Milan historic centre walk: from the Duomo through the Galleria, La Scala and Brera to the Sforza Castle, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Milan. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at Duomo metro station and finish at Cadorna, beside the Sforza Castle: 2.8 km, about 40 minutes of walking and a full day with the visits. Go Tuesday to Saturday. The Pinacoteca di Brera, Palazzo Citterio, the castle museums and the Gallerie d’Italia are shut on Mondays, the Orto Botanico di Brera is shut on Sundays and the Duomo Museum on Wednesdays. The Pinacoteca takes reservations only, and the castle museums stop selling tickets at 16:30. The Galleria, the squares and the castle courtyards are free; the cathedral is from €8, La Scala museum €12, the Pinacoteca €20 and the castle museums €10. Or book a tour: the Historic Walking Tourad is from €35 for two hours.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The route runs north from the Duomo through the Galleria to La Scala, up Via Brera to the gallery and the botanical garden, and west to the Sforza Castle. The Last Supper is not on it: it needs a timed ticket, and the end of this page says how to fit one. The 3 days in Milan plan spreads the same sights over three days; this page puts them in walking order with the days they are open. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories, and none of these includes entry to the sights above unless it says so. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person. Milan walking tours compares them with the free tip-based walks.

• Milan: Historic Walking Tourad: from €35, 4.5 stars, 2 hours.
• Milan by Night 2-Hour Walking Tourad: from €44, 4.4 stars, 2 hours. It runs this route in reverse, from the Filarete Tower in Piazza Castello through the castle courtyards to La Scala and the Galleria, and ends at the Duomo.
• Guided Walking Tour with Last Supper Skip-the-Linead: from €90, 4.7 stars, 3 hours, with a Last Supper ticket included.
• Sforza Castle and Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini Tourad: from €50, 4.6 stars, 1.5 hours, with the castle museums ticket included.

1. Piazza del Duomo and the Duomo

Cathedral €8 on Wednesdays, €10 with the museum on other days · daily 9:00 to 19:00 · Piazza del Duomo

Duomo metro station, on lines M1 and M3, comes up in Piazza del Duomo, 150 m from the cathedral’s front. Work on the Duomo began in 1386, and the gilded Madonnina has stood on the main spire since 1774. Duomo tickets has the lift, the terraces and the dress code.

• Tickets: the cathedral is €8 on Wednesdays, when the museum is shut, and €10 with the Duomo Museum and San Gottardo on other days. The Combo Stairs is €22 and the Combo Lift €26, each with the terraces and valid for two days. Buy at duomomilano.it.
• Hours: the cathedral and the terraces are open daily 9:00 to 19:00, and the terraces close in bad weather. The museum and San Gottardo open 10:00 to 19:00, and the museum, San Gottardo and the archaeological area are shut on Wednesdays.
• Free days: the cathedral and the Duomo Museum are free on Wednesday 4 November 2026 from 9:00 to 16:00, with booking at duomomilano.it, two places to a booking. The museum alone is free on the last Sunday of the month, 29 November and 27 December.
• The gate: every visitor’s bag and pockets are checked at the entrance, and luggage and glass are not allowed in.

Walk to the Galleria: 180 m across the square.

2. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Free · the shops and cafés keep their own hours · Piazza del Duomo

The Galleria joins Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala under a glass-and-iron roof. Giuseppe Mengoni built it between 1865 and 1877, and it is the oldest active shopping arcade in Italy. Walk to the Octagon in the middle, where the dome rises over the crossing of the two arms.

The entrance of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II from Piazza del Duomo. Photo: Paolobon140, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Camparino in Galleria: the bar at Piazza Duomo 21 is on the walk, and aperitivo in Milan has its prices.
• Cracco in Galleria: a café on the same arcade, open daily 8:00 to midnight.
• The roof: the Highline Galleria, a roof walk over the arcade, is on best views in Milan, with its price and closed days.

Walk through the arm to Piazza della Scala: 190 m.

