So we will be in Milan for one night in June at the end of our 2 week vacation in Italy which begins with our daughters' wedding outside Orvieto. We wanted to see the Last Supper and knew that tickets went on sale at 9:am Italy time (4:30 in NA) this past Tuesday. Set my alarm for the crack of stupid and was on the website at 5 am only to find out I was already too late! What to do? Can anyone recommend any organized tours which include the Last Supper tour?

There are lots of tours that include the Last Supper. In fact, I suspect that tour companies hoover up all the tickets the second they go on sale. If you google" Milan tour Last Supper", you'll see plenty.

I once made your same mistake, and since we were mainly going to Milan to visit friends, we didn't want to waste a whole day doing a tour that mostly included things we had already seen. It just happened to be around the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, which is an Italian national holiday. The first night, the 6th of December, we had dinner with our friends, and told them of our Last Supper disappointment. They informed us that on the 7th, which is the Feast of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, admission was free without a reservation to the Last Supper. You just had to line up early if you wanted to get in. We woke up in time to get there an hour before the opening, and were able to enter with the second group.

I'm not sure this is still the case. The entry is still free that day, but I think maybe you now need to reserve.

The same thing happened to me. I ended up booking a 3-hour walking tour of the city that included The Last Supper along with exteriors of the Duomo, Castella Sforezco (spelling?). While this was not my idea of how I wanted to see the painting - I am not usually one for organized tours - I did find it to be extremely interesting, and...got me into see the painting.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The guide of our tour was an art history student who was extremely knowledgeable about the painting, its significance, Da Vinci himself as well as being immensely proud of her city.

You will only get 15 minutes total in the room with The Last Supper. Unbelievably, it felt longer.

I know this is not ideal and considering that you are only in Milan for one night - this might be the way to go just so you have the chance to see it.

I would suggest checking back every so often before the trip. When we were going to Milan a few years ago tickets were also sold out when we checked for our dates. But we had heard that sometimes the tour companies that buy the tickets end up releasing them back if the tours don't get sold out. And sure enough we kept checking and tickets showed up for our dates. So you still might get lucky.

Thank you all! Yes I suspect the tour companies scoop them all up. I was able to book an organized tour for a time that will work for us.

Well I don't know how to help you to find tickets to Last Supper but I wanted you to know you gave me a good laugh. When you said, you set your alarm for the crack of stupid
I just howled with laughter cause I know how it is when you are in paris for the first time or Italy anywhere and trying to use your recently learned language skills or the iOS app to translate for you and you try to follow directions on a website in Italian--oh it ws so funny to me cause I know what that is like
Truth be told, I am not sure it is that necessary or essential to actually tour and see these famous paintings in person. One is so exhausted by the push and shove of it all. I remember being in the Sistine Chapel and feeling that I was on a conveyer belt and being pushed along with a bunch of strangers. I wanted to stop and stand ad be in awe and meditate. I wanted to sit down and just perhaps lean back and stare. I dont know what I would have done if I could be there all alone but I think it would've been a much deeper experience. So many Americans get exhausted trying to see all the famous paintings. The actual spiritual experience and many manifestations of light that could be felt in one's soul are totally lost. I still would love to see the Last supper. But what truly amazed me was that you never mentioned the ?Della Francesca paintings. That is my big reason for going to Umbria, Piero Della Francesca's work is totally mesmerizing and transformative. You can go see those without reservations and stand alone in a lovely ancient cathedral or church where it is housed in sito.

There does not have to be a push and shove to see the "famous" paintings. With careful planning, one can experience and have that meditative experience that you describe. I experienced the Sistine Chapel twice - one without the push and one with the push and shove and throngs of tourists - on the same day. I personally booked the breakfast tour of the Vatican museums. By the time I got to the Sistine Chapel - the building was just opening up to the rest of the tour groups and those in line. I saw the Sistine Chapel firstly with approximately 40 people in the room. It was quiet, serene and quite meditative. However, I missed something on the audio guide and needed to go back through to see what I missed. I later had to go through the Sistine Chapel again to finish and experienced that push and shove.

Did I pay for that experience? Yes. I had to pre-book and pay an extra fee to a mediocre breakfast. But I wasn't paying for the food. I was paying for not having to throw my elbows out every 10 seconds.

With the Last Supper only a certain number of people are allowed in the room at one time. Believe it or not, although you're in the room with that amount of people (I want to say max 25), I felt like I was in there by myself. It was actually quite serene and mesmerizing.

If one wants to see the "famous" paintings, that's their prerogative. If it is worth it to them, then it is worth it. If they want a special experience to see it, one has to plan for that. I have seen other famous painters (Monet, Da Vinci, Raphael) relatively uninterrupted at the Scottish National Gallery. While I was not seeing the "famous" ones and I am in agreement even the "lesser-known" works are worthwhile to see; why one wants to see what they want to see is their privilege.

Last summer Last Supper tickets were sold out on the official website. I didn't have time nor did I want an organized, multi-hour tour (all I could find for my days in Milan via Viatour were those types of tours). With a little online research, I found a tour company called Veditalia that had tickets to the Last Supper with a guide, in the morning, so I had the rest of my day free to see and do what I wanted. It suited my purpose and everything went smoothly.

https://www.veditalia.com/italy/milan/