Best times to visit the Duomo

The Duomo (which would be translated into Cathedral) is definitely the main landmark and the most popular monument in Milan. Whether you come here as a tourist or for your Erasmus, it’s probably the first thing that you will go to see, just like everybody else. As nice as it is to see it, sometimes the piazza (translation of square in Italian) in front of it gets really really crowded and it’s mostly annoying. So with this post, I am going to give you advice at which time you should visit the Duomo to avoid the crowd. Of course, if you are only here for a few days during August there is no guarantee that the piazza will be empty even if you go at these recommended times. If you’re coming here as an Erasmus, you will probably go to the Duomo at any of these times, even when it’s really crowded.

(P. S. : these times are supposedly the best to avoid the biggest crowds of people, but the one thing you can't avoid when going on the piazza del Duomo are the pigeons. There are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and sometimes there are even more of them than people, and I think they are more annoying than a crowd of people).

Early in the morning

This time of the day is great for two reasons:

- the first one is because there are usually not a lot of people in the morning, at least always less than in the afternoon.

- the sun rises from behind the Duomo, so if the sky is clear of clouds, you can get a very nice view.

If you’re staying in Milan for just a few days, I would suggest going to visit the Duomo in the morning. Not only is the piazza almost empty, but also there will be less queue if you want to get your tickets to get inside and on the terraces!

I took the picture below this morning, at 9am. The piazza was not totally empty but I have definitely seen it worse. This morning there were for sure more pigeons than people (which is not so much better).

Sunday morning is a good time to visit the Duomo as there are really not a lot of people, but you have to know that has there are the religious celebrations every Sunday morning, some parts inside of the cathedral are closed to public access, as for example the back part with the replica of the Madonnina. So if you are in Milan only for one weekend, maybe you should visit the Duomo on the Saturday morning to be able to see everything inside, it would be too bad to miss one part of it because of bad timing!

At night

At night is for sure the moment when there are less people. In the winter the piazza gets empty at around 11 p. m. , so if you’re brave enough to be in the cold, you will probably feel like you’re the only one in the city. In the summer people stay outside longer because of the nice weather. One good thing to do is, if you go party in a club or anywhere else, go to the piazza before going home! From 2 a. m. until 6 a. m. there will be nobody there for sure. And it’s really nice to see the Duomo with all the lights, as well as the Galleria right next to it, which is just truly wonderful.

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22843286@N08/5640714368/ )

During Christmas time

If you’re lucky and you can make it to Milan during the holidays, you will love seeing the Duomo with the Christmas tree in front of it. It's just so pretty! This was my favorite time of the year, I’m really sad they had to take the Christmas tree down, the piazza feels kind of empty now. Anyway, go there following the times that I gave you just before! It’s even better with the Christmas tree. (plus, if you want to read more about what to see in Milan during the Christmas holidays, click here).

At sunset time on the terraces

This is kind of the opposite of what I have said up until now, but watching the sunset from the terraces of the Duomo is sooooo beaufitul. The sun sets facing the Duomo, so if you are up there at this time you will see the sunset above the city and get a wonderful view of it. I think this would be more something to do during the fall / winter / spring because the opening hours have to coincide with the sunset time. If you can, plan to do it on a week day so that the waiting time is not too long!

Times to avoid

As somebody who does not really enjoy being in crowds, I know there are some times when you just have to avoid going to the Duomo as much as you can. This is the case for weekends, especially Saturday and Sunday afternoons. That’s when it’s the worst, there are just so many people and pigeons flying all over, it’s like chaos to me. This is true for any time of the year, although it is obviously even worse during the summer when everybody is out to enjoy the sunny days.

Also you could check if there are any demonstrations happening when you come to Milan, as the piazza del Duomo is right in the center of Milan there might be a lot of people.

I hope this will help you enjoy the Duomo as much as possible! I think the Duomo is a really great monument to see and I wouldn’t want anybody to get a bad experience of it because of the overcrowded piazza.

---

Photo gallery