3. Piazza della Scala

La Scala museum €12 · daily 9:30 to 17:30 · Gallerie d’Italia €6 · Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 19:00 · Piazza della Scala

The Teatro alla Scala opened in 1778, and a monument to Leonardo da Vinci stands in the middle of the square. Palazzo Marino, Milan’s town hall, also faces the square, and two sights open on to it. A ticket to La Scala museum is the way into the theatre itself.

The Piazza della Scala front of Palazzo Marino, the town hall, built in 1888 to 1892. Photo: Giovanni Dall’Orto, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 it.

• La Scala museum: €12, with an online fee on top. It is open every day 9:30 to 17:30, with the last entry at 17:00. The ticket looks into the auditorium from the third-tier boxes, only when there is no rehearsal, performance or event; the museum’s “best view” calendar says when. It is shut on 7, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, and the season opens on 7 December. La Scala tickets has the rest.
• Gallerie d’Italia: €6, open Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 19:00, with the last admission an hour before closing. It is shut on Mondays. Until 25 November 2026 inclusive it is entered from Via Manzoni 10, not from the square. Admission is free on Wednesday 4 November and on the first Sunday of each month. Best museums in Milan has the collections.
• Performances: tickets come only from the theatre’s own channels, and the theatre can refuse entry on any other.

Walk north into Via Brera to Palazzo Citterio: 430 m.

4. Palazzo Citterio

€12, or €20 with the Pinacoteca · Tuesday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:15 · Via Brera 12 to 14

Palazzo Citterio is an 18th-century palace that opened to the public on 8 December 2024 as part of the Grande Brera. It holds a permanent collection and the Carlo Maria Mariani exhibition, both on the Grande Brera ticket.

• Tickets: €12 for Palazzo Citterio alone. The Grande Brera ticket is €20 and fixes the date and time of the Pinacoteca visit; entry to Palazzo Citterio is then valid for the same day and the next six days. Reserve on Brera Booking.
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:15, with the last admission at 18:00. It is closed on 1 May, 25 December and 1 January.
• Free: the first Sunday of the month, with a reservation: 1 November, 6 December and 3 January.
• Rules: guided tours of any kind are not allowed, whether run by outside operators or by visitors themselves. Visits are independent.

Walk up Via Brera to the Pinacoteca: 250 m.

5. Pinacoteca di Brera and the Orto Botanico

Pinacoteca €20, reserved · Tuesday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:15 · Orto Botanico free, Monday to Saturday · Via Brera 28

The Pinacoteca di Brera is the gallery of the old Brera palace, and its courtyard has Canova’s bronze Napoleon in the middle. Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin, Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus and Mantegna’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ are among the works it names as its masterpieces. Brera has the full list.

The Via Brera front of the Palazzo di Brera. Photo: WillyCortez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Tickets: the Grande Brera ticket is €20, or €4 for ages 18 to 25, and covers Palazzo Citterio. Reservations are required: on Brera Booking, at the ticket office or on +39 02 72105141, daily 9:00 to 18:00. An audio guide is €5.
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 8:30 to 19:15, with the last entrance at 18:00. It is closed every Monday, on 1 May, 25 December and 1 January. The first Sunday of the month is free with a reservation.
• The Orto Botanico di Brera: the university’s botanical garden is entered from Via Brera 28 and Via Fratelli Gabba 10 and is free. From 1 November to 31 March it is open Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 16:30, excluding public holidays, so it is shut on Sundays. No food or dogs are allowed.

Walk to the castle’s gate: 950 m, past Piazza del Carmine and along Foro Buonaparte. Lanza, on M2, is 690 m from the gallery if you stop here.

6. The Sforza Castle courtyards

Free · daily 7:00 to 19:30 · Piazza Castello

The Torre del Filarete is the castle’s main gate, and it opens on the Cortile delle Armi, the large parade courtyard, with the Rocchetta and the Corte Ducale beyond. The courtyards are free to cross every day, and the museums sit around them. Beside the gate, the circular fountain of Piazza Castello plays in front of the Torrione del Carmine, one of the castle’s round towers.

