Things to Do in Lombardy, Italy: City Guides

The best things to do in Lombardy range from exploring Milan’s art and architecture to discovering historic towns, Alpine valleys, broad plains, and the shores of its lakes. Italy’s most populous region brings together centuries of history, distinctive local traditions, and landscapes shaped by mountains, rivers, farming, and urban life. Neywo offers free audio guides for 8 cities in Lombardy, with 1,095 narrated places in total and 30 walking tours.

What to see and do in Lombardy

Lombardy is a region of contrasts. The Alps rise in the north, while the Po traces much of the southern border. Between them are cultivated plains, rivers, lakes, historic communities, and one of Italy’s most important metropolitan areas. These are some of the places to include in a Lombardy itinerary.

Explore Milan, the region’s capital

Milan is Lombardy’s largest city, Italy’s economic capital, and a global centre for business, fashion, and finance. Its history also reaches deep into the past: Milan became the capital of the Western Roman Empire and later developed into one of the wealthiest states of the Renaissance through the Duchy of Milan.

Among the city’s most important narrated places are Santa Maria delle Grazie, Basilica vetus, La Scala, and Sforza Castle. Milan is also the region’s main metropolitan centre, connected by railways, underground systems, roads, airports, rivers, and canals.

Visit Bergamo’s historic landmarks

Bergamo combines a strong historic identity with a rich cultural landscape. Its Neywo guide includes 109 narrated places, among them the Rocca, Accademia Carrara, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Bergamo Cathedral.

The city is one of the places that shows how Lombardy’s heritage extends beyond Milan. Its museums, religious buildings, and historic sites form part of the region’s wider network of towns and communities.

Discover Brescia’s layered history

Brescia offers 141 narrated places. The city’s highlights include the Monastery of Santa Giulia, Museo Mille Miglia, the Cappella della Vergine in San Salvatore, and Palazzo Beretta.

Its heritage reflects the succession of worlds that shaped Lombardy. The region was settled in prehistoric times, experienced successive invasions after the fall of the Western Empire, and became central to medieval Italy under the Lombards.

See Como and Lake Como

Como is one of Lombardy’s lake cities. Its audio guide covers 67 narrated places, including Como Cathedral, the Basilica of Sant’Abbondio, Casa del Fascio, and Como Civic Art Gallery.

The region’s lakes and inland water basins are an important part of its geography. They also help create the varied climates that distinguish Lombardy from one area to another.

Spend time in Bellagio

Bellagio is another place to experience the Lake Como area. The guide includes 20 narrated places, with the Antiquarium of the Villa Melzi, Museo degli Strumenti per la Navigazione, Lake Como, and the Chiesa dei Santi Materno e Ambrogio among its highlights.

Bellagio is a useful stop for seeing how Lombardy’s cultural heritage is distributed among smaller towns as well as major cities.

Explore Mantova’s Renaissance heritage

Mantova has 70 narrated places in the Neywo guide. Its principal sites include Palazzo del Te, the Camera degli Sposi, the Basilica of Sant’Andrea, and the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara.

The city belongs to the historic world of Renaissance Lombardy, when the Duchy of Milan and other powerful states shaped the region’s political and artistic importance.

Visit Sirmione and Limone sul Garda

On Lake Garda, Sirmione has 8 narrated places, including Museo Grotte di Catullo, Scaligero Castle, the Chiesa di San Francesco D’Assisi, and San Pietro in Mavino church. Limone sul Garda also has 8 narrated places, with the Museo del Turismo, Museo della Pesca, the birthplace of Daniele Comboni, and Saint Benedict church among them.

Together, these towns show the variety of Lombardy’s lakeside heritage, where museums, churches, historic buildings, and local stories share space with the region’s water landscapes.

Lombardy’s history and culture

The name Lombardy comes from the Lombards, who arrived in Italy in 568 and made Pavia their capital. Their kingdom controlled much of early Christian Italy, and their culture became foundational to medieval Italy. Their rule ended when Charlemagne captured Pavia in 774 on the Pope’s behalf.

Later, the region passed through further political changes. After the Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan passed to the Habsburgs of Spain, while Austrian rule eventually encountered ideals introduced during the Napoleonic era. Lombardy’s history is therefore not a single continuous story, but a succession of political and cultural worlds.

The region’s culture is equally varied. Lombard is widely used alongside Italian, and the first texts written in vernacular Lombard date from the 13th century. The coat of arms carries the Camunian rose, an ancient solar symbol found among the rock drawings of Valcamonica. Lombardy has also produced figures including Caravaggio, Claudio Monteverdi, and Antonio Stradivari.

Beyond its major cities, Lombardy has many small historic villages and more than 300 museums dedicated to history, science, art, and nature. Music, traditional festivals, local speech, and community gatherings continue to give the region a culture that is both historic and lived.

Explore Lombardy with Neywo

Neywo has free audio guides for 8 cities in Lombardy, covering 1,095 narrated places in total through 30 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo and explore at your own pace: each story plays as you reach the place, so the app tells you what you are seeing when you arrive. There is no group and no schedule—just the city, your route, and the stories around you.