Milan

Katie, it depends on what day you are there. I think a trip to the Duomo is in order, and I highly recommend the Duomo museum. And if you can wrangle tickets to the Last Supper, that's well worth an hour. I do recommend, if you can afford it, that you hire a guide or take a tour. We saw it on a City Wonders tour last month, and our guide was wonderful. She suggested some possible interpretations of the painting that I had never heard of, and I consider myself reasonably well-informed about art.

Most people say the Galleria is a "must see," but we were underwhelmed. There are a couple of amazing churches with great artwork; if this interests you at all, let me know and I'll look them up for you. (I have extensive notes.)

You know the only thing I didn't like about Milan? If you go to a restaurant, you can't get a carafe of wine. Every place we went served wine by the glass, or by the bottle. But that's a picky point. We loved Milan.

Why don't you book the train the whole way? You can buy a ticket with Regionale + Freccia in advance up to 120 days and have the scheduling solved.

Laurel, My understanding is that I can take a train or bus. We are staying in the center of Siena, so it seemed that would be my best bet. Would you recommend taking the train from Siena to Florence instead? Would that be easier to get the train to Florence?

Jane Thank you! We arrive in Milan on a Wednesday & leave Thursday. I see so much on here about The Last Supper tickets, how hard they are to come by. But I think you are right, maybe a guide would be better. I think my husband is going to be like another CHURCH! But I hear the Duomo is really beautiful. I really haven't given much thought to Milan because we will only be there 1/2 a day in reality. Plus, I thought I had 3 more months of planning & my husband reminded me yesterday, 2 months! I lost a month like that, sigh. I have been busy planning Venice & Florence. Being it will be our last night in Italy, I don't really want to plan hours & hours like a 1 to 3 hour tour & a fabulous Italian preferably very "Milano" dinner (with a full bottle of wine, lol)

My understanding is that I can take a train or bus.
Correct.
We are staying in the center of Siena, so it seemed that the bus would be my best bet.
Correct
Would you recommend taking the train from Siena to Florence instead?
No. The train takes 20 min longer on average because it goes around the valleys via Empoli, while the bus goes straight north on the freeway through the hills. Also the Siena station is not exactly in the city center, it's at the bottom of the hill
Would that be easier to get the train to Florence?
No. It wouldn't be easier. For the reasons stated above.
However be aware that you can't make it to Florence in one hour only. That would be hard even with a car. The bus takes at least 75 minutes, plus you need another 10 min walk from the bus station to the Florence train station. They are close, but still 300 mt walk to the platforms, and you need to be there about 10 min prior to departure. The bus is also subject to commuting traffic snarls, which are likely on a weekday morning to Florence. You need to plan at least 2 hours from the bus departure to the train departure from Florence.
The Last Supper tickets, how hard they are to come by.
Hard. They have very limited slots. In the old days no booking was necessary. But try nevertheless.
I think my husband is going to be like another CHURCH! But I hear the Duomo is really beautiful.
Very, and no booking necessary. If you can't book the Last Supper for the day you need. Go to the Duomo. I like it more. The Last Supper is mostly a faded fresco as it's in such a bad shape (but it might look better now after the last restoration than when I saw it many moons ago)..

Thank you Roberto!

I highly recommend that you go to the Duomo and make sure to get the ticket that includes the elevator to the roof. You will still have some stairs to climb, especially if you want to go all the way to the top. Being up close and personal with the flying buttresses is an unforgettable experience and the views are great.

I agree with Jane about the Galleria, but it's right next door and very small, so you can see it all in about 10 minutes.

Assuming you are flying back to the US, you absolutely must be at MXP 3 hours before your flight. The airport is huge and there is a lot of walking. It took me an hour to check in, go through passport control and security and walk to my gate, and I was there very early in the morning. I'd expect it will be more crowded later in the day. Follow the signs that tell you how many minutes it is to XXX. I wouldn't dawdle in any of the tempting duty free shops along the way.

My plane started loading about 45 minutes before take off. I barely had time to grab a snack and eat it before it was time to load up.

You also need to allow an hour for the Malpensa Express train ride from Milano Centrale to MXP. That means you need to catch that train about noon. And don't forget to punch your ticket before you get on the train.

I would buy tickets for Leonardo's Last Supper from a broker, without a tour. About 100% markup but worth it.

I went to the Duomo yesterday, you should get a ticket in advance, the lines were very long (about 30-60 minutes depending on when you get there), including the line to buy the tickets first. Security is strict, your bag will be opened and if you have a water bottle you will be asked to take a sip from it or throw it away. Shoulders and knees must be covered. A combo ticket for the Duomo, Museum, Archeological Zone, elevator, and a small church nearby costs €16. The elevator takes you to a small terrace area, but you can also walk around to the other side (the stairs) and access a lot more of the terraces.

If you have time, a couple of hours at Castello Sforzesco and it's excellent Museum will be great. You cannot take water into the museum, but there is a small cafe where you can take a short break or buy a bottle of water before continuing. Note that this museum is very spread out, and it takes a bit of time unless you choose specific galleries to visit.

