Visiting museums in Milan
This is something that probably everybody knows: Italy has a rich cultural history. Milan is no exception to this and that’s why we can find several museums across the city. Here is a list of a few of them that I would recommend if you are a fan of art, culture and / or history!
Museo del Novecento
This is a must-see museum in Milan. This one is about Italian art in the 20thcentury. All the artworks exhibited inside were mostly made by Italian artist. As the organization of the museum is related to a century and not a certain kind of painting, there are many different kinds all along the visit and not only on painting, but also on sculptures and creations. This is one of the things that I really like about this museum. The other thing that I really like is that it has a viewing point over the Piazza del Duomo, where you can see the piazza from above and the Duomo and the Galleria without much less people than if you were on the actual piazza. Also a very good spot for pictures!
Location: Piazza del Duomo
Price: free for everyone under 25, also free for everybody two hours before the closing hour. Full price ticket is €5.
MUDEC
The MUDEC (Museo Delle Culture) is a museum that focuses on international cultures. Not only does it show artworks from diverse countries around the world, it also does research on their past, present and future trends and promotes them to all types of public. The museum has a permanent collection, and several temporary exhibitions that last a few months. A very popular temporary collection that they have right now is on Frida Kahlo, “Beyond the myth”, and we can see ads about it everywhere in the streets of Milan.
Location: via Tortona 56, 20144 Milano
Price: €5 full price ticket for the permanent exhibition, then prices depend on the temporary collections (€11 for the Frida Kahlo one for example).
Cenacolo Vinciano
This is a quite particular museum: it has only one painting. But it’s not any painting, it’s Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. This museum is located right next to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie. The artwork is so popular is the access to it so limited that you have to make reservations months before for the exact date and time that you want to go if you want to be able to get inside! Even once you are there, visits are limited in time: only 15 minutes per groups of visitors. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to do it yet, but I really intend to before I leave Milan! The painting was made with a special technique from Leonardo da Vinci which makes it not possible to anybody to restore it, so we better go and see it before it’s gone!
Location: Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie, 2, 20131 Milano
Price: depends if you want to see only the Cenacolo Vinciano or other museums along with it. You should visit their website to decide!
Website for information.
Website to book tickets.
Palazzo Reale di Milano
Palazzo Reale di Milano (which translates into “Royal Palace of Milan”) is also one of the main museums in Milan. It is located right next to Museo del Novecento and the Duomo. It has many different collections which are borrowed from other museums and often changed, which make it a very rich museum. Right now, the museum has several collections, including one about fashion in Italy over the last decades, which I would really love to see! It's also in Palazzo Reale that the Duomo museum is located for those of you who are interested! Unfortunately, this museum doesn’t really offer good discounts for students and is quite expensive in my opinion.
UPDATE: if you go there to see one exhibition, for example here in the case of "L'Italiana", the exhibition about Italian fashion, the ticket only costs €5! So now I think it's actually pretty affordable!
Location: Piazza del Duomo 12
Price: full price ticket is €12, people from age 6 to 26 can have a discount and pay €10 to enter. Also possibility to have less expensive tickets if you go for one specific exhibition.
Pinacoteca di Brera
The Pinacoteca di Brera (“Art Gallery of Brera”) is another major museum site in Milan and even in Italy, along with the Museo degli Uffizi in Firenze and the Musei Vaticani in Rome. It is located in the Palazzo Brera, which hosts several collections of different kinds. There are many paintings and artworks that are known in the whole world, as well as photography exhibition for example. Their website even offers an online collection so you can see some of their artworks from your place, which is I think a totally different experience than going to the museum. The Pinacoteca also has a huge and beautiful library (like really huge). For now, I haven’t visited this place but I will go very soon, since the entrance there is free on the first Sunday of each month!
Location: Via Brera 28
Price: full price ticket is €10, there is a reduced-price ticket at €7 for EU citizens between 18 and 25 years old, and admission is FREE on the first Sunday of each month for everybody!
La Triennale di Milano
La Triennale is a museum about a little bit of everything. They offer exhibitions about art, design, fashion, photography, cinema and more. They also have spaces where you can just relax and have a good day, such as the gardens, a coffee and a restaurant. They say they want to be a place where you can just go and spend the whole day. They even have a theatre where you can see live music, dance and theater shows. As if all of this was not enough, it is located right next to the Parco Sempione so if you haven’t had enough, you can have another walk around the park to finish the day. The museum currently has 6 exhibitions, so you can definitely find one that you are interested in!
Location: Viale Alemagna 6
Price: €12 to have access to all of the exhibitions with a single ticket, otherwise the price depends on the collections. Possibility to have a reduced price on the collections (see website).
Fondazione Prada
Fondazione Prada describes itself more as a “cultural institution” than a museum. With this institution, they want to facilitate the access to culture in different forms, such as literature, cinema, music, science etc. and emphasize its importance in our every-day life. Their artworks are all from the 20thand 21stcenturies. The Fondazione Prada also has another location in Venice. From outside the foundation, you don’t really notice the building or see that it is a Prada cultural institution unless you know it is, because it is a really random building with nothing special. But once you get inside it is much better. The Fondazione Prada in Milan currently has 4 “projects” (not collections) and there will be more to come this year.
Location: Largo Isarco 2
Price: €10 for the full price ticket, €8 for students under 26 years old
The Museums of the Castello Sforzesco
Even if you can access the courtyard of the castle for free, you can’t get inside its walls unless you pay a ticket. and inside the castle are many, many exhibitions. There is for example an exhibition on Michelangelo, on the Decorative Arts, on Antic Arts, there are also several libraries to give access to book on different topics… The Castello Sforzesco is another place of Milan that is rich in art and culture.
Location: Castello Sforzesco, entrance through the Biglietteria in the courtyard
Price: €5 for the full price ticket, €3 reduced-price ticket. A ticket gives you access to all of the exhibitions
These are just a few of all the museums that you can visit in Milan. There are many other more, such as the Museum of Science and Technology, Museo del Teatro alla Scala, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana… If you are keen on culture and art under different forms, Milan really is a good place for you!
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- Español: Museos de Milán
- Français: Quels musées visiter à Milan ?
- Italiano: Visita ai musei di Milano
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