A classic sightseeing tour on your first day here can actually be a really good way to get a feeling of the city and of which things are in the same area. Here we have a list of the best tours Milan has to offer.
With thedouble-deckers you can buy tickets for either 24 or 48 holurs (repspectively €22 and €25) with departure from Piazza Castello (find on map)
In Milan you can also do your sightseeing from a tram, TraMilano, a charming and different way to vist the tourist attractions. The trip includes a professional guide, food and drinks and pick-up from your hotel.
If you have the MilanoCard you get a 15% discount on tickets.
Vintage Tour
Vintage Tour Milano offers private and semi private tours of Milan on a classic red Fiat 500.
Segway tours
See Milan from a segway – for details go here – in small groups with 8 participants, choose between the day trip of 3 hours. or the night trip of 2.5 hours. Both trips are €75 and there is a 30 minute orientation before the trip begins.
Tours on the canals (April-September)
You can go on a boat trip back and forth on the Milanese navigli and see the city from a different perspective – Milan is no Copenhagen, Venice or Amsterdam though.
Optinonally you can take the boat trip and aperitivo, you can book it here.
Sightseeing on bicycle with a guide
Bicycle store Rossignoli, located at 71, Corso Garibaldi (find on map) organize tours of the city on bicycle in Italian and English and to book and get information call +3902804960 some days in advance.
There are also other guided tours of Milan in bicycle in English. Here are the 3 most popular ones:
The view from the roof of Duomo is breathtaking especially on clear days, where you can see the Alps t’s a really good idea to reserve tickets in advance so you can skip the line. Book here.
If you’re in Milan for 72 hours or less, you should consider getting a MilanoCard. Read more here.
For an overview of what is on at different museums check out our weekly calendar here for information. and the events calendar on the right-hand side of the website/at the bottom of the page on phones and tablets
Milan has several museums worth visiting. But if you can – visit them during the week and leave the queues at the weekend to the others.
If you’re in Milan for 72 hours or less, you should consider getting a MilanoCard. Read more here.
You can visit many of Milan’s museums for free on every first Sunday of every month.
The ultimate art collection in Milan featuring masterpieces by the classical Italian masters; Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci just to mention a couple, the building itself is incredibly beautiful. –>28, Via Brera (find on map)
With the opening of Palazzo Citterio in December 2024 Pinacoteca di Brera’s dream of a “La Grande Brera” (Greater Brera) came true, Palazzo Cittrtio is an extension of Pinacoteca di Brera’s exhibition space, exhibits of materpieces of modern and contemporary as well as the collection, can be seen here. The palazzo is from the 1700s. –> 12, Via Brera (find on map)
There is also a Grande Brera app, download it here.
This amazing building was the seat for the local government of the city of Milan and is an important cultural center today and houses important exhibitions and events. -> 12, Piazza Duomo (find on map)
Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece “The Last Supper” is located next to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie in the Cenacolo Vinciano and is a definite must-see, to get in you must book tickets well in advance here. If you cannot get tickets online, don’t despair; you can call this number +390292800360 and press 2 for English. You have to pay by credit card. –> 2, Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie (find on map)
One of Milan’s most overlooked museums. This museum and library has an astounding collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s cartoons (charcoal drawings) and notebooks. Definitely worth a visit. –> 2, Piazza Pio XI Between Via Torino and Cordusio. (find on map).