Roberto, several people had told us that we would be disappointed in the Last Supper, because it was so faded. But we went to see it anyway, and were gobsmacked. It was lovely. Yes, it was faded; certainly nothing like the Giottos we had seen in Padova, but still very impressive. And bigger than we had expected. Our guide pointed out a number of things about the painting that we wouldn't have noticed on our own, or if we had noticed them, we wouldn't have understood the symbolism.

Katie, if you buy your Duomo ticket at the Duomo museum, there's no line. Or not much of one, anyway - just about 4 or people ahead of us.

And Zoe is right about the Castello Sforzesco, but it's a monster! We spent most of a day there, and didn't see everything we wanted to. Our tickets said that although they were good for the whole day, we'd have to buy new tickets if we left and came back. So we had a mediocre lunch at the cafe there. It just now occurred to me: If we left the grounds to have lunch, then came back, how would they know? Entry into the grounds is free - you only show you ticket at some of the galleries. Darn.

If you have so little time I would spend it walking around and getting a feeling of the city, instead of a museum... Walk around Brera, a charming neighborhood with small shops, or if you like fashion go to the Quadrilatero della Moda, see the Duomo square, walk to the Castle...
For the Duomo, lines now are very long, so I recommend pre- booking, and as for the Last Supper, I don't consider it faded... I mean, it's a few centuries old and it has survived through bombings and restorations that did more damage than good, but I think it's in great shape and the details, such as each of the apostles expressions etc, are still amazing. If you find tickets, go!

Here's a thought. Relax--it's your last full day in Italy. Milan is fantastic for window shopping, real shopping (if you've got the €€) and just hanging out. Wander around Via della Spiga and Montenapoleone and take in the windows. Dolce & Gabbana's are amazing. Check out the Rizzoli bookstore in the Galleria; it's got a great collection of coffee table art/photography/architecture books. Go to the Navigli district and do aperitivi. For €10, you can have an Aperol spritz and help yourself to a buffet. I met friends at Scalo Farini and their aperitivi time is amazing--it's near Porta Garibaldi. The thing about Milan is that it's Italy's modern, bustling city, and it's got lots of great design and architecture. Don't miss the Bosco Verticale at the Porta Nuova development. The buildings are amazing--they've actually built apartment buildings lined with greenery. And there's an adjacent wheat field, in the middle of the city, no less. I guess what I'm saying is that Milan is a great halfway house between the quaint old Italy and the U.S Enjoy it on its own terms, and not the usual tourist track. My 2 centesimi, anyway.

The view from the roof of the Duomo, in all directions, but especially north, is a treasured memory from a 2 week trip to Italy. The wood statue in the church, also. I get "Not another Church" but it kinda is the 4th largest church in all of Catholic Christendom (through some manipulation of boundaries of consecration, sure, but still). It took 500 years to build (due to invasion after invasion) and would have taken longer if they'd done the whole deal on the stained glass and not "tupperwared" out. No matter how churched out you are, the Duomo di Milano is worth an hour or so. A mountain of marble from Carrara, a monumental achievement in conquering the weight of that most impractical substance.

Have a nice meal. Lombardian cuisine is so not Tuscany. It's so much tied to the various invasions, of Spaniards, of French and mostly of Austrians.

If you're remotely interested in opera, a tour of La Scala can be arranged. If you're remotely interested in luxury shopping, Milan is your town.

Wife was not so gaga for the whole experience that is involved in seeing the Last Supper. I found it amusing (the serial dehumidification), but wife wanted to get on with it. It's not so much the fading, it's that it's a lot of pomp and circumstance and hype for something that was falling apart six years after it was finished because of an odd frescoing experiment. It's an important art work, but there are much better preserved Michelangelo works around the world.

The Brera neighborhood is nice as is the gallery of the same name within.

Laurel, My understanding is that I can take a train or bus. We are staying in the center of Siena, so it seemed that would be my best bet. Would you recommend taking the train from Siena to Florence instead? Would that be easier to get the train to Florence?

We like trains more than buses so we take a train whenever possible. As Roberto points out, you have to transfer from bus station to train station in Florence anyway. I'd rather make my way to the station in Siena and then be on trains for trip.

Max, the marble in the Milan Duomo came (and still comes if repairs are necessary) from Candoglia, near the Lago Maggiore. Milan is linked to the lake by a network of channels and marble could be shipped by barges from the quarry to a small dockyard in via Laghetto (small lake), quite close to the cathedral. The present "navigli" are the few remaining channels from a very extensive network that was mostly covered out of hygiene considerations in 1929/30; before this work some areas of Milan were said to be quite close to Venice in appearance, and barges to/from Milan could reach even the Adriatic sea through rivers Ticino and Po.

My bad. Bad information from elsewhere. Still, a monumental achievement considering the weight of marble per cubic inch, it's history and the distance it traveled.

Wow!! Thank you all for your suggestions. I will be going over this with the hubby. Very excited!