First Sunday of the Month: Free Museums in Milan

Milan has a fixed date worth keeping in your calendar: every first Sunday of the month, entry to the city's civic museums is free. Not a one-off event — a rule that repeats, month after month, all year.

How it works

The initiative covers Milan's civic museums and a few participating state museums, on the first Sunday of every month. Most venues don't require advance booking, though during busier months it's worth arriving at opening time to avoid queues.

Which museums

Always included, no booking required:

• Museo del Novecento
• Castello Sforzesco museums (which include the Pinacoteca del Castello, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Museum of Prehistory, and Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà)
• Civic Archaeological Museum
• GAM — Gallery of Modern Art
• Natural History Museum
• Civic Aquarium
• Museum of the Risorgimento
• Palazzo Morando

Among the participating state museums are also the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Cenacolo Vinciano — for both, however, booking is mandatory, and it's worth planning well ahead, especially to see Leonardo's Last Supper.

"The Kiss" by Francesco Hayez, one of the masterpieces at the Pinacoteca di Brera

Why it's worth planning around

It's one of the few free events in Milan with this level of consistency. Useful for locals who keep postponing a visit to the museum around the corner, and just as useful for anyone staying in Milan who happens to be in town on the right weekend.

The museum near your hotel you never got around to. The permanent collection skipped for lack of time. This is exactly the occasion Domenica al Museo exists for.

Save the date — every month

First Sunday of August, of September, of October — always the same rule. A good way to plan a weekend in Milan already knowing at least one morning of culture will be free.

Planning your morning

Since entry is free, the first Sunday of the month is also one of the busiest days: it's worth arriving at opening time, usually 9.30am, to beat the queues that build up by mid-morning at the most popular museums, like Castello Sforzesco or the GAM.

If you're planning to visit more than one in a day, it's better to pick museums close to each other rather than crossing half the city: Castello Sforzesco and the GAM, for instance, are a few minutes' walk apart, as are the Natural History Museum and the Civic Aquarium, both on the edge of the Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli. With opening hours generally running from 9.30am to 5.30pm, two unhurried stops with a lunch break in between are plenty — better to properly enjoy one collection than rush through three.

If you only have time for one stop

With just one free morning, Castello Sforzesco remains the most efficient choice: it houses several collections under one roof — the Pinacoteca del Castello, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Museum of Prehistory, and, among the most significant works kept in the city, Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà. One ticket (free, in this case), several museums, no need to move between locations.

For something more contained, the Gallery of Modern Art offers a shorter route that's just as free, set inside a neoclassical villa with a garden — also a good fit for anyone visiting Milan with children or with limited time.

From any HÕMA property

Wherever you're staying, Milan's historic centre and main civic museums are 15-25 minutes away by metro.