The six proposals, one by one
Six proposals for sale, but three different things. Two are the museum ticket with an audio guide to download to your phone, to be collected at an office in Piazza Castello. Three are a real, live guide, in a small group or private, with museum entry included. One is a tour of the Last Supper followed by a walk through the castle courtyards, which are free and outside the museums. On each card you’ll find what’s included, where to meet, and the full terms and conditions.
Three different things, not six versions of the same
I spent six seasons at the Castello Sforzesco ticket desk and I know how much it costs—in time and patience—to show up with one thing thinking it’s another. That’s why each proposal here is sorted by what it is, before how long it lasts.
- Ticket and audio guide. The ticket with digital audio guide and the ticket with audio guide and Merlate panoramiche option it’s the same museum ticket sold at the Castello’s ticket office, plus an app to listen to with your own headphones. No guide accompanies you. The voucher is collected in the city, not at the gate.
- With a guide. the Pietà Rondanini tour in a small group, the private tour lasting two hours, and the private skip-the-line tour from two to five hours. It’s the only thing the ticket office can’t give you: a licensed person in front of Michelangelo’s last marble.
- The Last Supper, with the courtyards. the Last Supper and Castello tour enters the Last Supper room, then walks through the courtyards. The castle museums are not included, as the listing itself states.
The museum ticket, with the audioguide on your phone
Both options include museum entry with the same ticket covering everything, from the Pietà to the Pinacoteca. The difference lies in the extras: the first adds a second audio guide about the city of Milan, while the second offers the option to walk along the battlements, which involves stairs. Both are collected in Piazza Castello, not at the castle ticket office. What the ticket office sells insteadincluding free days.
Milan: Castello Sforzesco entry ticket with digital audio guide
Museum entry plus two audio guides in the app, one about the castle and one about Milan, in six languages. Voucher to be collected at Piazza Castello 1.
About 3 hoursRead the full description »
Castello Sforzesco entrance ticket with audioguide
Museum entry with audio guide in the app and optional battlement walk. Involves stairs, no luggage, not recommended for those with mobility issues.
About 2 hoursRead the full description »A real live guide
Three options, and they’re the reason it’s worth booking something instead of just showing up at the door. One is a small-group tour with headsets, one is a private 2-hour tour, and one is a private tour in four versions with a car and Sant’Ambrogio in the longer ones. All three include museum entry. What a guide adds in front of the Pietà, and the two private tours compared.
Milan: Castello Sforzesco and Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini tour
An hour and a half in a small group, certified guide, headsets for up to eleven people, in five languages. It starts at the Pietà.
1 hour 30Read the full description »
Milan: private guided tour of Castello Sforzesco
Two-hour private tour with radio guide, in six languages, meeting at the fountain. From the fortress to the barracks and on to the Pietà. Minimum number of participants required.
2 hoursRead the full description »
Milan: private skip-the-line tour of Castello Sforzesco and its museums
Private tour, one guide per maximum nine people, four versions from two to five hours, with car and Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in the longer ones.
From 2 to 5 hoursRead the full description »The Last Supper, with a walk through the courtyards
It’s a good tour of the Last Supper. Fifteen minutes in the room, an art history guide, then a quarter of an hour on foot to the castle and its courtyards. Choose it for the Cenacolo, not for the castle museums, which are not included. Only in English, with mandatory names at booking and free cancellation up to three days before. All its conditions, in full.
Before choosing
The museums are closed on Mondays, and none of the options that include the museums can change that. On the first Sunday of the month, entry is free for everyone and the queue is the longest of the year. If your day is one of those, read the opening hours first and what’s free and when. For the six options listed side by side, there’s the comparison, and for which one I’d book, depending on who you are, my answer.
Frequently asked questions
Which proposals actually enter the museums of the Castello Sforzesco?
Five out of six: the two tickets with audioguide and the three guided tours. The tour of the Cenacolo and the Castello stays in the courtyards, which are free, and it states this in its description. What’s in the museums.
Which proposal is a proper guided tour?
The small-group tour of the Pietà Rondanini, the two-hour private tour, and the skip-the-line private tour. The two tickets with audioguide do not include a guide: you listen to an app with your own headphones. Guided tours, explained.
Do you need to book to enter the Castello Sforzesco?
No. The courtyards are open every day from 7:00 to 19:30 without a ticket, and museum tickets are bought at the Castello ticket office. You book to have a guide or an audioguide. Online or at the ticket office.