Updated March 2023
On our last trip to Milan there was one work by Leonardo da Vinci that I knew I wanted to see. The problem was – the more I searched, the more confused I was about how to buy tickets to see the Last Supper.
Only 20 people are allowed inside to see the Last Supper at any given time so the experience is incredibly moving but it also means that the tickets are limited and hard to get. There are also tons of unofficial ticket websites trying to sell you tickets at a huge mark up because they know how many people want to see the masterpiece.
Here is how I managed to see the artwork the official way, why you should make the effort to visit, and every way you can buy tickets to see the Last Supper – even when they seem to be sold out.
How to Get Tickets to the Last Supper
Because only small groups are permitted into the rectory that houses the Last Supper at any given time, you have the space and the relative solitude to admire the masterpiece in a way that would never be possible with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
If you will be in Milan, book your Last Supper tickets online as far in advance as possible. If you are left with only an early morning option –take it. It will be worth it. They are typically released quarterly so keep checking 1-4 months before you need them.
(NOTE: the Last Supper is called “Cenacolo Vinciano” in Italian and this is how it will be listed on the online ticket site).
If there are no tickets left online and you cannot get through on the phone (which they rarely answer), I recommend trying to find a spot via Tiqets. Tiqets is a re-seller of Last Supper tickets, so instead of €15, the cost is more like €25 but the system is easy to use and it is A LOT cheaper than some of the other online resellers.
If that is sold out, you next best bet is to take a tour of the Last Supper. This includes the ticket into the chapel where you can see the fresco in, as well as a guided visit to the Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Or, if you plan to do a lot of different activities in Milan, I suggest the Milan Pass. The pass does NOT include Last Support tickets, however. You always need to buy these separately. However, the pass does get you into many attractions over a 48 hour period, including the Duomo and Leonardo’s Vineyard.
Visiting the Last Supper
When the alarm rang at 7:30 am, I had to scratch through the daze of not-quite-enough-sleep to understand where I was and why I was being jarred into consciousness. With the only Last Supper tickets available at an 8:45 am timeslot, we had to get moving.
At the time of booking, we had convinced ourselves that an early start would be fortifying.
Looking out at the Milan rain, I was less sure.
A brisk walk from the Duomo, we arrived at Santa Maria delle Grazie 20 minutes before our stated reservation time. Arriving at the ticket office in person 20 minutes early is required in order to confirm your entry.
While many many many tour companies offer re-sale tickets (which you might need if all the online reservations are gone) you can also book tickets directly with the museum using vivaticket. I was determined to buy the tickets myself, rather than pay a middleman.
Directly through vivaticket, the entrance to the Last Supper is 15 euros, with a 2 euro surcharge applied per ticket. A third party tour company will charge much more. I was able to pay with an American credit card with no issues.
Print your confirmation and bring it with you to pick up your physical tickets at the Last Supper’s ticket office.
You are allowed into the building 10 minutes before your starting time. (We walked across the street to pass the other 10 minutes with a much-needed coffee). Once inside the building, there is a bit of background information to read while you wait.
What I didn’t expect was the high tech crowd management system that they use for regulating entrance to the Last Supper. Once you leave the lobby, everything is strictly time controlled, with doors opening to let you into different waiting rooms via timers. Walking through a series of automatic doors, you are finally admitted into the rectory that is home to the famous fresco as the group ahead of you is filtering out another door.
Being an artist, Jimmy is also an art history buff. He had told me that the fresco began deteriorating just 20 years after Da Vinci completed. I expected the Last Supper to be heavily damaged.
While it IS faded, the fresco is actually well restored.
The perspective is masterful.
The table stretches the entire length of the fall, with perfectly positioned figures posed in various directions.
The tablecloth is creased, as though it was rapidly unfolded before being laid out for this final dinner.
Da Vinci has painted two walls into his fresco, giving the illusion of an entire room behind the diners. The vanishing point draws your eyes to Jesus – serenely gazing out from the center of the artwork.
There is another fresco in the room, but really all eyes are on the Last Supper. It is mesmerizing.
Learn More
Seeing the Last Supper in person is unforgettable but you only have 15 minutes with the masterpiece. I recommend learning as much as possible before you go inside so that you can appreciate all that makes Da Vinci’s painting so special.
Ready to visit? Grab your tickets to the Last Supper and start counting down the days.
Buon Viaggio!
Please note that the link to Tiqets and the tour is an affiliate link and I may be compensated if you choose to utilize the links. This is at no additional cost to you. You are not obligated to click on any link or buy any products that are advertised. The official site for tickets to the Last Supper is Vivaticket, as detailed in the post above.
how far is that from rome, can you take a train there,
Thanks for the great tip! I’ve searched several online discussion boards, websites, etc. but you had the most accurate information for my trip/tickets to see The Last Supper. 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Carol! I had the same experience when I was searching to buy tickets so I am very glad that this post was useful! Enjoy the Last Supper!
Hi Natalie…Thanks so much for this and all your other posts. Very helpful. I’m traveling to Italy next month and all the guided tours are sold out except for a 160 euro after hour tour w/ dinner at EATALY. Sounds very nice but super expensive. I think I’ll just buy the 10 euro ticket.
Question: Since all these guided tours offer “skip the line” are there really long lines to see The Last Supper? Even if you have a ticket with a reserved time?
Thanks!!
Hi Jessica – that’s exactly it! EVERYONE skips the line because your ticket has a reserved time. There is no need to worry, just show up 10-15 minutes before the entry time, as instructed when you book online!
How long does this take from getting your ticket to from when time is up?”
Hi Nedra! The ticket gives you 15 minutes inside with the fresco
Can you help me figure out how to buy ticket for the last supper?
I am a wheelchair user, it says it’s free to get in for wheelchair user but once I got into the ticket picking time and date…. it says the ticket I picked is for tour guide… I need three tickets but I can’t even get one that site. Can you help me figure it out please?
It might say “tour guide” because tour guides are also free – so they may have only created that one category.
Thank you! I can’t wait to see it. You e giventhe Best info I’ve seen about this.
I have tried several times to get tickets online for the last supper april 17 or 18 with no luck. There is NEVER any listed on the offical site. Do they release a few every day or?
No – they release the month at once. It has become really difficult to use their site, unfortunately. And the tour companies tend to book the tickets right away.
HI Natalie, I will be there on a 1st sunday, and I noticed that the tix are offered for Free but states that it needs to be called into the office? do you know anything about this? We are not there any other day and I need to figure out how to get a ticket . thank you !
Valuable information. Thanks for the help. I am traveling there in June 12, 2018 and I got my ticket way in advance from vivaticket. That can’t be stressed enough – ticket booking for Cenacolo Vinciano must be done 3 to 4 months ahead.
Sadly by the time I was sure of my dates in Milan there were no more online tickets available. Any other option besides resellers??
You can try lining up before the opening time on the day of, but this is a bit risky.
I noticed that vivaticket shows NO ticket availability for the next three months ( thru August ). I am hoping to get tickets for September, however when the tickets become available, I am afraid there will be none listed on line. I have tried calling 5 times without getting anyone to answer after being put on hold. The calls are disconnected after ~4 minutes. Is it possible to order tickets via email? Help!
If you go to the ticket office 30-40 minutes before the opening and you’re lucky, you may get a ticket for €10. I was able to buy one 2 days ago.
if you go to the ticket office 30-40 minutes before the opening and you’re lucky, you may be able to buy a ticket for €10. I was able to buy one 2 days ago.
great tip! But I would guess you really do need to be lucky!
What a great post. Thanks for the information.
I am planning a trip to Italy in May and want to include one day in Milan for the sole purpose of seeing The Last Supper. I feel a “need” to see this in person.
Flight and lodging must be finalized long before The Last Supper tickets are offered. Would you know if we can feel reasonably confident we can get six tickets on the only day we would have available once sales for that day open?
How quickly do they sell out in peak seasons?
Thank you
Great info! Thanks
How far in advance can you purchase tickets? Do they only open ticket sales 60 or 90 days in advance? Thanks so much.
The tickets appear constantly on the Vivaticket website but go quite quicky. Keep checking the website on a regular basis and i’m sure you’ll have no problems getting tickets.
I’m going next Saturday and managed to bag a pair of tickets today
Good luck
Is there away to purchase the tickets for April 2019? I awoke very early to try and get April when the tickets became available but the last tickets for April 14 disappeared just as I was attempting to buy! What other options are available outside tour s or combinations that’s are super expensive. Do tickets become available the closer the date gets through groups that cancelled?
Thanks for great information, Natalie! We will be traveling to Italy, Perillo Tours, in October, 2019.
I would like recommendations of private tours while in Rome, Bologna, Venice, and Cinque Terra? Maybe we could hire you?
Debbie Barnsley
Hi Debbie! I am not an official guide so I don’t give private tours (except for the occasional food tour) but I am happy to recommend some if you want to send me an email. My address is on the contact page on the top menu.
I was going to call to get tickets on the land line 1-800 but there are not enough numbers, do you know what the correct number is?? Thanks,
Hi, I am going to be in Milan on 10 May and keep going online to vita tickets and May has not appeared.I have rang the iffice and theysay have not been released but keep looking.I am after 4 tickets.
I did go to the museum site and they want $100 – Milan Experience
Any assistance be appreciated
I was told they were going to change the way tickets we’re sold and it would advantage the large tour companies. Is that correct? Heading there in September.
I appreciate the link but as I don’t read or speak Italian it was very hard to navigate the site.
Agreed! It is a very old site and not very English friendly, so I have included the best alternatives but you pay a small surcharge for the ease of convenience
Is there a way to wait in line for tickets if they don’t appear online?
This is without question the best information I have found. Thank you so much!!!
I do have two questions though. Do you happen to know if the alternate ticketing sites offer the tickets at the same as when they are posted on the Cenocolovinciano (vivaticket) site, or is the vivaticket site the best place to get them if you can access the site at the time the tickets are released?
I am a little concerned about my ability to read Italian well enough to know that I am purchasing the correct tickets on the vivaticket site, but I also want to make sure that I can obtain tickets for the short amount of time we will have in Milano. Do you know if the instructions for completing the ticket purchase are easy enough for those who are not fluent in Italian to follow?
Mille grazie ; )
hi! do you know if children are free? it looks like under 18 are free but I am seeing mixed messages that it only applies to EU children and US children still need to pay. Thank you so much!
Hi Natalie, I am looking for 2 adult guided tickets to the Last supper on Tuesday, July 9th 2019. Can you help me with that ?
How do they sell tickets that are refunded because the people aren’t coming? Do they sell those only at the ticket office? We are going next Month and everything is booked up, even the tours.
Natalie,
I am a little bit insecure in buying at .ticketbar.eu
Do you think it is trustful?
Regards
Hi! They are definitely a real company so you shouldn’t have any issues. I find their customer service to be responsive so just check that all the links work and download the tickets after you buy them so you can follow up with any issues
Hi, I will be travelling to Milan in November this year.
I went through tiqets and it’s only showing tickets available in september.
Is it because it’s still early to book on tiqets?
Hi Natalie. Since there are no more tickets available for the date I want on the viva site, if I get the Milan City Pass- can I still get in (and is it free)? With the pass, is it “skip the line” or do I have to wait in line for timeslots to open up? Thank you.
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for your comprehensive website.
I’ve tried all of your links to buy tickets for an April 2020 visit in December 2019 through Tiqets, they only seems to offer tix for the following month, and the direct tickets seem to be all gone 🙁
Can you link any other reputable resellers you recommend? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Rob
Hi Rob! They are usually released 2-3 months in advance so maybe it could be that the stock has not updated yet? I hope you have a chance to visit!