Milan Leonardo da Vinci Museum Tickets and Visits

In the city of Milan, the name of Leonardo Da Vinci is very important, and the Museum of Science and Technology of Milan, is a space dedicated especially to the life of the artist. Better known as the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, it was founded in 1953 and there you can find clear samples of his creativity and his history, and it is one of the best things to do in Milan on your vacation.

Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist, an inventor, a scientist and also a painter; so the works you will see inside the museum range from inventions, drawings, plans, works and even created elements. The curious thing about all these elements is that they formed an essential part in the scientific and technological evolution of the world throughout history.

The entrance to the Museum has the following prices:

• General admission: 10€.
• Reduced admission: 7,50€ (people from 3 to 26 years old, and seniors over 65 years old)
• Free: children under 3 years old

Remember to bring an ID to check which type of ticket you have to pay for. You can buy it at the ticket office and you can also book your ticket online.

If you prefer, you can buy tickets at the Museum's ticket office. This possibility is only for tickets for the exhibitions, since for the guided tours you must book online. I will tell you about this in the next section.

Tickets cost the same at the ticket office or if you buy them through the museum's website. The ticket office is located at the door of the Museum, in Via San Vittore 21, Milan.

Yes, there are guided tours at the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, with which you can visit both the Museum and the interior of the Todi Submarine, the great star of the Museum.

To access them, you must pay the price of admission to the Museum and, in addition, the cost of the visit that I will detail below.

Visits to the Submarine are in high demand, so I recommend you book your visit in advance, but you can also buy at the ticket office if you wish and if there is availability. It is not possible to buy the guided tour separately from the museum entrance, you must buy both tickets at the same time.

Guided tours are conducted in groups of a maximum of 25 people, and there are two types of tours: one lasting 55 minutes, and another lasting 110 minutes. You can take your tour in either English or Italian. Unfortunately, there are no guided tours of the Museum in other languages.

The prices of the guided tours are:

• 55 minutes: €90 + admission ticket
• 110 minutes: 150€ + admission ticket

Yes, they are included in the Milan Pass. All those who have the card have totally free access to the Museum. Guided tours are not included.

• Tuesday to Friday: 9.30 am to 5 pm.
• Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Summer hours (from June 21 to September 11)

• Tuesday to Friday: 10hs to 18hs
• Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 10hs to 19hs.

There are several ways to get to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum that I will detail below:

• By tourist bus: Milan has a great tourist bus system thatcovers everything you must see in the city. No matter what length of pass you have, you can get to the San Ambrosio station which will drop you off just a few meters from the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.
• By Metro: If you are traveling in Milan by Metro, you should take the M2 line and get off at San Ambrogio station. From anywhere in the city you can get off at Milano Centrale station and then change to the M2 line.
• By bus: If you prefer to travel by bus instead, lines 58 and 94 will drop you off at the Museum. Line 58 drops you off at the Museo della Scienza stop, right in front of the Museum; and line 94 drops you off at the Carducci stop, where you can walk a few meters and reach the Museum easily and comfortably.
• By train: you must arrive at one of the main stations of the city of Milan. Whether it is Milano Centrale, Porta Garibaldi, Lambrate FS or Cadorna station, you can take the M2 in the direction of Abbiategrasso to San Ambrogio station.
• By car: The Leonardo Da Vinci Museum is located in the city center of Milan. If you arrive by car, I recommend you to park easily near the Museum at Carducci Parking in via Olona.
• From the airport: If you arrive at Malpensa Airport, you can take the Malpensa Express service to the Cadorna - City Center stop. From there, then take the M2 metro towards Abbiategrasso, to San Ambrogio station.

If, instead, you arrive at Linate Airport, you can take bus 73 to the Viale Campania Viale Corsica stop, and then bus 91 to the Loreto stop. There, you can take the M2 subway in the direction of Abbiategrasso to San Ambrogio station.

Yes, it is advisable to attend the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum with children. The reality is that the Museum will have many objects that will attract the attention of the little ones and it is a highly recommended activity to do with the family during your stay in Milan.

Over the years, this huge museum has been modernized several times and today it has become much more interactive. In fact, children can even explore the special laboratories where they can perform experiments on their own.

Also, if you take the guided tour, they can venture inside the Todi Submarine. This part of the visit is a jaw-dropping experience for adults and children alike, making it a great plan when deciding what to do in Milan with kids.

The museum's collection is really extensive and occupies different buildings where each one is dedicated to a different subject. You can learn about metallurgy, smelting and transportation, time measurement, optics, cinema, astronomy, acoustics, physics, printing, telephone, photography and television.

Here is a list of the main sites to focus on during your visit.

Leonardo Da Vinci Room:

This is the most important room since the museum is named after Leonardo da Vinci. Here, you will find different real inventions and models of ancient inventions, created by this character throughout his life. What is impressive is the variety of these machines designed by Da Vinci, as you will find more than 30 objects ranging from household materials, military vehicles, cars, ships and even a spectacular model of what Da Vinci considered an ideal city.

The wooden models are something you can't miss on this visit. In fact, it has been proven that many models were not possible at the time they were created, but today they would be inventions that would be easily realized. Of course, there are already much more modern inventions, so it makes no sense to manufacture them.

Exploring in detail the birth of such important inventions for the history of the world and humanity is what makes this visit worthwhile and what attracts the attention of so many tourists who visit every year.

The Museum Library

This huge library has about 40,000 copies, 1700 volumes, a collection of 1000 books dedicated to Leonardo Da Vinci, more than 800 magazines with articles throughout history about this character and more.

There are thousands of pages of notebooks and diaries of Leonardo Da Vinci where you can check the advanced mind he had, and the varied ideas that touched all areas: helicopter designs, battle tanks or submarines are just some examples.

This incredible display has both scientific and artistic pieces, and is an unparalleled record of the evolution of Italian technology and industry, from the 19th century to the present day.

Transportation room:

I highly recommend you to visit this room of the Museum because I consider it one of the best places you will find. Here, you will be able to contemplate large machinery and find great curiosities that you never imagined, such as the first locomotive in Italy, a huge ship and even a submarine. This is the favorite sector of all children, who are very surprised to find these great objects inside a closed museum. Don't miss it!

The time you need to spend on your own at the Museum will depend on the degree of detail you need to evaluate each invention and each object that is part of the exhibits.

Since the collection is very extensive, you will be able to spend long hours exploring the museum's surroundings and its curiosities. There is also a lot of interesting information about Leonardo Da Vinci and the history of science and technology.

In a one-hour visit, you will be able to see superficially the contents of the museum, but not go too deep into the information or details.

If you take the guided tour, the tour lasts 55 minutes or 110 minutes, depending on which tour you choose. After the visit, you can even stay in the Museum to see again what you liked the most or take pictures of what you find most curious.

• If you don't have much prior information about this character, his life and his impact on human history, I recommend taking the guided tour of the Museum. There is a lot to see and the guided tour can give you the order and information you need to get the most out of your visit to the Museum.

• While the models and inventions are something you must see, having a guide explain them to you will help you understand the context and the
  guide will help you understand the context and purpose for which they were created, as it is difficult to imagine everyday life so many years ago.

• The visit to the Museum is easily combined with other activities during your day, as it is located in the center of the city of Milan where you have many things to do and see. To give you an idea, the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie where Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is located is only 400 meters away; it is another must-see activity during your stay in Milan. Then you can visit the Basilica of St. Ambrose, also 400 meters away, and the Archaeological Museum of Milan, about 600 meters away.