Milan · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
Every trip has one free day too few. These 12 self-guided tours justify the slot, priced and timed so you can decide in minutes and get back to the fun part.
Use one Milan bus pass across four connecting routes for 1 to 3 days. Ride past the Duomo, La Scala, Castello Sforzesco, Navigli, Brera, City Life, and San Siro, while multilingual audio explains Milanese food, buildings, and local curiosities.
“The bus has different lines. We got off at several stops and were able to see more of Milan than just by walking.”
Explore Milan’s Sforza Castle and its museums with reserved entry, an app-based audio guide, and city commentary in six languages. Collect your ticket at the Autostradale office in Piazza Castello, then visit art, weapons, furniture, and music collections at your own pace. Bring a charged phone and headphones.
“Enjoyed the castle grounds and the museums were fantastic We did self guide”
Visit Milan’s Museum of the 900 for about two hours with skip-the-line entry and a smartphone audio guide in English, French, German, or Italian. Follow more than 40 audio points through Futurism, Spatialism, Arte Povera, and other major Italian art movements, with Duomo views along the way.
Visit Milan’s Natural History Museum in Indro Montanelli Gardens and follow a smartphone audio guide in English, Italian, French, or German. You’ll move through paleontology, mineralogy, zoology, and botany at your own pace, with more than 40 audio points and a digital map. Bring headphones and a charged phone.
“No one was there to wait for us or gave us instructions even though we were told that we simply had to wait for the assistant with a yellow flag because she was late.. after half an hour we called again to ask for instructions and we were told to link to a dangerous website for the audio guide.. we obviously didn’t do it and so we scanned again a new link that lead us to the Natural History Museum in London!!! Absolutely ridiculous”
Follow a self-guided Questo app game from Piazza della Scala to Leonardo da Vinci’s vineyard. Solve 10 challenges while visiting Milan landmarks, using offline directions and learning about Leonardo’s work. Plan about 80 minutes, with no physical guide and attraction entry fees not included.
“We could start at our convenience, easy to use, adequately priced. I did have to install one more app”
Explore Sforza Castle at your own pace with a fast-track ticket and multilingual smartphone audio guide. See the fortress museums, learn about Milan’s rulers and artists, and use bonus walking routes around the city. Bring your own phone and headphones, and check Michelangelo exhibit access before arrival.
“I wish the tour office was a little more helpful with providing more info on what to expect when we got to the castle. It was a self guided tour. Which for this one, I'm glad we did. I wish we were told the Michelangelo exhibit was not included iRead more”
Follow a locally written Milan route from Castello Sforzesco to Piazza della Scala using an audio and text guide in five languages. You’ll see the Duomo, Galleria, Sant’Ambrogio, San Maurizio, and San Bernardino alle Ossa. Duomo admission costs extra, and a smartphone with internet is required.
“I went to the information desk in the palace and they said, it is closed today! So I didn’t get to go to the tour”
Enter Milan’s Museo del Novecento at Piazza del Duomo with a fast-track ticket and explore more than 400 modern artworks at your own pace. Your smartphone audio guide covers 40-plus points in English, French, German, and Italian, with a digital museum map and a bonus Milan city guide.
“One of the highlights of our visit to Milan, beautiful building and extraordinary collection of modern art.”
Follow a phone-based Questo puzzle through Milan’s Navigli district, starting at Via Vetere and ending at Ponte Alexander Langer. You’ll solve clues at medieval gates, churches, canal locks, bridges, and old washhouses. Allow 25 to 55 minutes, bring one working phone, and expect no guide or attraction admissions.
“This was a lot of fun! I did this tour with my granddaughters and we all enjoyed it! Great way to see the “untouristy” Milan. However we did experience extreme difficulties in downloading the information and even though I paid for three “tickets” we could only get it to work on my phone. Disappointing as the girls would have liked access to the game afterwards.”
Use the World City Trail app to solve riddles between nine Milan landmarks, from Sforzesco Castle to Naviglio Grande. This private, self-guided game runs at your pace, supports six languages, and lets you pause for breaks. Allow more than two hours if you want time to look around.
“Great way to see some of the major sights of Milan. Weather was excellent which helped, although it did take a little longer then predicted, allow at least 3rd”
Use the TouringBee app to explore Milan’s Duomo at your own pace with 21 recordings by a professional historian, an offline GPS route, and artwork illustrations. The app covers the cathedral’s interior and crypts, but you must buy your own admission ticket and bring headphones.
“I'm sorry i was not able to download the ap so I just walked around on my own. It was an incredible church and I loved being there. I highly recommend to anyone. If you can download the ap I bet it will add to the experience”
Follow a self-guided Questo app game from Porta Venezia to Teatro alla Scala, solving clues at grand palaces, the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and other central sights. Allow about 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes. There is no guide, so you set the pace.
“Great experience! I spent a very funny afternoon and I discovered a lot of interesting and curious facts that I didn’t know about the city where I live. Recommended!”
Pick a landmark, a lake or a table.
