Searching for the Last Supper in Milan

We only had an afternoon in Milan, so we could only visit a couple places. We decided that we definitely would like to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper.

We arrived at Milan Central and the first thing was to quickly check in our hotel and drop off the suitcases. The hotel attendant heard that we were going to see the Last Supper and especially warned us that we needed to make a reservation way ahead of time. Good for us that we got our reservation already!

Lizzy and King Hop’s tips:

Because of its artistic value and fragile condition, only a small group of people are allowed to enter the chamber per time and there are a limited number of groups per day. The tickets for the Last Supper sold out very quickly, so plan ahead. We bought our tickets 3 months ahead when the tickets for the given date that we were planning to be in Milan were just open for sale. We used the Select Italy website. Their price was pretty reasonable.

We took the metro from Milan Central Station to the Cadorna FN M1 Station.

There was a little side story when we were getting the metro tickets. While we were standing in front of the ticket machine figuring out how to get tickets, a guy approached us and quickly “helped” us pressing the right buttons. When he noticed that we were going to pay with a credit card, he walked away.

It turned out that the machine didn’t accept our credit card for some reason. While we were trying to get the change for the tickets, he quickly walked back, took money out of our hands, put the money in the machine, took the change and walked away. Everything happened very fast. We were shocked and couldn’t respond. Still lucky for us that he only took the change and left the metro tickets for us.

From Cadorna FN M1 Station to Santa Maria delle Grazie, where the Last Supper is located, is about a 10 minute walk. We were a little nervous in case we got lost and missed our reservation. It turned out to be a easy walk. The streets were not crowded and we didn’t get lost at all.

Here we were, right in front of Santa Maria delle Grazie! This was a beautiful church with lots of ornamental details.

Because we arrived early to exchange our reservation for the actual tickets, we had some time to walk around. The inside of Santa Maria delle Grazie is decorated with many beautiful wall paintings, sculptures, and colored glass windows.

Finally, it was our time to view the masterpiece, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper. We passed through a courtyard and entered an empty room, where a photocopy of Last Supper is displayed. The actual Last Supper is not allowed to be photographed and this photocopy of it is to satisfy everyone’s temptation of taking a photo of the Last Supper. The viewing time for the Last Supper is only 15 minutes per group. This time limitation is set to control the environment surrounding Last Supper, so that this great art can last.

After viewing the Last Supper, we passed through another side of the courtyard and entered a gift shop, where I got a book, “Last Supper”.

We accomplished what we decided to do with our short time in Milan and now we were back on the street. For the rest of our evening, we leisurely walked around. On the way, we observed the busy street and the impressive architecture. We found La Scala (the abbreviation for Teatro all Scala. It is a world-famous opera house), Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (a beautiful glass covered high-end shopping mall), and Duomo di Milano (one of the largest cathedrals in the world. It took more than 600 years to complete the building)! We also tasted the best tiramisu that we have ever had!

On the Way to Duomo di Milano from Santa Maria delle Grazie

Entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Our trip to Milan was very short with a very limited amount of time. I was so glad that I saw Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper. This modern and artistic city leaves good memories (even with our shocking side story in the metro). See you again, Milan. Next time, I would stay longer so that I can see more of you!