One of Italy’s largest banks Intesa San Paolo have opened their private collections to the public on Piazza della Scala, right in the center of the city. It is an impressive exhibiton and there is no admission fee. .–> Piazza della Scala 6 (find on map)
The museum is housed in an old tram deposit from the 1930s in Milan’s China Town area. It is centered around the prestigious Compasso d’Oro prize awarded for excellence in industrial design. -> 1, Piazzza Comasso d’Oro (find on map)
Museum for contemporary art and culture co-headed by famous designer Miuccia Prada. The foundation has operated since 1993 and organizes, amongst other things, film festivals. On May 9th 2015 they inaugurated their new venue in Milan – very impressive architecture. FONDAZIONE PRADA’s Bar Luce is designed by film director Wes Anderson. Bar Luce recreates the atmosphere of a typical Milanese café –> 2, Largo Isarco (find on map)
The museum of the twentieth century, at Piazza Duomo, opened in 2010 after the collection’s original home in Palazzo Reale had been closed in 1988. It’s Milan’s municipal collection of paintings and sculpture from the twentieth century. The collection opens with Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo’s fantastic Fourth Estate. -> Via Guglielmo Marconi (South side of Piazza Duomo) (find on map)
With the opening of Palazzo Citterio in December 2024 Pinacoteca di Brera’s dream of a “Grande Brera” (Greater Brera) came true, Palazzo Cittrtio is an extension of Pinacoteca di Brera’s exhibition space, exhibits of materpieces of modern and contemporary as well as the collection, can be seen here. The palazzo is from the 1700s. –> 12, Via Brera (find on map)
La Triennale di Milano is Milan’s Design museum with a huge permanent collection of design but it is also the main Italian venue for architecture, visual and decorative arts, design, fashion and audio/video. The terrace of Triennale is very cool and has a breathtaking view, good place for brunch and aperitivo, -> 6, Viale Alemagna (find on map)
Situated in a gorgeous villa in Via Palestro. This villa is one of Milan’s finest examples of neoclassical architecture and hosts both contemporary photo exhibitions and paintings from the 19th century.. -> Via Palestro (find on map)
PAC houses a beautiful collection of contemporary art. It was re-opened in 1979 after a thorough restructuring of the building, (the mafia had a bomb explode here in 1993). The exhibitions are changed frequently.. -> 14, Via Palestro (find on map)
Milan’s most experimental contemporary museum. It’s located in an old factory and houses very interesting exhibits and installations. Take the metro out there (purple line, get off at Ponale) –> 2, Via Chiese (find on map)
The steam factory (literally) is a cultural centre in Milan that organizes art exhibitions, music festivals, theatre, conferences and more. The building complex is huge and definitely worth a visit. –> 4, Via Giulio Cesare Proccaccini (find on map).
Milan’s permanent exhibition of more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculpture and engravings by Italian artists starting from 1886 all the way up to today. The museum itself was designed by renowned architect Luca Beltrami and was opened in 1886.. –> 34, Via Turati (find on map).
Fondazione Prada’s location in the center of Milan dedicated to photography and visual arts. It is situated at the top of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with a view of the glass Octagonal at its center. –> Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (find on map)
This museum, which was inaugurated on April 30th 2015, celebrates Giorgio Armani’s 40-year anniversary as a designer. The museum has been created by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando. 4 floors with historical creations. The museum is located in the Tortona design neighbourhood. Always check whether the mueseum is open before going there, they close for fashion week and frequently between exhibits –> 40, Via Bergognone (find on map)
This beautiful historical building located within the Quadrilatero della Moda Milan’s exclusive fashion dsitrict houses collections of decorative and fine arts and exhibits about fahsion. The museum is closed on Mondays. –> 6, Via Sant’Andrea (find on map)
The Diocesan Museum is housed in the antique cloisters of Sant’Eustorgio and contains over 700 art works spanning from the 4th century up till today including some very fine sculptures by artist Lucio Fontana. –> 95, Corso di Porta Ticinese (find on map)
The museum of Milan’s cathedral was originally opened in 1953 but re-opened in 2013 after a long period of renovation. It is a record of the history of the cathedral and covers a period spanning from the 15th to the 20th century. –> 12, Piazza Duomo (find on map)
This incredibly beautiful church from 1503 is famous for its frescos, which have earned it the nickname the Sistine Chapel of Milan. It is open every day from 9.30 am-7.30 pm except on Mondays. -> 15, Corso Magenta (find on map)
Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio is Milan’s oldest church (built in the fourth century AD) – here you can also see the exhibition about Milans patron saint and first bishop Saint Ambrose called “Ambrosius. The Treasure of the church.” -> 15, Piazza Sant’Ambrogio (find på kort)
The Leonardo Da Vinci museum is a must for children from age 6 and up. There is enough entertainment to last you several hours on a rainy day. The most diversely talented person ever to have lived is painter, inventor etc. Leonardo da Vinci, and Italy’s national technical museum, located in Milan, is also his official museum. It combines the chance to actually try out some of his inventions with the more traditional exhibitions. –> 21, Via San Vittore (find on map)
The children’s musum in Milan. where children can play, paint and create on their own terms. For children aged 2-11. –> 12, Via Enrico Besana (find on map).
