Milan

Milan has one attraction that requires more advance planning than almost anything else in Italy — Leonardo’s Last Supper — and a cathedral whose ticketing confuses nearly everyone. Beyond those two, the city is straightforward and often visited in a day, which is usually a day too short.

This page compares live ticket prices and availability for Milan attractions across our booking partners.

When to visit Milan

April to June and September to October are the best months. Comfortable temperatures and the city working at full pace.

July and August are hot and humid, and Milan empties in August as residents leave. Many restaurants and shops close for two or three weeks.

November to March is cold and often foggy. Prices drop, museums are quiet, and the shopping — which is a genuine reason people come here — is at its best during the January sales.

Fashion Week in February and September, and the Salone del Mobile design fair in April, fill every hotel in the city and double the rates. Check dates before booking.

The Last Supper

Leonardo’s mural in Santa Maria delle Grazie is the hardest ticket in Italy.

Only 35 people are admitted at a time, for a strictly enforced 15 minutes, in timed groups. Tickets are released in blocks a few months ahead and sell out within hours of release.

There is no walk-up option and no flexibility on the time.

If tickets are gone, some guided tours hold allocations — they cost more but are often the only remaining route in.

Closed Mondays.

Set a reminder for the release date if this matters to your trip. It’s the one thing in Milan you cannot fix on arrival.

The Duomo

The cathedral complex has separate tickets for separate parts, which is where confusion starts.

Cathedral interior is one ticket. The rooftop terraces are another, and they’re sold with either lift or stairs access at different prices.

Combined passes cover the cathedral, terraces, the archaeological area and the museum.

The rooftop is the reason to come. Walking among the spires and buttresses with the city below is unlike any other cathedral experience in Europe. The stairs are 250 steps; the lift skips them for a few euros more.

Dress code enforced: shoulders and knees covered.

Security screening creates queues in the square. Booking a timed slot online avoids the worst.

Galleria and the fashion district

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is free, open, and one of the most beautiful shopping arcades in the world. The mosaic bull on the floor is a tradition — spinning your heel on it is said to bring luck.

The Quadrilatero della Moda is the fashion quarter, four streets of flagship stores. Free to walk, expensive to enter.

Navigli, the canal district, is where the evening happens. Aperitivo here — a drink with an included buffet — is a Milanese institution and often replaces dinner.

Booking ahead vs walking up

Day trips

Lake Como is an hour by train to Como or Varenna, and the most popular escape from the city. A full day, easily.

Bergamo is 50 minutes by train and its walled upper town is one of the most underrated places in northern Italy.

Verona is around 90 minutes and works as a long day trip.

Getting around

The metro is efficient and covers the centre well. Contactless payment works at the gates.

The historic centre is walkable — the Duomo to Sforza Castle is fifteen minutes through the Galleria and Via Dante.

Milan’s train stations connect to most of northern Italy, and Malpensa airport is 50 minutes by express train.

A first-timer’s two days

Day one — the centre. Duomo interior and rooftop in the morning, Galleria, Quadrilatero della Moda, then Sforza Castle and Parco Sempione in the afternoon.

Day two — Leonardo and the canals. Last Supper with a booked slot, Santa Maria delle Grazie, then Navigli for the afternoon and aperitivo in the evening.