Milan 7-Day Itinerary: Last Supper, Lake Como, Bergamo

How should you spend 7 days in Milan?

Spend five days in Milan at an easy pace: the Duomo, a Last Supper slot with Sant’Ambrogio and the canals, Brera with the Castello Sforzesco, contemporary art in the north, and a free final day. Use the other two for trains to Lake Como and to Bergamo’s walled upper town.

A week lets Milan’s big three, the Duomo, the Last Supper and Brera, each have a day without a queue against the clock. The Milan 3-day itinerary pairs the Last Supper with the Castello and splits Brera across two days; this plan puts the Castello with Brera, gives the Last Supper day to the old western quarter and the canals, and adds the lake and Bergamo between city days.

Hours, fares and booking rules were checked on official pages on 16 and 17 October 2026. Base yourself near Milano Centrale, Cadorna or a central metro stop, because both day trips leave from the main stations; where to stay in Milan compares the areas, and the best time to visit Milan shows which weeks carry fashion and design events.

Which days of the week does the plan depend on?

Mondays close the Last Supper, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Castello museums, Wednesdays close the Duomo Museum, and Pirelli HangarBicocca opens only from Thursday to Sunday. A Monday, Tuesday or Saturday start runs as written; other start days need one swap, which the table spells out. Lake Como and Bergamo work any day.

The closures come from the Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano (Mondays, 1 January and 25 December), the Pinacoteca di Brera (Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December), the Castello Sforzesco (Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May), the Duomo Museum (Wednesdays) and Pirelli HangarBicocca (Monday to Wednesday). The Villa Reale di Monza lists winter opening from Wednesday to Sunday.

Free days change the mood: the Castello is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month, Brera is free with a reservation that day, and the Duomo Museum is free on the last Sunday. Expect fuller rooms rather than a bargain, and keep your Last Supper slot fixed, because its tickets cannot be changed.

What should you book before a week in Milan?

Book the Last Supper first: reservations open in quarterly batches, with February to April 2027 slots released in December 2026, and a few extra tickets every Wednesday at noon for the following week. Then fix a timed Brera entry, a free HangarBicocca slot and, if you choose Monza, a Villa Reale ticket.

Adults pay €15 for the Last Supper, 18- to 25-year-olds €2 and under-18s nothing, though even infants need a booking; each visit lasts 15 minutes for up to 40 people, tickets carry your name and cannot be refunded, and they must be collected at least 30 minutes before the slot. Each person may buy up to five tickets a year. If your batch has sold out, a guided tour that includes entry is the fallback.

Brera’s Grande Brera ticket costs €20, or €4 for visitors aged 18 to 25, and covers Palazzo Citterio on the same day and the following six days, which suits a week-long stay. HangarBicocca is free, with online booking guaranteeing priority in your slot, and the Villa Reale strongly recommends buying its €15 ticket in advance.

Your room carries a tax: since 1 April 2026, Milan has charged €3 to €12 a night depending on the hotel’s stars, according to Il Giorno, which we cite because the Comune di Milano page blocked our checks.

Days 1 and 2: how do you pace the Duomo and the Last Supper?

Give day 1 to the cathedral, its terraces and the Duomo Museum, closed on Wednesdays, with the Galleria and La Scala’s square nearby. On day 2, take a morning Last Supper slot, arriving 30 minutes early, walk to the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, and spend the evening by the Navigli canals.

Pack light for the Duomo: large bags are not allowed inside, and the cathedral points visitors to storage nearby. The Duomo Museum, on the ground floor of the Royal Palace, opens from 10am to 7pm every day except Wednesday and holds original statues, stained glass and models taken from the building, so it is the place to go when cloud spoils the terraces.

The Last Supper admits visitors from 8:15am to 7pm, Tuesday to Sunday, at Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie 2; Cadorna on M1 and M2, Conciliazione on M1 and tram 16 are the nearest stops. Its own timetable limits each group to 15 minutes, which leaves the rest of the day for the streets south and west, where Sant’Ambrogio and then the canal quarter make an easy walk.

On a slow week, there is no need to add the Castello on day 2, as the 3-day plan does; it sits with Brera on day 4. If day 2 is rainy, the Duomo Museum or Milan in the rain fills the afternoon.

Day 3: how do you do Lake Como as a day trip from Milan?

Take a Trenord regional train from Milano Centrale towards Lecco and Tirano and get off at Varenna, then use Navigazione Laghi’s central-lake ferries between Varenna, Bellagio, Cadenabbia and Menaggio. A one-day boat pass costs €8 to €32 depending on the stretch. From November a winter timetable applies, so plan your return first.

Trenord lists its RE8 line as Tirano–Sondrio–Lecco–Milano and RE7 as Como–Saronno–Milano, and names Milano Centrale–Varenna among its most-searched routes; its timetable pages could not be read for this guide, so check departures in its app. Navigazione Laghi runs the ferry route Bellagio–Cadenabbia–Varenna–Menaggio and published Lake Como timetables for 5 October to 1 November 2026, with the winter timetable after that.

Its fares from 1 April 2026 set one-way adult tickets at €3 to €14.50 depending on the number of stretches, with fast-service supplements of €1.50 to €5.50, and one-day free-circulation passes from €8 to €32. Tickets bought on board at a pier with an open ticket office cost €1 more, and children under four travel free.

The lake is a full day, so leave by mid-morning and confirm the last train back from Varenna before you board a boat. If you prefer one town without boats, RE7 trains from Cadorna to Como Lago reach the southern end of the lake instead; the best time to visit Milan explains which months suit lake weather.

