Milan · Duomo di Milano
The marble roof of Milan's Gothic cathedral, with 135 spires and the gilded Madonnina on top. Walk between flying buttresses and statues, climb to the central terrace 45 metres up, and spot the Alps on a clear day.
Independent guideTickets and experiences hand-picked by our editors.
Tours
In the centre, the guided tour of the cathedral and the terraces that most visitors book. Either side, the cheapest guided hour on the roof and a tour with reserved Last Supper tickets. Every card opens a full tour page.
Budget roof
★ 4.21 hourFree cancellationThe cheapest guided way onto the roof: the lift to the first terrace, then about 75 steps to the top with your guide. The cathedral interior is not part of it.
Most booked
★ 4.62.5 hoursFree cancellationA guide walks you through the cathedral, then you ride the lift to the terraces on the same skip-the-line ticket. On weekends the rooftop half can run later in the day.
Last Supper
★ 4.63 hoursFree cancellationReserved Last Supper entry, the hardest ticket in Milan, plus the Duomo interior and a walk past La Scala and Sforza Castle. The rooftop is not included.
Cathedral first
★ 4.51 to 3 hours
Roof only
★ 4.21 hour 10 min
Inside + roof
★ 4.42 hours
Walking tour
★ 4.93 hours
Self-guided
★ 4.22 hoursCompare
Three questions sort it out. Do you want the inside of the cathedral or only the roof? Do you want a guide, or just the view? And is the Last Supper on your list, because that ticket is the one that runs out?
| Tour | Where | Rooftop | Best for | Length | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duomo & Rooftop Super Saver Guided Tour | Inside the cathedral, then the terraces | Lift up, guided | Inside and on the roof with one guide | 2.5 hours | $56 | Book |
| 1-Hour Duomo Rooftop Guided Tour | Terraces only, lift up | Lift up, about 75 steps more | The roof with a guide, on a budget | 1 hour | $48 | Book |
| Duomo & Last Supper Small-Group Tour | Duomo inside, then Santa Maria delle Grazie | No | Seeing the Last Supper without the ticket hunt | 3 hours | $127 | Book |
| Duomo Cathedral Guided Tour, Rooftop Optional | Cathedral, museum, San Gottardo | Optional, by lift | A guided cathedral visit; the lift to the roof is an add-on option | 1 to 3 hours | $36 | Book |
| Duomo Rooftop Terrace Guided Tour | Terraces only, lift up | Lift up, about 50 steps more | A guide on the roof for about an hour, lift up | 1 hour 10 min | $57 | Book |
| Duomo & Rooftop Skip-the-Line Tour | Inside the cathedral, then the terraces | Lift up, guided | Cathedral and rooftop with a licensed guide in two hours | 2 hours | $86 | Book |
| Duomo, Rooftop, Sforza Castle & Gelato | Galleria, Duomo, terraces, Sforza Castle | Lift up, 45 minutes | Small group: the roof by lift, then a city walk and gelato | 3 hours | $112 | Book |
| Duomo Lift Ticket with Museum & Audio App | Cathedral, terraces by lift, museum | Lift up, on your own | No guide: the lift ticket, the museum and an audio app | 2 hours | $85 | Book |
Official tickets bought direct in 2026: Duomo Pass Lift €26, Duomo Pass Stairs €22, Culture Pass €15 (no terraces). Children under 6 go free. Every tour above cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Before you book
The roof of the Duomo has two levels. The first runs round the whole building about 31 metres above the piazza, past flying buttresses, gargoyles and spires topped with saints. Two steep flights then lead to the central terrace over the nave, about 45 metres up, where you stand on the sloping marble roof right under the Great Spire and the Madonnina.
The part most people get wrong is the lift. It only goes to the first level. From there everyone climbs to the central terrace on foot, and the way down is on stairs for everyone, lift ticket or not. The lift saves you the long climb up, about 250 steps, and costs €4 more on the official Duomo Pass. A guided tour adds a story to the view, not a shortcut: every visitor passes the same security check.
Metres up: the central terrace over the nave, the highest point visitors reach. The lift stops at about 31 metres; the last flights and the whole way down are on foot.
The lift reaches the first level only. The top terrace and the way down are stairs for all.
No. A guide adds the stories and handles the tickets, for about $20 to $30 more.
Shoulders and knees covered inside the cathedral, flat shoes with grip on the roof.
Anyone who fears heights or cannot manage stairs: wheelchairs reach the first terrace only.
Your visit
About an hour on the roof, two and a half to three hours if you add the cathedral and the museum. This is the shape of it.
Bags opened and a metal detector for everyone, fast track or not. Large bags, glass and suitcases stay outside.
5 to 30 minutesThe lift to the first level, about 31 metres up, or about 250 steps on foot. Your timed slot is the start of the climb.
2 to 15 minutesRound the spires and buttresses, then up the last flights to the central terrace over the nave, under the Madonnina.
40 to 60 minutesStairs down for everyone. With a Duomo Pass, the cathedral, the museum and the archaeological area follow.
1 to 2 hoursPlan your visit
Tickets, lift or stairs, hours and the rules at the door: one tab each.
Where it happens
Official ticket office: Piazza del Duomo 14/A, beside the cathedral. Metro: Duomo (M1, M3).
Everything starts on the piazza. The official ticket office and its machines are at Piazza del Duomo 14/A, and a second desk is inside the Duomo Museum in Palazzo Reale. Most guided tours meet under the arcades on the north side of the square: Veditalia at Piazza del Duomo 4 by the 12 OZ coffee bar, other operators outside the Mondadori bookshop. The terrace entrances are on the sides of the cathedral, so follow your guide or the signs for your ticket type.
Around your visit
Timing, what visitors wish they had known, the Last Supper question and the fine print.
Duomo di Milano
Pick the way up, then pick your slot.
Check availabilityGuest reviews
★★★★★Our guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the Duomo. She explained everything very clearly and was attentive to any questions. To be able to tour the interior plus the rooftop gives a great perspective.
★★★★★The guide was great, very informative and entertaining. The view from the rooftop was amazing and you are so close to view the intricate sculptures
★★★★★The tour was approximately 3 hours. [...] My favorite part was seeing Milan and the distant mountains (Alps and Apennines) from the top of the Duomo.
★★★★★The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and delivered the information in a fun an interactive way. Skipping the lines in both buildings was really key.
★★★★★It was the perfect amount of time - about a hour. Simon was a great guide - very thorough & fun!! We toured the rooftop terrace & then the cathedral. Amazing history & architecture - highly recommend!!
★★★★★Such an interesting tour and definitely the way to see the Milan Duomo. [...] The views from the rooftop terraces were amazing!
★★★★★If you have a fear of heights this may not be for you. It’s a terrific view from the top [...] After the rooftop lift you need to ascend stairs to another floor above and then a lot more to get back down inside where you can tour there. Genuinely brilliant though
★★★★★Sylvie was great! Informative and fun! [...] See the whole of it…including the rooftop! It’s a whole new perspective! Thank you Sylvie!
★★★★★We really like that the Duomo is the last place and we get to roam on our own after the tour. The last supper experience was great. Would definitely recommend this tour. Lots of walking so wear comfortable shoes.
Same trip, another day
Climb the roof one morning, see Leonardo the next. A guided day with reserved tickets takes the hunt out of it.
The rooftop takes an hour. The Last Supper is the ticket that sells out months ahead. This guided day covers the Duomo, San Maurizio, Sforza Castle and Leonardo's mural with reserved entry. Climb the terraces on another morning.
Last Supper entrySforza CastleGuided day
The guide
Most famous viewpoints are a platform at the top of a tower. The Duomo's is a walk across a Gothic roof, among the statues, and that changes how you should plan it.
Building started in 1386, and the Veneranda Fabbrica, the works office that still runs the cathedral, was founded a year later by Gian Galeazzo Visconti. He chose the pink-veined white marble from Candoglia, up near Lake Maggiore, for the whole building. The roof is where all that marble shows: 135 spires, flying buttresses carved like lace, 150 gargoyles and a crowd of saints you never see properly from the piazza. The Great Spire went up between 1765 and 1770, and the gilded copper Madonnina was set on top at the end of 1774. She is 4.16 metres tall, was wrapped in a grey-green cloth from 1939 to 1945, and got new gilding in 2012.
