The best museums in Milan

The Sforza Castle

The Sforza Castle, or in Italian the Castello Sforzesco, is a medieval castle from the 14th century. As you pass through the castle gates and enter the large inner courtyard you will feel like you are going back in time. The Sforza Castle has thick walls and multiple towers which have long been one of the most recognizable images of Milan. Within the castle are six museums, each focussing on a different niche. If you buy one ticket you get access to all six museums.

Our favourite museum is the Pinacoteca, which is an art gallery with religious paintings and other art works from the 15th to the 18th century. But there is also a Museo d’Arte Antica, which is a museum of ancient art, where you can find Leonardo Da Vinci’s ceiling painting of intertwining trees called Sala delle Asse and several sculptures among other things. The Museo degli Strumenti Musicali is the musical instrument museum. And in the Museum of Rondanini Pietà you can find Michelangelo’s last unfinished sculpture of a mourning virgin Mary. While in the archaeological Museum you will find items that date centuries before the birth of Christ. So there is plenty to see and do in the Sforza Castle.

The museums in Castello Sforzesco are open every day of the week, except on Mondays. Due to the sheer amount of things that you can see here we at Meet The Cities certainly recommend any cultural traveler to visit this living piece of history. It’s located in the heart of Milan, so there is no excuse to miss it.

Milan Cathedral Museum

The Milan Cathedral, known in Italian as the Duomo di Milano, is the centerpiece of the city. It is a grandiose church that has no equal in Italy. As you can imagine many historically significant artworks have gathered here over the years. This striking cathedral showcases the collection in its museum called Museo del Duomo di Milano. It has a very extensive and worthwhile art collection that reflects and relate to the history of the cathedral.

The Museo del Duomo di Milano has a collection of religious relics, artifacts and treasures going as far back as the 5th century. There are also centuries old paintings and tapestries that cover the biblical stories. The models which were used during the construction of the Duomo. Stained glasses that have been collected over the course of history. And marble and terracotta sculptures that befit the cathedral are displayed. Mostly organized in chronological order so you can see the development of religion and art over the course of history.

A ticket to the Duomo is usually a combined ticket that also allows access to the museum. So if you visit the cathedral be sure to check this amazing piece of religious history out.

Giuseppe Meazza Stadium – San Siro and Casa Milan tour

Opened in 1926, the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, also known as the San Siro Stadium, is renowned as a sacred football ground, which also hosts a grand museum of the two most important football teams in Milan: AC Milan and Internazionale. A tour of these Milanese football attractions is an unique opportunity for soccer enthusiasts to revel in the spectacular sports facilities of these famous Milanese clubs.

Reputed today as one of the most awe-inspiring sports buildings in the world, it has a capacity to accommodate up to about 80,000 people. The tour allows you to visit the museum, as well as getting a bird’s-eye view of the magnificent trophies of the victories of these football clubs. You can hear about the praiseworthy stories of AC Milan and Internazionale, and even see the works and life of legendary football stars while strolling through the interactive museum.

You can also choose to take home a couple of souvenirs from the official merchandising store of San Siro. The tour then continues to help you discover Casa Milan, the modish home of AC Milan housing a museum, official fanshop, as well as a glitzy, intimate bistrot restaurant.

Milan Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum, which is in Italy also known as the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, is a museum dedicated to both ancient animals and earth sciences. If you ever wondered when dinosaurs roamed the earth you will be happy to know the museum even has an extensive collection of dinosaur fossils. The pride of the collection is of course the large Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that protects the museum against unwanted intruders. Although it also has other amusing creatures like an armadillo called a Glyptodon that can grow to the size of a car.

On top of that you will also see skeletons of mammals, reptiles and fossils of other creatures. It also has a wide array of strange minerals that can be observed. The museum further has a section dedicated to humans and how the lived in their environment, where you can for example find a cro magnon skull. A nice touch is that this museum also has an abundance of recreated settings where you can see the scenery in which animals originally lived.

If you want to surprise yourself and the kids in Milan then this museum is certainly worth a visit, with some rare items and imposing creatures that you normally only see on television.

Gallerie d’Italia – Piazza Scala

The Gallerie di Piazza Scala focusses on a large 19th and more modest 20th century collection of some of the greatest paintings and sculptures of neoclassical artists like Antonio Canova and more romantic artists like Francesco Hayez and Giovanni Migliara. The paintings explore the historical life of the bourgeoisie in Milan and perspectives of this amazing city. It also covers the natural landscapes of Lombardy and the Alps and extends all the way into emotional and symbolic works of the struggles of the individual.

The museum is located in two beautiful neoclassical mansions on the famous Piazza Scala and covers a broad collection of contemporary art showcasing romanticism and the industrial age in Milan.

National Museum of Science and Technology

The National Museum of Science and Technology is in Italy known as the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia and is the largest of its kind in Italy. It has drawings and models of several of Leonardo Da Vinci’s imaginative contraptions. It houses trains, boats, submarines, airplanes and everything related to mobility and logistics.

