Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle) sits just north of Milan’s Duomo and is a former Renaissance fortress now housing the city’s civic museums. The courtyards are open daily 7 AM-7:30 PM and free to enter, while the museums inside run Tuesday-Sunday 10 AM-5:30 PM, with last entry at 4:30 PM, for a €5 full-price ticket covering all civic collections.
Highlights include the Sala delle Asse, decorated with Leonardo da Vinci’s only surviving fresco cycle in Milan, and the Pietà Rondanini Museum, home to Michelangelo’s final, unfinished sculpture. The Pinacoteca art gallery and Museum of Musical Instruments round out the collections, alongside the photogenic Filarete Tower gateway.
Arriving right at the 10 AM opening avoids the tour groups that typically arrive after 11 AM. The castle is a 10-minute walk north of the Duomo via Via Dante, or reachable by Metro lines M1 and M2 to Cairoli Castello or Cadorna FN.