Milan’s archeological museum in the heart of the city next to the incredibly beautiful Church of San Maurizio from 1503. -> 15, Corso Magenta (find on map)
The museum covers the historic events that led to the unification of the different states on the Italian peninsula to the kingsom of Italy between 1815 and 1871.Admission is free of charge. -> 23, Via Borgonovo (find on map).
The museum of the Scala Theatre, amust for all lovers of opera, ballet and classiscal music – . Instruments, costumes, busts and special exhibits. –> 1, Largo Chiringelli. Piazza Scala (find on map)
The Sforza castle from the 15th century built by .Francesco Sforza is a landmark in Milan and houses a large number of museums (that are closed on Mondays). –> Piazza Castello (find on map)
Museum homes
If you want to vist more than 1 museum home, consider getting the casa museo card, it gives free access to the first four museum homes on this list and is €25. Get yours here.
This home belonged to the two brothers the barons Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi, who collected 15th and 16th century art to decorate their home so that it reminded themselves and their guests of princely Lombard homes of the 16th century. It was inhabited by their descendants until 1974 when one of Giuseppe’s sons decided to create the Bagatti Valsecchi Foundation and donated the entire patrimony to it, at the same time the home was purchased by the region of Lombardy that opened the museum home to the public in 1994. –> 5, Via Gesù (find on map)
This villa from the 1930s by Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi is a country home with tennis courts and swimmingpool in the heart of Milan, it is managed by FAI, a foundation that protects and maintains places of historical, natural and cultural value all over Italy. –> 14, Via Mozart (find on map)
One of Milan’s most interesting private museums founded by art collector Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (1768-1833) it contains works by some of the greatest Italian painters e, g. Botticelli, Belini and Hauez. –> 12, Via Alessandro Manzoni (find on map)
This gem which was the private home of married art collectors was opened to the public in 2003 and contains their private collection by some of the finest painters from the twentieth century. A unique look into a private home. –> 15, Via G. Jan (find on map)
Achille Castiglioni who died in 2002 was an Italian designer of furniture, lighting, radiograms a.o. his studio has been turned into a museum and is run privately by the Achille Castiglioni foundation. You have to book your ticket online here. –> 27, Piazza Castello (find on map).
The metro lines, buses, trams and the railway link
Milan has 5 metro lines plus a lot of buses and trams.
The metro lines that connect the rest of the city to and from Milan’s different stations and Linate airport are:
Central Station (Milano Centrale) – the green and yellow lines (M2 and M3)
Stazione Cadorna – the red and green lines (M1 and M2)
Stazione Garibaldi – the green and purple lines (M2 and M5)
Linate airport – the blue line (M4)
The map also shows where to change between the different lines.
Furthermore Milan has the Passante Railway, an underground railway which runs through Milan and connects to the metro lines at the stops Porta Garibaldi (M2 and M5),Repubblica (M3), Rogoredo (M3) and Porta Venezia (M1).
Tickets and payment
As of May 7th 2024 paper tickets are no longer available for purchase, instead you have to get the rechargeable plastic card RicaricaMi at metro stations either at the newsstands or at the automatic checkouts in the metro, the card is nonnominal, and you can upload up to 30 tickets for the same area, one 24-hour ticket, one 72-hour ticket or 5 carnets to it at a time – if you want to upload tickets for other areas you must either first finish all the tickets on your card or get another one. Each person over 14 years of age need their own card.
1 ticket is valid for 90 minutes inside Area 1 (white on the drawing above), which consists of 21 municpalities and has the codes Mi1-Mi3, on all means of transport including trains. If you wish to go beyond this area, the price increases area from Mi4 to Mi9. You can also buy a carnet with 10 tickets and get a small discount on the price for each ticket. Children under 14 travel for free. You can also get a 24-hour ticket and a 72-hour ticket.