The Torrione del Carmine and the fountain in Piazza Castello. Photo: Terragio67, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Hours: the courtyards are open daily 7:00 to 19:30. The Infopoint is open Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 17:30.
• The battlements: the Panoramic Battlements are a separate €10 ticket, open Tuesday to Sunday with the last entry at 17:00, in groups of up to 25 every 20 minutes. They do not include the museums.

Walk through the gate to the Pietà Rondanini: 160 m.

7. The castle museums and the Pietà Rondanini

€10 for every museum · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:30 · last entry 16:30 · Piazza Castello

One ticket covers every museum in the castle, including the Ancient Egypt Gallery, and is valid for the day it is issued. Michelangelo’s unfinished Pietà Rondanini is in the former Spanish Hospital on the Cortile delle Armi, an infirmary for the garrison whose painted decoration the castle dates to about 1576. Sforza Castle has the museums in order.

• Tickets: €10, or €5 reduced. Sold at the museum ticket office or online, and not refundable.
• Free: everyone on the first Sunday of the month, and visitors up to 25 on the second Tuesday.
• Hours: the museums are closed every Monday, on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. The ticket office stops selling at 16:30, and the last entry to each section is then.
• Guided visit: a €20 visit with the museum ticket included runs every weekend at 11:00, in English on Saturdays and in Italian on Sundays. Meet at the Infopoint at 10:45, no booking. The audio guide is €5 and does not cover the Ancient Egypt Gallery.

Walk to Cadorna: 470 m from the museum entrance, along Piazza Castello.

8. Cadorna

Metro M1 and M2 · the Malpensa Express stops at Cadorna

Cadorna is the end of the walk, on the red M1 and green M2 lines, and the Malpensa Express stops at Cadorna FN. Cairoli, on M1, is 210 m from the castle gate if you prefer the shorter way out.

• The Last Supper: Santa Maria delle Grazie and Leonardo’s refectory are 800 m from Cadorna, off the line on purpose. Entry is by named ticket for a 15-minute slot, booked weeks ahead, with a hard deadline: be at the ticket office 30 minutes early or the ticket is lost. A slot cannot be moved to fit a route, so the route moves to fit the slot. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 8:15 to 19:00 and shut on Mondays.
• With a slot: run the walk in reverse. Start at Cadorna, see the Last Supper, then reach the castle museums when they open at 10:00. Last Supper tickets has the release dates.
• The church: the basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie is a separate visit that the Last Supper ticket does not cover. San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, at Corso Magenta 15, is on the way and is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:30. Best churches in Milan has the hours.

Where to eat

Luini

Via Santa Radegonda 16 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 20:00 · closed Sundays

A bakery since 1888, known for panzerotti, folded pockets of dough with a filling, sold fried or baked and made to order. It is 300 m from the cathedral’s front, and its site lists extra openings in November and December. Where to eat in Milan has the restaurants.

Camparino in Galleria

Piazza Duomo 21 · Bar di Passo Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 23:00, Sunday 9:30 to 22:00 · Campari Seltz €15

The Campari bar of the Galleria, at the second stop, opened as Camparino in 1915. Its aperitivo bites are €10 a dish. Aperitivo in Milan has the others.

Cracco in Galleria

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II · café daily 8:00 to midnight · restaurant Tuesday to Friday 12:30 to 15:00 and 19:30 to 22:00, Monday and Saturday dinner only, closed Sunday

The café is open all day. The restaurant holds one Michelin star.

The best day to go

The timing that works, on a Tuesday to Saturday: the cathedral and terraces at 9:00, the Galleria at 11:00, La Scala museum from 11:30, lunch, the Pinacoteca at a reserved slot from 13:30, and the Orto Botanico before it closes at 16:30. Walk on to the castle for the courtyards, which stay open to 19:30; the museums stop selling tickets at 16:30, so they need their own morning. For a full day of museums, reverse the walk: the castle museums at 10:00, the Orto Botanico at 12:30, the Pinacoteca from 13:30, La Scala museum by 16:00, then the Galleria and an aperitivo. The Duomo then gets the next morning.

