull out all the stops. There is a concert stage for frequent live performances. No cover with a drink minimum.

PLASTIC
Viale Umbria 120
A favorite among the gay crowd and extravagant characters, Plastic is the focal point for Milan's night time crazies. Dark, smoky, filled with boys'n'girls dancing on cubes to the sound of House, Underground and Jungle.

SHOCKING CLUB
Bastioni di Porta Nuova, 12
This favorite among VIP's and models is still going strong! Pounded on week-ends by garage, hip-hop, underground and house music, the club puts on its drag-rags for "Le fleurs du mal" on Wednesdays and dresses up for Thursday's "Glamour Night" by Ugo Fava. Elegant Ambience.

G-LOUNGE
Via Larga 7
Disco-bar,restaurant, Trendy

BILLY
Viale Forlanini
Disco, Fashion-Trendy

ALCATRAZ
Via Valtellina, 25

ROLLING STONE
Corso XXII Marzo 32
Q Via Padova, 21

GASOLINE CLUB
Via Bonnet, 11
Rock, Brit-Pop, trendy