Furthermore you can use your creditcard or your phone app to buy tickets both in the metro, directly at the turnstile, and on buses and trams , if you use the same card more than 3 times in a day your ticket is automatically converted into a 24-hour ticket, thus making it cheaper. Remember to use the same card you used to check in to check out again.
The public transport app
Get the official app for Milan’s public transport (ATM Milano Official App) – read more about it and find the link to download here.
If you’re in Milan for 72 hours or less and want to visit a lot of museums while here it is a good idea to buy the Milan city pass MilanoCard which allows you to use all public transport for free and gives a lot of discounts to museums and restaurants. You must order it online hereand then you can choose whether you want to receive as an email attacment or download the Milano Card app and activate it here, the links for download of the app are here.
To and from the airports – metro and train
If you’ve come to Milan by plane you’ve landed in either Linate, Malpensa or Orio al Serio. There are good connections with public transport from all three.
Linate is the airport closest to the city. Metro line 4 connects it to the city centre to metro stop San Babila where you can change to metro line 1.
Malpensa airport is about a 1-hour drive from Milan. You can either take the train (Malpensa Express) which goes to Cadorna in the center of Milan, a return ticket is cheaper than 2 one-way tickets, if you purchase it online, or you can take the Malpensa Shuttle, which brings you to the central station (Milano Centrale) here you also get a discount if you purchase a return ticket. We recommend that you take the shuttle at the weekend but the train during the week, because you risk getting stuck in traffic jams with the bus.
Departures from Milano Cadorna: first departing train 4.27 am, last departing train 23.27 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes Departures from Malpensa Terminal 2 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.27 am last departing train 0.20 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes Departures from Malpensa Terminal 1 – direction Milano Cadorna: first departing train 5.43 am, last departing train 0.26 pm. Trains run every 30 minutes
If it’s summer, or really any time of the year, and you want a really great chocolate ice cream there is a great place very close to Cadorna station Chocolat Milano at 9, Via Bocaccio (find on map).
Departures from Milano Centrale are once an hour and run between Milano Centrale, Milano Porta Garibaldi, Milano Bovisa and Terminals 1 and 2at Malpensa, The first departing train from Milano Centrale is 5.35 am, last departing train 11.25 pm. The first departing train from Malpensa direction Centrale is 5.43 am, last departing train is 10.43 pm.
Orio al Serio is actually closer to Bergamo than Milan and it’ll take you about 50 minutes to get to Milan. There is a shuttle service which goes to Milan’s central station (Milano centrale). You can also take a the public transport bus (ATB) , which gets you to Bergamo central station in about 10 minutes and here you can get the train to Milan. The trip takes about 40 minutes. Take into account that it’s a better idea to take the train during the week, because of possible traffic jams.
If you want to book train tickets from home you do that here
As in every big city in the world you must keep an eye on backpacks and bags when in the metro, there are many pickpockets that operate there, taking advantage of the fact that it’s crowded. Don’t keep your backpack on your back. Hold it in front of you.
The Central station is another place to be extra vigilant; lots of pickpockets take advantage of visitors’ distraction; one trick, they often use, is to ask if you need help when buying tickets. Refuse politely, but firmly
Taxis to and from the airport
Taxis with fixed fares Of course you could also take a taxi.There are fixed fares from the airports
IMPORTANT: Watch out for illegal taxis – the legal ones are white and have the Comune di Milano coat of arms on their front doors.
If you need to call for a taxi and don’t speak Italian the easiest thing is to use the official app FreeNow. Read more about it and find the link for downloading it here.
If you speak Italian, the phone number is: +39024040
GoOpti Airport Transfer
If your plane lands or departs at an ungodly hour (you’re the judge of that) there is an alternative to public transport and taxis; the company GoOpti offers cheap rides between airiports or from your door step to the airport and vice versa. You can book either shared or private rides. The sooner you book the cheaper it is. Book here.
Car sharing to and from Malpensa airport
Another option to go to and from Malpensa airport are two of the car sharing companies; Free2move and Enjoy, you must get and park these cars at the specially designated areas in the parking lots Read more about them and get the link for downloads here.
