2023: Buy Last Supper Tickets to See Leonardo Da Vinci's Masterpiece in Milan

Reservations are essential to see The Last Supper with online advance purchase tickets the cheapest and simplest way to ensure timeslot admissions.

Buy Tickets in advance to see Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper in Milan

Tickets for The Last Supper in Milan must be bought in advance, as Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting on a wall in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan may only be seen with time-slot reservation tickets. All admissions to The Last Supper Museum are in effect skip-the-line tickets, as only 35 visitors per tour are allowed to spend a maximum of 15 minutes viewing the painting. Guided tours of The Last Supper are pricy but do ensure admission on specific days and times when the ticket-only option is sold out. (Tours adding further sights in Milan such as the Duomo, La Scala, or guided town walks are often cheaper and offer better value.) All visitors must have their knees and upper arms covered.

Tickets for November and December 2023 and January 2024 are on sale from 19 September 2023.

Note: In 2023, the Last Supper is open for visitors as usual and the same idiosyncratic procedure as before is followed. The large increase in travelers means it is once again very difficult to get tickets without booking a tour — on 25 July, no tickets were available for August, September, or the first half of October with even guided tour availability limited. Tour availability differs quite a lot – a search with specific dates is a good start. There is not much variety in prices or in what is included in very short tours, although the early morning group of six only saves time.

How to Buy Skip-the-Line Tickets On-Line for The Last Supper

The cheapest way to buy tickets for The Last Supper is through the Cenacolo Vinciano official reseller Vivatiket — the site is a bit old-fashioned and confusing. English is available but depending on the browser may be less easy to find. Also, the English notices are sometimes out of date but if tickets are available for the preferred day, it could safely be assumed that the Last Supper will be open.

The Last Supper Museum website shows the dates and times for which tickets are available. Online tickets for The Last Supper go on sale in two- or three-month time periods usually around two to three months in advance (but sometimes only a few days in advance). Tickets sell out fast even outside the high season (but canceled reservations may be added again later making it worth checking again at a later date). However, in summer tickets are very hard to obtain — on 30 April, there were no tickets left for the entire available booking period until the end of July 2023 and even booking tours became difficult on many days!

The advance sales periods are often short, as government regulations and even group size may change on short notice. If tickets are not available, it may be worth checking again closer to the planned day of the visit. Guided tours are often bookable in advance on dates when individual tickets are not yet available or are shown as sold out.

At times when the official guided tour is given, the surcharge is now automatically added — whether you want the tour or not — or it is impossible to buy the admission ticket. (This tour is probably worth the €8 surcharge but obviously not if in an incomprehensible language.)

Note that the name of the person using the ticket is required not the name of the person buying the ticket. It is only possible to buy a maximum of 5 tickets online in a single transaction. Name changes are possible up to 24 hours before the tour but tickets cannot be modified or refunded. (Minor spelling errors are not a problem.)

Tickets must be collected 30 minutes before the tour time. Storage is available only for small bags — book luggage storage in Milan in advance — close to transportation hubs are usually the better options.

Alternative Options for Buying Tickets for The Last Supper

Options to consider when online tickets for The Last Supper have sold out:

Check the website again closer to the time of the visit. Tickets may be returned, especially from tour groups and resellers, and may become available at short notice. During the low season, it is often easier to buy tickets a few days in advance than a few weeks in advance. Splitting groups and even couples up may be a way to get the last tickets in different time slots.

It is still possible to buy tickets by phone but the call center has the exact same availability as is shown on the website (+39 0292800360 or 800990048 when calling from inside Italy).

Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month — tickets are only available online from the preceding Wednesday. (A great option, as the number of visitors is the same as any other day.)

Enquire at the ticket window in person. While it is not possible to queue up for tickets, cancellations by tour operators may occasionally free up reservation slots for later the same day. A sign outside may already confirm that no cancellations were made — it is valid for the full calendar day.

Buy tickets as part of a group tour – this will come at a price but will ensure admission, often at fairly short notice too but not on the actual day of the visit.

Guided Tours of The Last Supper in Milan

It is possible to see The Last Supper as part of a group guided tour. Several options are available:

The cheapest options are guided tours of The Last Supper only that last around an hour — 15 minutes with the painting and much of the rest of the time is taken up in collecting the tickets and setting up the audio. (Tours adding further sights in Milan such as the Duomo or guided town walks are sometimes cheaper and generally offer better value.) These express tours are basically a simple walkthrough and guided description of The Last Supper. It usually adds some value but for many, the only real reason to use these tours is to ensure admission on a specific day when the official tickets are sold out (which are unfortunately often). Many tour operators offer these tours but availability differs quite a lot – a search with specific dates is a good start. There is not much variety in prices or what is included in these short tours.

Occasionally, early morning tours for groups of only six are available but these sell out fast despite the price — note that the tour group will be six but there will still be around 30 visitors in the refectory.

Last Supper and Milan Sights Combination Tours

Longer tours adding further sites may offer more value for money and often are available in higher numbers and on more dates than short Last Supper tours only. (Some are even cheaper than the Last Supper-only tours!)

Walking tours (some including the Duomo) are quite popular, as many meet at more convenient central locations and spend less time waiting outside the Last Supper Museum to obtain tickets. It also make transportation easier.

Some further sights added on these tours are for example the adjacent Santa Maria della Grazie church (admission to the church itself is free), the nearby Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, sometimes called the “Sistine Chapel” of Milan, skip-the-line access to the duomo (cathedral), La Scala opera museum, further art treasures, Da Vinci sights such as the codex atlanticus in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, or Leonardo’s vineyard. Read the fine print, as some tours are only a guided talk leaving visitors to explore the final sights on their own. Also, transportation other than walking is often not included in these tours — walking is mostly the easier way to get around in central Milan.

Tips When Visiting The Last Supper Museum

Access to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper on a wall in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan is strictly controlled. Only 35 people at any given time are allowed into the room and visitors may only stay in the room for a maximum of 15 minutes. Returning is not possible.

The 15-minute limit applies to all visitors irrespective of how the ticket was purchased. The limit is very strictly enforced making it worth being a bit pushy if people are tardy to enter. 15 minutes are short, although some visitors spend less time than that in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

On the opposite wall of Leonardo’s masterpiece is the huge fresco of The Crucifixion (1495) by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. At least give it a glance on the way out.

Pick tickets up at least 30 minutes before the admission time. Bags must be placed in lockers before entering the refectory. It is allowed to take cameras in and take photos without using a flash or tripod.

Also for tours, arrive early as it is often a struggle to find the correct guide.

Tickets Prices for The Last Supper Museum

Admission tickets for the Last Supper Museum in Milan are €15 including the advance reservation fees. Admission is free for all children under 18 and young European Union and EEA nationals (18 to 25).

At some times, the official guided tour is given, which adds €8 to the admission ticket — it is not possible to visit at these times without paying for the tour. At these times – are usually 9.30, 11:30, 15:00, and 17:00 in English and 10:30, 12:30, 16:00, and 18:00 in Italian — the tour fee is automatically added to the booking. The tour is actually good value for money and a fraction of the price of other tours.

Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month — tickets are available only online from the preceding Wednesday. (In a change to previous practice, telephone bookings are no longer possible.) In contrast to many other free sights, there is no reason to avoid The Last Supper on a free Sunday, as the number of visitors allowed in at any given time is the same as on regular days (but good luck on scoring a reservation in the first place but worth trying if the dates work).

The Last Supper Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from around 8:00 to 19:00 but only the 15-minute reservation time is really relevant.

Buying Tickets to See the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan