The fresco The Last Supper in Milan, along with the Mona Lisa in the Paris Louvre, is one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous works. For five centuries, it has been adorning the walls of the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, but 90% of travelers visiting Milan are faced with the fact that can't see one of the main masterpieces of mankind. BlogoItaliano will tell about how to buy tickets and get to see the most inaccessible sights of Italy after all in this article.
It would seem - what is there, buy tickets? But not so simple. In view of the frenzied popularity, getting into the hall with a fresco is another quest.
At first glance, everything is extremely transparent. Access to the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Monastery for viewing the frescoes The Last Supper is open to visitors daily, except Mondays and public holidays (January 1, May 1, December 25), from 8:15 to 18:45.
But the situation is extremely complicated by the fact that access to the hall artificially limited by Italian authorities. And most tourists stumble on just that.
5 centuries the famous fresco adorns the walls of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Inspection of the mural is possible only for a 15 minute session and inside let at the same time no more than 25 people. Thus, an extremely limited and pre-known number of visitors can see the mural daily.
Yes, there is an official ticket office and even the opportunity to buy tickets for the Last Supper online. But with them, everything is also not easy.
Officially, a ticket at the box office on the spot costs 10 euros (2018), but the average traveler has practically no chance to buy it, arriving spontaneously. Tickets for the vast majority of dates disappear from official sales 1-2 months before the date of the visit.
The significance of the masterpiece, the excitement around it and the artificial restriction of the authorities in Milan created an entire industry around tickets.
No more than 25 people are allowed to visit the murals at the same time.
In addition to independent travelers, tickets are massively bought for their customers by travel agencies, hotels, and simply dealers. The deficit reaches the limit, and such pre-purchased tickets then slip on third-party sites, but their price often reaches 50, 60 or more euros.
How, however, in such a situation to buy tickets for the Last Supper? We will tell you a few ways.
Official Ticket Operator
As we wrote earlier, the opportunity to buy tickets at the box office on the spot for an ordinary tourist is practically absent. But you can try to "catch" a ticket online. To maximize your chances of success, you need to figure out how the system works.
Tickets go on sale in batches for a specific date range. Usually, this happens 3 months before the date of the visit. For example, in February, tickets for May and June open.
Official online tickets to the Last Supper at the box office price (+2 Euro for online booking) can be purchased on this site. At the time of launching sales for the next month, the chances of buying a ticket are maximum. But for this you need to follow the news and “guard” tickets for several months.
Electronic voucher must be exchanged for a ticket in the "Reservation" window
In practice, however, even if there are tickets for the required date, not everyone can get to the end of the purchase process and get the coveted voucher.
At one stage, an error often occurs that prevents the user from moving on to the next step and placing an order.
Or, the just selected date and time in the next step becomes unavailable. What this is connected with is a mystery. Most likely, the fault is the imperfection of the reservation system and too slow data updates.
If you still managed to go through all the stages, 20-30 minutes before the session you need to go up with a printed confirmation to the Reservation window and exchange it for a ticket. By the way, in addition, you can take an audio guide in Russian.
By phone
Another way to get a ticket is to call the ticket office directly and order a ticket from them.
The rule "the sooner the better" also works here. Optimal is to keep track of the release date of a new batch of tickets and call a couple of days after it, when the hype subsides a little and the line is freer.
Ticket offices are open from 8:00 to 18:00, phone number: +39 02 92800360. Do not forget about the existence of time zones and the time difference with Italy.
Of course, many will probably have a logical question: what if you don’t know Italian? So, we answer: you can do without it. But basic knowledge of English is still needed.
The Last Supper is one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous works.
Dialing the number, you will hear an answering machine in Italian, after which a phrase in English will sound with a suggestion to select a language by pressing the corresponding phone key.
It is easiest to get through during the first hours of the ticket office and at lunchtime (from about 13 to 14), but here it’s already as lucky.