With everything together you can clearly see how each development is build on each other. There are for example heat and oil engines. And one collection is dedicated to sight and sound, while another interactive exhibition explores space and astronomy. Not to mention historical clocks and musical instruments are on display. The science museum also allows children to take an active learning role with interactive labs. If you are looking for museums where both adults and children will enjoy learning something new than Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia will be the perfect option.

Brera Art Gallery

The Brera Art Gallery, in Italian known as Pinacoteca di Brera, was founded in 1776 to promote the training of art students. It is well known among citizens of Milan, for its exhaustive collection of remarkable paintings, as well as its Fine Arts Academy. Many of Italy’s pioneer artists and writers have graduated from the academy, including the Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo. The Brera Art Gallery showcases an impressive array of masterpieces by Italian and international artists dating from the 13th to the 20th century.

Home to one of the most outstanding collections of Italian paintings, it is a definite stop on every visit to Milan, especially for people who wish to marvel at the works of Raphael, Caravaggio, Veronese, Titian, Bramante and Bellini. Some equally-appealing highlights includes works by non-Italian artists like Rubens, Picasso, Mantegna and Hayez.

Poldi Pezzoli Museum

The Poldi Pezzoli Museum, or in Italian the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, is a comprehensive house museum showcasing an impressive assortment of Renaissance Italian paintings, as well as an exquisite collection of decorative arts, including glasses, clocks, porcelain, jewellery, armor and tapestries. Originally the pieces came from the collection of one of the finest art connoisseurs of the 19th century, Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli, but over the course of time many private collections were added to the museum. This immaculate treasure trove is nestled within scenic and intimate surroundings.

The Poldi Pezzoli Museum is devoted primarily to the conservation as well as studies on art and history. As such the museum hosts regular exhibitions in Italy and abroad, in order to coordinate researches and publications. Visitors get the golden opportunity to view interesting masterpieces by stalwarts like Tiepolo, Guardi, Giovanni Bellini, Botticelli, Pollaiolo, Mantegna and Piero della Francesca, to name a few. Another attractive feature for tourists is the first floor of the gallery that offers an impeccably luxurious setting for a scrumptious meal or drink.

Bagatti Valsecchi Museum

With most rooms still displaying the original old interiors, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a great place for people aspiring to get a glimpse of the way that opulent Milanese families led life before World War II. The permanent collection includes unique paintings, sculptures and decorative arts, all handpicked and collected by the founders themselves. And the best part is that you get detailed information in multiple languages in every segment of the museum.

Located in the heart of downtown Milan, in the midst of the Golden Rectangle, a prestigious district famous for its boutiques, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a historic house museum built in the typical 19th-century Renaissance style by Fausto and Giuseppe in 1883. Decorated after the vintage style of ducal palaces of Mantua, this living museum is actually a series of apartments of the Bagatti Valsecchi brothers and replete with Renaissance furnishings, tapestries, paintings and ceiling friezes.

Royal Palace of Milan

In the very heart of the city you will find a palace fit for a King. As a former royal palace with medieval origins it opens its doors to large halls, sweeping staircase and refined furnishings. This majestic building is in Italian called the Palazzo Reale di Milano and has a space of a whopping 7,000 square meters (75,347 sq. ft.) and functions nowadays as a museum, cultural center and remarkable exhibition venue.

Used mostly to showcase temporary art exhibitions, Palazzo Reale di Milano is also renowned as the home of the Civic Museum of Contemporary Art, which is in Italian called the Civico Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, or abbreviated CIMAC. The CIMAC features interesting works dating back to the twentieth century, including exhibits of Surrealist, as well as Futuristic art. In collaboration with prestigious museums and cultural institutions it also displays ancient and contemporary art works that includes several famous collections from all over the world.

Ambrosiana Gallery

Touted as one of oldest cultural centres of Milan, the Ambrosiana library is originally a historic library founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in the year 1618. Within the Ambrosiana library, which in Italian is called the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, you can find the Ambrosiana Gallery, which is in Italian is called the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. This translation can be convenient to know, because the Italian name of this gallery is displayed on the building. In fact, even the building housing the museum is spectacular to behold, and a work of art in itself.

Created with the sole purpose of inspiring and encouraging upcoming Italian artists, Ambrosiana Gallery displays a huge and ever-growing collection of art, including the works of Raffaello and Caravaggio. This Ambrosiana Gallery is also home to a permanent assortment of fine sculptures, paintings, etchings, as well as drawings donated by Federico himself. Other major acquisitions of the library are manuscripts of the monastery of Bobbio (1606) as well as those of Vincenzo Pinelli.

Museo del Novecento

As its name implies is this museum dedicated to Italian art of the twentieth century. The museum begins with paying a tribute to Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, followed by master painters from other parts of Europe like Picasso, Mondrian, Matisse and Braque. Then you will be taken along a trip of Futurism with vivid works of Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini and others. As the time progresses you will also find that the art styles progress to other styles like post-impressionism, abstractionism, realism and others as no one shows better than Giorgio de Chirico.

As you walk up the spiral staircase, with a majestic view of the center of Milan, the Museo del Novecento takes you on a wild journey through the vision of some of the most creative men in modern history. It’s really an unique experience.