I know that we need to get there 20 min ahead and the time allowed is 15 min inside but I am trying to estimate how much time the whole process would take (an hour?) as we are transiting to Rome that day (hoping to get in at 2PM) and are trying to decide if this is a stop we want to make on this trip. Also, we have a 4 year old, he is a patient guy but we wonder how long this visit will be or even if we can stagger our visits - one parent waits outside with him and does some distractions while one parent does the earliest time slot at 8:15AM to see the Last Supper and then the next parent gets to go in at 9:30AM? That might be too crazy and we should try again another trip... Thanks for any insights!
Posted by
Tigard, OR, USA
1068 posts
I can't give you an exact time inside. I will say they are very prompt about when you start and end your time (at least when we did it.) It takes a couple of minutes (before you start with your group) to check in/have your ticket validated. Then you go into a room with your group. They give you an audio guide to listen to while you are there. The group is then dehumidified in a different room and passes through a door into the room with the Last Supper. Your time there is pretty precise as well and you are taken out. I would say about 45 minutes doing the whole process, (but it has been a few years.) So regarding your question, a lot would depend on how far away the Last Supper is from your hotel, time to check out and where your hotel is in relation to the train station, bus station or airport.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Ray is right about the process but I would leave an hour, just in case there is some delay (once when I was there someone refused to leave from the previous group and the intervention took a few minutes; apparently this had happened before).
If your child has some way of amusing himself during the waiting time before you enter the dehumidifying chamber (which he might find interesting), I suggest doing it as a group. The metro and bus stops nearest the church are about a block away, and a turn in the wrong direction will add more time to your walk, so if you are counting minutes, allow some time to get to the entrance by 7:55 am. A taxi can get you to the small piazza in front of the entrance.
Posted by
Oak Park
243 posts
I just did this last week, so it is very fresh in mind. The whole process is about an hour and they are very prompt. Obviously you would have to stagger a few trips apart to account for the dehumidifying step. One group waits for the dehumidifying chamber, one group is in the dehumidifier, one is viewing the fresco, and one is exiting through the obligatory gift shop.
A possible idea is that the national science museum is about two blocks away. While there are many models of da Vinci's drawings, there are many interactive displays and I saw lots of families with children. There is even a tour of a submarine. A four or five year old may enjoy this. We did not see too much of the museum as we had just arrived in Italy and it was more child oriented than we had planned.