Leonardo Da Vinci Milan Museum

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 holidays.

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 items. The curious thing about all these elements is that they formed an essential part of the scientific and technological evolution of the world throughout history.

Admission to the Museum has the following prices:

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

Remember to bring identification to check which type of ticket you are paying for. You can buy it at the ticket office or you can book your ticket online.

If you prefer, you can buy your tickets at the Museum's ticket office. This option is only available for exhibition tickets, as you must book online for guided tours. I will tell you more 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, 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 star of the Museum.

In order to access them, you must pay the entrance fee to the Museum and, in addition, the cost of the visit, which I will detail below.

Visits to the Submarine are in very high demand, so I recommend you book your visit in advance, but you can also buy it 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 tour: one lasting 55 minutes, and the other 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 pass holders have free access to the Museum. Guided tours are not included.

• Tuesday to Friday: 9.30hs to 17hs
• Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Summer opening hours (from 21 June to 11 September)

• 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 which I will detail below:

• By tourist bus: Milan has a great tourist bus system thatcovers everything you need to see in the city. No matter what length of pass you have, you can get to San Ambrosio station, which will drop you just a few metres away from the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.
• By Metro: If you are travelling around Milan by Metro, 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, 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 metres and reach the Museum easily and comfortably.
• By train: you must arrive at one of the main stations in 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 centre 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 Centre 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. From there, you can take the M2 metro towards Abbiategrasso to San Ambrogio station.

Yes, it is advisable to go to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum with children. In fact, 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 modernised several times and, nowadays, 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 tour 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, each dedicated to a different subject. You can learn about metallurgy, smelting and transport, time measurement, optics, cinema, astronomy, acoustics, physics, printing, the 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 as 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 not to be missed 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 could easily be realised. Of course, much more modern inventions already exist, so there is no point in making 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 it 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 Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks and diaries where you can see what an advanced mind he had, and the varied ideas that touched all fields: helicopter designs, battle tanks or submarines are just a few 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.

Transport 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 favourite sector of all children, who are very surprised to find these great objects inside an enclosed museum. Don't miss it!

The amount of 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 forms part of the exhibits.

As 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 the contents of the museum superficially, but not go too deeply 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 photographs of what you find most interesting.

• If you don't have much prior information about this figure, his life and his impact on human history, I recommend you take 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 a 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 city centre of Milan where you have plenty of 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 metres away; it is another must-do during your stay in Milan. Then, you can visit the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, also 400 metres away, and the Archaeological Museum of Milan, about 600 metres away.