Museums · Milan · Italy
6 best museums in Milan
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain
Quick answer
Start with The Last Supper, Pinacoteca di Brera and Pinacoteca and Biblioteca Ambrosiana. Together the 6 picks below take roughly 9–10 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 6
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 9–10 hours
- Areas
- Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio, Brera and Centro Storico
Museums in Milan
Gallery · Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio
1.The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci painted his mural of Christ's last meal in the 1490s on the refectory wall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
- Time needed
- 15 minutes inside, 45 minutes total
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
Gallery · Brera
2.Pinacoteca di Brera
One of Italy's leading art museums, in the Palazzo di Brera, holds Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin, Mantegna's Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Piero della Francesca's Brera Madonna, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus and Hayez's The Kiss.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
Gallery · Centro Storico
3.Pinacoteca and Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Founded in the early 17th century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, the Ambrosiana combines a historic library with a gallery holding Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit, Leonardo's Portrait of a Musician and Raphael's full-size cartoon for The School of Athens.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Gallery · Porta Romana
4.Fondazione Prada
A former gin distillery transformed by Rem Koolhaas's OMA into a contemporary art complex, including a building covered in gold leaf and a white concrete tower with views over the city.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio
5.Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology
Italy's largest science and technology museum fills a former monastery with working models of Leonardo's machines, locomotives, aircraft and the bridge of an ocean liner.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Gallery · Centro Storico
6.Museo del Novecento
Inside the Arengario palace on Piazza del Duomo, a spiral ramp leads up through Italian 20th-century art, including Futurist works by Umberto Boccioni, Giorgio de Chirico and Lucio Fontana, whose neon installation hangs in a window facing the cathedral.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Views
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio | The Last Supper and Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology | 15 minutes inside, 45 minutes total + 2–3 hours |
| Brera | Pinacoteca di Brera | 2 hours |
| Centro Storico | Pinacoteca and Biblioteca Ambrosiana and Museo del Novecento | 1.5 hours + 1.5 hours |
| Porta Romana | Fondazione Prada | 2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 6, 1 low cost, 5 mid-priced. Book ahead for The Last Supper. The longest visit is Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- The Last Supper: Tickets are released in batches and sell out weeks or months ahead; book on the official site as early as possible or join a guided tour.
How to fit them into 3 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio): The Last Supper → Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, at least 2 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Brera and Centro Storico): Pinacoteca di Brera → Pinacoteca and Biblioteca Ambrosiana, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Centro Storico and Porta Romana): Museo del Novecento → Fondazione Prada, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- January: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold and often foggy; winter sales fill the shops and museums are quiet.
- August: highs of 29°C (84°F), about 7 rainy days, quiet crowds. Many Milanese leave around Ferragosto, so some shops and restaurants close, but hotel prices fall.
- February: highs of 9°C (48°F), about 6 rainy days, moderate crowds. Cold with sunny spells; Fashion Week raises hotel prices for several days.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Centro Storico — The Duomo, the Galleria, La Scala and the main shopping streets
- Brera — Cobbled artists' quarter of galleries, boutiques and candlelit restaurants
- Magenta and Sant'Ambrogio — Elegant residential streets around The Last Supper and Sant'Ambrogio
More of Milan
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Milan?
The Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci painted his mural of Christ's last meal in the 1490s on the refectory wall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.