This most elegant of bars in Milan, Living, ticks a lot of boxes for the local jeunesse dorée: elegant surroundings, a black-clad like-minded crowd, lounge music, and a subtle sense of self-importance.

And indeed Living offers many likeable elements, not least its modern, elephant grey and orange décor with plenty of parking options: barstools at the mother-of-pearl mosaic bar, cosy corners heaped with matching patterned cushions, civilized leather chairs and tables; it also has a Mediterranean restaurant and over a hundred different vodkas.

With tall, arched windows that nod to the imposing neo-classical backdrop of Arco della Pace (Milan’s answer to L’Arc de Triomphe built for Napoleon), you can choose your own entertainment: social observation or cultural assimilation.

In summer, you can opt for birdsong over lounge music when the bar takes over the pedestrianized space outside by the arch.