The lift is the better buy if your knees complain, and only then. It takes you to the first level of terraces, about 31 metres up. From there the route is the same for everyone: round the spires, then two steep flights to the central terrace at about 45 metres, then all the way down on foot. Operators tell lift customers to expect between 50 and 75 steps after the lift. The stairs ticket means roughly 250 steps on the way up and saves €4. With a fit group, take the stairs and spend the difference on a coffee in the Galleria. The lift holds 7 people, so at busy times its queue can cancel out the time it saves.
On your own, the roof is a beautiful walk with few labels. A guide fills it in: which saints stand where, why some spires look newer than others, how the marble reached the city by canal. The guided tours here start at $48 for an hour on the roof and $56 for the cathedral and the roof together, with headsets in larger groups. If you want the view and nothing else, the official ticket and an early slot are enough. The $85 lift ticket with an audio app is the one product here we would only pick if the official site has sold out your date.
Go at opening time or late in the day. The first slots have the shortest lines and soft light; late afternoon turns the marble warm, and in summer 2026 the terraces stayed open until 8 pm from Friday to Sunday. Winter brings the clearest air and your best chance of the Alps on the horizon. Avoid midday in July: the white roof reflects the heat and there is no shade. Book the Last Supper first if you want it, then fit the roof around that slot.
Guides
In-depth guides to the questions people ask most before booking. See all guides.
Tickets & pricesEvery official ticket, what it covers and what tours add.Lift or stairsWhere the lift stops, how many steps remain, and the way down.
Guided tour worth it?What a guide adds, what it costs, and who should skip one.
Duomo + Last SupperBoth in one day: tickets, timing and the combo tours.Best time to visitMorning or sunset, which months, and when the Alps show.
Dress code & securityShoulders, knees, shoes for the roof, bags and security.From the blog
Opening hours, ticket releases and what changes. All posts.
FAQ
Straight answers to what people ask most about the Milan Duomo rooftop.
Bought direct from the Veneranda Fabbrica, the Duomo Pass Lift costs €26 and the Duomo Pass Stairs €22 in 2026; both include the cathedral, the terraces, the Duomo Museum and the archaeological area. Terraces-only tickets cost a little less. Guided rooftop tours on Viator start at $48. The full comparison is in the ticket price guide.
The lift saves about 250 steps on the way up, but it only reaches the first level, about 31 metres up. Everyone climbs the last flights to the central terrace on foot, and everyone walks down. The lift costs €4 more on the Duomo Pass. See lift or stairs.
About 250 steps if you climb from the ground. With the lift you still face a few dozen: the tour operators say 50 to 75 to reach the central terrace, and the way down is on foot for everyone.
Yes in spring, summer and on weekends. Tickets are timed: the slot on a Duomo Pass is the time you start the climb, with 30 minutes of tolerance either side. Booking ahead does not skip the security check, which everyone passes.
If you want the stories behind the statues and someone to handle tickets and timing, yes. A guided tour costs about $20 to $30 more than the official ticket for the same visit. If you only want the view, buy the official ticket and go early. Our guided tour guide does the maths.
Inside the cathedral: no sleeveless or low-cut tops, shorts, miniskirts or hats. Cover shoulders and knees, or carry a scarf. On the terraces, wear flat shoes with grip. Large bags, glass and suitcases are not allowed. Full list in the dress code guide.
Normally 9 am to 7 pm, with last entry around 6.10 pm. In 2026 the terraces stayed open to 8 pm on spring holidays and summer weekends. Ticket offices close 70 minutes before closing. Details in the 2026 hours post.
Plan 45 minutes to an hour on the terraces, plus time for security. With the cathedral and the museum, most people need two and a half to three hours. Guided rooftop tours last about an hour.
Yes: Santa Maria delle Grazie is about a 20-minute walk from the Duomo. The hard part is the Last Supper ticket, which sells out weeks ahead. Combo tours include a reserved slot. See Duomo and Last Supper.
Children under 12 must stay with an adult, prams go up folded, and under-6s go free. Wheelchair users can reach the first terrace only, by the south lift from 10 am to 5 pm, with a companion; the central terrace is stairs only.
Every tour on this site cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start. Official tickets are different: no refunds, but you can change the date up to one working day before, within three months of purchase.
Ready to book
Timed entry, a guide who knows the statues, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every tour.
More: the Duomo with the Last Supper · a small-group walk with gelato · Milan in one day
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