The operator will ask a number of standard questions, which probably will not be difficult to answer: your name and surname, the desired date and time, the required number of tickets, phone number, address (just name the country and city) and e-mail.
Then they will ask you how you would like to pay: by transfer to an account or by credit card. In the first case, an invoice is sent to the post office, which must be paid at the details. In the second - you have to dictate the card number and CVC code. Not very safe, but you decide.
Prices are the same: 12 euros for everything about everything and additional options in the form of a guide or an audio guide at will. After payment, as when booking on the website, a letter will be sent to the post office, by printing which you can pick up tickets at the ticket office.
GetYourGuide Tickets and Tours
GetYourGuide has a wide selection of different excursions and tourist activities, including a visit to the Last Supper.
If you tried one option and there are no tickets, be sure to go through the entire list of excursions and tickets in Milan - the chances of finding a tour with the Last Supper included are quite high here.
Tickets and tours on the WeekendinItaly website
Tickets for the Last Supper can also be purchased on the WeekendinItaly website. The portal is one of the main ticket providers for many major tour operators and allows you to even find tickets that have ended on the official sites of museums.
To get to the inspection of the "Last Supper", you can sign up for an excursion tour "In the footsteps of Leonardo." This is one of the most reliable and easiest options to secure a ticket.
Leonardo's Atlantic Codex is stored in the Ambrosian Library
In addition to visiting the fresco, as part of this excursion, you can visit the Pinacoteca of Ambrosian and see the “Atlantic Codex” - a manuscript that contains drawings of inventions and various notes of a genius.
The tour lasts 3 hours, and its cost is 69 euros per person. It is held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from April to October. You need to reserve a place at least one week before the desired date.
A less expensive way to see the fresco is to take advantage of the promotional offer and buy tickets for the Last Supper inspection complete with the Brera Gallery or the Leonardo Atlantic Codex in the Ambrosian library. You can do this on this page.
Tickets for the Last Supper can be bundled with the Brera Gallery
Here, the choice of dates is less than for the tour, but they are. Please note that you need to make a purchase only in the package "Last Supper" plus a second ticket. Otherwise, if you select only the Last Supper, the system will not let you go to the next step.
| Check schedule and availability of tickets ››› |
Russian speaking guide in Milan
If none of the above methods give results, keep a very valuable tip. Our familiar guide in Milan, Oksana (a review of her can be read here) conducts a guided tour for the city guests “Following Leonardo da Vinci’s tracks” in Russian, and if you decide to order this tour from her, she will try to help her get to see the fresco The Last Supper. "
Oksana clarifies that, given the unprecedented excitement around this work of da Vinci, she also can not give a 100% guarantee of visiting. However, for the entire history of this excursion, she only once failed to get tickets for excursions.
Tickets at the box office are sold out 1-2 months before the date of visit
In addition to the Last Supper, the excursion program also includes several places where Leonardo's works are exhibited: Sforzesco Castle and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.
You can contact Oksana to clarify the details of the tour and current prices by e-mail email protected or through the feedback form under this article.
Last few tips
Regardless of which way you prefer to buy a ticket for the Last Supper, take care of this as soon as possible.
In any case, until the museum began selling the next batch of tickets, they will not be able to buy them anywhere. Most likely to get a ticket in the first days of the launch of sales.
On the first Sunday of every month, entrance to the frescoed hall is free, but to get there that day, you need to book a visit in advance through the call center.
Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie
By the way, those who are not yet 18 can watch the Last Supper for free. But stopping just like that just doesn’t work out, getting a ticket is a must for everyone.
If you still could not book a visit to the frescoed hall, and there is very little time left before your trip, try your luck and come to the museum ticket offices in the early morning, about an hour before the opening. Perhaps you will be able to be among the lucky ones and still catch the vacated ticket.
Where is the Last Supper and how to get there
The refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grecie Monastery, where the fresco is located, is located at Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie 2 | Corso Magenta, 20123 Milan, Italy (Centro Storico).
The nearest metro stations are Cadorna and Conciliazione.