Day 4: how do you combine Brera, Palazzo Citterio and the Castello?

Book a morning slot at the Pinacoteca di Brera, which opens from 8:30am, then use the same ticket at Palazzo Citterio. After lunch, walk to the Castello Sforzesco, whose museums open Tuesday to Sunday until 5:30pm and include Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà, and end in Parco Sempione. Avoid Mondays.

The Pinacoteca di Brera opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30am to 7:15pm, with last entry at 6pm, and Palazzo Citterio adds modern and contemporary art and a garden to the Grande Brera; check Citterio’s own opening days when you book.

The Castello Sforzesco opens its museums from 10am to 5:30pm, with the ticket office closing at 4:30pm, and one €10 ticket, or €5 reduced and free for under-18s, covers every museum for the day, including the Rondanini Pietà museum and the Egyptian gallery. Its courtyards are free every day from 7am to 7:30pm. The Sala delle Asse painted by Leonardo is closed for restoration.

Brera to the Castello is a short walk, and Parco Sempione lies behind the castle, so this is a day without public transport. Families will find more castle and park ideas in Milan with kids.

Day 5: how do you see Bergamo’s Città Alta in a day?

Take a direct train from Milan to Bergamo, about 50 minutes, then ATB bus 1a, which leaves the station every ten minutes for the funicular up to Città Alta. Walk Piazza Vecchia, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Colleoni Chapel, then follow the Venetian Walls, a UNESCO site since 2017.

VisitBergamo says direct trains link Bergamo with Milan in about 50 minutes and that bus 1a runs from the station in Piazzale Marconi every ten minutes to the lower funicular station, while line 1 continues to Colle Aperto at the top of the old town. Trenord lists the RE2 Bergamo–Pioltello–Milano and R14 Bergamo–Carnate–Milano lines.

The city funicular first ran in 1887 and climbs 85 metres over just 240 metres of track; on weekdays in school terms it runs uphill from about 7am to 8:20pm, and on Sundays and holidays from 7:40am to midnight. Up top, VisitBergamo lists Piazza Vecchia, Santa Maria Maggiore and the Colleoni Chapel among the upper town’s sights.

The Venetian Walls, about 6 km long, became part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Venetian defence works in 2017; walking a stretch of them in the late afternoon is the best way to end the day before the funicular down.

Days 6 and 7: what fills the last two days?

On day 6, from Thursday to Sunday, visit Pirelli HangarBicocca, a free contemporary art space in the north of the city, and walk Porta Nuova on the way back. From Wednesday to Sunday, the Villa Reale di Monza is the alternative. Keep day 7 free for anything missed before the Malpensa Express.

Pirelli HangarBicocca at Via Chiese 2 opens from Thursday to Sunday, 10:30am to 8:30pm, with last admission at 7:30pm; from Ponale on M5, bus 51 runs to the Via Chiese stop, and bus 87 runs there from Stazione Centrale. Its current shows include Aki Sasamoto’s XYZ until 17 January 2027 and Luciano Fabro’s Inhabiting Space until 21 February 2027.

The Villa Reale di Monza opens in winter from Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, and at weekends and on holidays from 10:30am to 6:30pm, with full tickets at €15; from Monza station, bus Z221 serves the palace. On day 7, the Malpensa Express runs from Cadorna to Terminal 1 in about 37 minutes, every 30 minutes, for €15 (fares).

ATM sells urban tickets at €2.20 for 90 minutes, €7.60 for 24 hours and €15.50 for three days, and contactless cards switch to the daily fare after four journeys, which suits a week of mixed walking and riding. Compare airport options in Malpensa to Milan by train or transfer and which Milan airport is best for the city.

How should weather, strikes and events change the week?

In July and August, when Linate averages 29°C highs, put the lake and Bergamo early in the day and museums in the afternoon. October is the wettest month, so keep a museum swap ready. Watch for transport strikes, which the FCDO says are often called at short notice, and for fashion and design weeks.

Air Force normals for Milano Linate, published by the WMO, give July a 29.2°C average high, January a 5.9°C high and −0.9°C low, and October 122mm of rain, the most of any month; the Air Force recorded summer 2026 as northern Italy’s hottest since 1961. The FCDO also flags pickpocketing at main train and metro stations.

Event weeks fill hotels and trains: Camera Moda lists women’s fashion week from 23 February to 1 March 2027, and Fuorisalone runs design events across the city from 12 to 18 April 2027. Full dates are in the best time to visit Milan.

Which tours are worth booking for a week in Milan?

A Last Supper tour that includes entry is worth it if the public batch has sold out. A Duomo tour with the terraces suits first-timers who want the building explained, and a lake tour with transport saves timing trains and ferries. Bergamo is easy alone. Check inclusions and cancellation terms first.

Before booking a Last Supper tour, check that entry is included and that the meeting time respects the 30-minute collection rule (Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano); the Duomo runs its own guided tours and after-hours openings (Duomo di Milano). Our GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook comparison explains the platforms.

For the city overview, see the Milan destination guide and Milan hotels; things to do in Milan and getting around Milan fill any gaps. Heading on by rail? See Milan to Venice by train or plane.

• Is a week too long for Milan? No; five city days and two train trips keep the pace easy.
• Do I need a car for Lake Como? No; trains and ferries cover Varenna and Bellagio.
• What closes on Mondays? The Last Supper, Brera and the Castello museums.
• When does HangarBicocca open? Thursday to Sunday only, and entry is free.
• Where should I stay? See where to stay in Milan.