What closes:

• Mondays: the Pinacoteca, Palazzo Citterio, the castle museums and the Gallerie d’Italia.
• Sundays: the Orto Botanico di Brera.
• Wednesdays: the Duomo Museum, San Gottardo and the archaeological area.
• 25 December and 1 January: the castle museums, the Pinacoteca and Palazzo Citterio; La Scala museum is also shut on 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
• 7 December 2026: La Scala museum, on the night the season opens.
• After 16:30: the last entry to the castle museums, and the closing time of the Orto Botanico. After 18:00: the last entry to the Pinacoteca and Palazzo Citterio.

What does not close: the Galleria, the squares and the castle courtyards, which are open daily until 19:30.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Duomo metro station is on M1 (red) and M3 (yellow). From Milano Centrale take M3 to Duomo. Milan public transport has the fares.
• From the end: Cadorna is on M1 and M2, with the Malpensa Express at Cadorna FN. Cairoli (M1) is 210 m from the castle gate and Lanza (M2) is 690 m from the Pinacoteca.
• In reverse: start at Cadorna and finish at the Duomo, one stop from Missori, where the Navigli and Ticinese walk starts.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The Navigli and Ticinese: the Navigli and Ticinese walk starts at Missori, the M3 stop after Duomo, and runs from the Colonne di San Lorenzo to the canals. From Piazza del Duomo the Colonne are 1.2 km south.
• The Last Supper: Last Supper tickets has the release dates, and Leonardo da Vinci in Milan lists what else of his is on show.
• Inside the sights: Duomo tickets, La Scala tickets, Brera and the Sforza Castle have the prices and hours.
• The park: Parco Sempione lies behind the castle, and the Arco della Pace stands at its far end: see 3 days in Milan.
• Guided walks: Milan walking tours sets the free tours against the paid ones.
• Where to sleep: hotels near the Duomo and where to stay in Milan compare the areas.

Common questions

How long is the Milan historic centre walk?

2.8 km from Duomo metro station to Cadorna, measured along the streets: about 40 minutes of walking. The visits fill a day. The Duomo, La Scala museum, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the castle museums each take their own ticket, and the Pinacoteca needs a reserved slot.

Which day is best for the Milan historic centre walk?

Tuesday to Saturday. The Pinacoteca di Brera, Palazzo Citterio, the Sforza Castle museums and the Gallerie d'Italia are shut on Mondays, the Orto Botanico di Brera is shut on Sundays and the Duomo Museum on Wednesdays. The castle museums stop selling tickets at 16:30.

Is the Milan historic centre walk free?

The Galleria, the squares and the Sforza Castle courtyards cost nothing, and so does the Orto Botanico di Brera. The cathedral is from €8, La Scala museum €12, the Gallerie d'Italia €6, Palazzo Citterio €12, the Pinacoteca di Brera €20 with Palazzo Citterio and the castle museums €10.

What do I need to book for the walk?

The Pinacoteca di Brera and Palazzo Citterio, which take reservations only. The Duomo, La Scala museum, the Gallerie d'Italia and the castle museums sell tickets on the day. The Last Supper is off the line and needs a named ticket for a 15-minute slot.

Is the Last Supper part of the walk?

No. It is 800 m from Cadorna, where the walk ends, and its timed slot cannot be moved. With a slot, run the walk in reverse: start at Cadorna, see the Last Supper, then reach the castle museums when they open at 10:00.

Where does the walk start and finish?

It starts at Duomo metro station, on lines M1 and M3 in Piazza del Duomo, and finishes at Cadorna, on M1 and M2 and the Malpensa Express. Cairoli, on M1, is 210 m from the castle gate.