Last Supper

We are planning a trip in reverse of yours, Venice to Milan to Lake Como, and plan to see The Last Supper during the layover. We will leave Venice in the early morning to catch the train to Milan, leave our luggage at the Milan Centrale train station, go into Milan for lunch and then see The Last Supper (we are planning to get afternoon reservations) and then back to the train station to head for Lake Como.

We spent 2 nights in Milan , thought The Last Supper was well worth seeing, as well as the Duomo and La Scala. Stayed at Hotel Berna, easy walk to the train station to get to Venice.

I saw the Last Supper in 1989 (before the more recent restorations), but my impression at that time was that so much paint was gone, there wasn't much to restore. However, as I said, I have no idea what it looks like now.

I like Milan, but I like it because it's such a contrast to the rest of the country. It's much more diverse and cosmopolitan, as well as feeling more "European" as opposed to merely "Italian." I also appreciate that, although it's much larger than other Italian cities and the points of interest are spread over a larger area than even Rome's are, the excellent Metropolitana Milano goes almost everywhere of interest, and makes getting around much easier than in many smaller Italian cities.

However, I realize that most visitors are not looking for these things, and don't like Milan; it just doesn't conform to what they think of as "Italy." If your only reason for stopping there is the Last Supper, you can just see that and leave (make sure you have reservations). On the other hand, if you are interested in other sights, such as the Duomo (don't miss taking the elevator the roof to see the gargoyles and the view), the museum at La Scala, the Galleria, and the Brera Gallery, then a night in Milan is highly worthwhile.

Those in the US can watch Rick's TV show on Milan, on Hulu (not sure if this works in Canada; it won't work in Europe): http://www.hulu.com/watch/89010

greg We did exactly that schedule two years ago. Yes its worth it. We booked the Last Supper as part of a city tour that included walking tour of La Scala, the Duomo and other sites. That made the trip worthwhile. Last Supper is a must do, but you know you only get 15 minutes in there, so maybe not worth it if that is all you do.

I love art museums so seeing the Last Supper was a big deal to me. I saw it in October, made reservations on-line without a tour, and loved it. It was breathtaking, better and brighter than I expected. Very worthwhile for me.

I arrived early for my reservation time and had time to look at the photos on display, showing the before and after photos of the restoration. Also amazing photos from WWII, the building was destroyed in the bombing except for the frescoed wall.

We will be Milan on March 14 and 15, 2014.
We wanted to see the Last Supper on the 15th. We made our reservation and ordered the tickets in early December. At that time there were 2 openings, 8:15 am or 8:45 am for that date.
We did book the 8:45 am time.
Bottom line...if you want to go, check the website and see if there are tickets available.

I would highly recommend the Viatour walking tour of Milan. www.viatour.com We did a 2-hour tour that started at the Duomo, and we walked indirectly to the Last Supper. Our guide, [email protected] was excellent. The group was about 8 people and very doable and we learned so much more than we would have just seeing it.

Thanks for all your replies. We will be going to Milan for 2 nights and the idea of a walking tour that includes the Last Supper is a super idea. I will check out the website right away.

We enjoyed Milan--stayed there for 2 days at the Hotel Berna--truly fabulous breakfast!! There are fun trams to ride to get you further in to town, and they were fun too. We sat with our coffees at the McDonald's in that great glass covered mall and shared a most memorable, and inexpensive chocolate cake while we watched the world go by.

But I digress. The Last Supper was amazing. Really! Worth the time, and the neighborhood was interesting too.

After Milan, we took the train to Venice. Fantastic! Seeing the landscape, the granite quarry, the lake--what a great ride!