Ticket with digital audio guide: what’s inside
It’s the Castello Sforzesco museums’ ticket, pre-booked, with two audio guides to listen to in the app: one about the castle and one about the city of Milan, in six languages. The voucher is exchanged at an office at Piazza Castello 1not at the Castello Sforzesco ticket office. There is no guide: you walk on your own, with your own headphones and a charged phone. Valid on museum opening days, so never on Monday.
What you’re really buying
Three things, and it’s best to keep them separate. The first is admission to the Castello Sforzesco museums—the same single ticket that covers the Museum of Ancient Art, the Pietà Rondanini, the Pinacoteca, and the other rooms. The second is an audioguide for the castle inside an app. The third is a second audioguide, about the city of Milan, for use outside the walls. Both audioguides are available in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Chinese.
The word "tour" in the listing describes the app’s route, not a person. No one accompanies you, no one answers questions, and you set the pace. For years I’ve seen people arrive at the ticket office convinced they’d booked a guided tour, only to end up with a phone in hand: it’s fine if you know in advance. How the audioguides work, the one in the app and the one for Castello Sforzesco.
The museum ticket alone is also sold at the Castello Sforzesco ticket office, without reservation, with discounts and free days that no app can replicate. What the ticket office offers, and when this option is worth it instead.
Where to collect the voucher
Not at the Castello. The voucher is exchanged for the ticket at the office at Piazza Castello 1, the Autostradale office on the square, where staff assist at the meeting point. From there to the Torre del Filarete is a few minutes' walk, but those minutes count: anyone who goes straight to the Castello ticket office with the voucher in hand will be sent back. The square and its two ticket offices.
Download the app before you arrive, using a decent connection, and pack your headphones the night before. The tour explicitly requires headphones and a charged phone, and the signal isn’t great under the vaults of the Rocchetta.
Conditions
The offer is valid on museum opening days and times: Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 17:30, last ticket at 16:30 and last entry at 17:00. Closed on Mondays, December 25th, January 1st and May 1st. A Monday can’t be bypassed by booking online: the museums are closed for everyone. Opening times, day by day.
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. The indicated time, about three hours, is the app’s duration if you listen to it all; the courtyards and the Pietà can be seen in much less, while all the museums take an afternoon. How much time you really need.
What’s included
- Reserved entry to the Castello museums
- Castello audioguide in the app, in six languages
- Second city of Milan audioguide in the app
- Staff assistance at the meeting point
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance
What’s not included
- A real live guide
- The phone
- The headphones
- Monday’s entrance, when the museums are closed
The route, with the app in your ear
From the square, you enter through the Torre del Filarete into the Piazza d’Armi, then toward the Corte Ducale and the Rocchetta. The museums line the north side: the Museo d’Arte Antica with the Armory, the Pietà Rondanini in the former Ospedale Spagnolo, the Pinacoteca with Mantegna’s Madonna Trivulzio. Leonardo’s Sala delle Asse is closed for restoration, and no audioguide will reopen it. The visit in order, and why the room is closed.
What works
- Enter all the museums with a single ticket
- Two audioguides in six languages, for the castle and the city
- Go at your own pace, without a group and without a set departure time
- Staff at the meeting point to exchange the voucher
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance
Good to know
- No guide: it’s an app, not a guided tour
- The voucher is collected at Piazza Castello 1, not at the Castello
- You bring your own headphones and charged phone
- Valid only on museum opening days: never on Mondays
- Museum tickets can also be bought at the entrance, including on free days
Who is it for, and who isn’t
It’s ideal for those who want museum commentary without being tied to a group’s schedule, and for visitors from out of town who also want a city audioguide for the rest of the day. It’s also good for those who prefer to have their ticket already sorted before they leave.
Not ideal for under-18s, who get free entry at the Castello ticket office, or for those visiting on the first Sunday of the month, when museums are free for everyone. Not ideal for those who want a person in front of the Pietà: that’s the small-group tour. And it’s not for those who only want the courtyards, which are open to all from 7:00 to 19:30. What’s free, and when.
The alternatives
The Pietà tour below uses the same entrance with a guide at the front. The other ticket with audioguide adds the Merlate panoramiche, accessed by stairs.
Small group · 5 languagesMilan: Castello Sforzesco and Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini tour
Ticket + audioguide, with Merlate panoramiche optionCastello Sforzesco entrance ticket with audioguide
Private · 6 languagesMilan: private guided tour of Castello Sforzesco
Frequently asked questions
Is the ticket with digital audio guide a guided tour?
No. It’s admission to the museums with two audio guides inside an app, one about the castle and one about Milan. No guide accompanies the visit. Those who want a person should choose the small-group tour. Guided tours.
Where do you pick up the ticket with audio guide?
At the office at Piazza Castello 1, on the square in front of the castle, where staff exchange the voucher. Not at the Castello Sforzesco ticket office. How to get around Piazza Castello.
What do I need to bring to use the audio guide?
Headphones and a charged smartphone with the app downloaded before you arrive. Phone and headphones are not provided. Castello Sforzesco audio guides, explained.