The short version
For mild weather and no big event, aim for May. Its average high is 23.9 °C in the weather table we used, and none of the fairs we checked fall in that month. The castle is not a seasonal sight, though. The courtyards are free every day, the museums are indoors, and the real planning rules are the closure days: Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May (checked October 2026 on the castle’s hours page).
Pick your month by weather and crowds, then use our visiting guide and tickets and tours to plan the day.
Weather by season
The figures below come from the Linate Airport weather station, using 1991 to 2020 averages, as printed in Wikipedia’s Milan article. Linate is on the edge of the city, so figures for the centre may differ a little. Wikipedia classes the climate as humid subtropical, with four seasons.
- Winter (December to February). Average highs are 7.4 °C in December, 7.3 °C in January and 10.0 °C in February. Average lows are 0.6 °C, minus 0.4 °C and 0.6 °C. Wikipedia says the city was often shrouded in thick cloud or fog in winter, though less so since the early 2000s, and gets about seven days of snow a year. January is the driest month at 35.9 mm.
- Spring (March to May). Highs climb from 15.5 °C in March to 19.3 °C in April and 23.9 °C in May. Rain is steady rather than heavy: 57.7 mm in April and 70.3 mm in May.
- Summer (June to August). Average highs are 28.1 °C in June, 30.7 °C in July and 29.9 °C in August. Wikipedia says summers are hot and humid, with peaks above 35 °C and muggy nights. Wikivoyage adds that powerful rainstorms are possible.
- Autumn (September to November). Highs fall from 25.5 °C in September to 19.0 °C in October and 12.4 °C in November. October brings 82.0 mm of rain and November 112.4 mm, the wettest month in the table.
Events that change crowds and prices
| Activity | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salone del Mobile (design fair)Usually April; the 2024 edition ran for six days | Not in January | Not in February | Not in March | Runs in April | Not in May | Not in June | Not in July | Not in August | Not in September | Not in October | Not in November | Not in December |
| Milan Fashion WeekFebruary to March and September to October | Not in January | Runs in February | Runs in March | Not in April | Not in May | Not in June | Not in July | Not in August | Runs in September | Runs in October | Not in November | Not in December |
| Oh Bej! Oh Bej! fair around the castleFrom 7 December to the following Sunday | Not in January | Not in February | Not in March | Not in April | Not in May | Not in June | Not in July | Not in August | Not in September | Not in October | Not in November | Runs in December |
| Businesses and venues closed for holidaysMany shut while locals take their summer break | Not in January | Not in February | Not in March | Not in April | Not in May | Not in June | Not in July | Runs in August | Not in September | Not in October | Not in November | Not in December |
Salone del Mobile. The furniture and design fair is usually held in April at the FieraMilano complex in Rho, outside the centre. Wikipedia reports more than 1,100 registered Fuorisalone events across the city in 2024, so the effect spreads well beyond the fairground. We have no sourced figures for hotel prices that week, so book early and expect it to be busy.
Fashion weeks. Wikivoyage places Milan Fashion Week in February to March and September to October, and notes that hotel prices rise sharply during it.
Oh Bej! Oh Bej! This street fair runs from 7 December, the feast of Milan’s patron saint, Sant’Ambrogio, until the following Sunday. Since 2006 it has been held on Foro Buonaparte, around the castle, according to Italian Wikipedia. Expect the streets beside the castle to be busy that week. We have not confirmed whether the museums change their hours on 7 December, so check the castle’s page.
August. Wikivoyage says many businesses and venues shut in August as locals go on holiday. The castle’s own closure list does not include August, but check the exact dates in the weeks before you go.
Christmas. Wikivoyage describes a huge Christmas tree in front of the Duomo and a city that is delightful in the weeks before Christmas but can be extremely crowded. The castle is closed on 25 December and 1 January.
Closed days and free days at the castle
These details were checked on the City of Milan’s page in October 2026.
- Museums: closed on Mondays. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30, with the ticket office and last entry at 16:30. Also closed on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May, and some areas may close temporarily.
- Courtyards: free to enter every day from 07:00 to 19:30, including Mondays.
- Free for everyone: the first Sunday of each month.
- Free for visitors up to 25: the second Tuesday of each month.
- Ramparts walk (Merlate Panoramiche): a separate ticket. Tuesday to Sunday, last entry at 17:00, in groups of up to 25 leaving every 20 minutes.
The castle does not publish crowd data that we found, so what follows is our judgement. Free days will probably draw more visitors, so if you want space, pay for a different day. A Monday is a good day for the courtyards, Parco Sempione and the Duomo, leaving the museums for Tuesday.
Check the dates
Closure notices and event dates change from year to year. Use the City of Milan’s page linked above for the castle, and check the organisers’ own sites for the fair and fashion-week dates.
Best time of day
The courtyards open at 07:00 and stay open until 19:30, so they are open earlier and later than the museums. The museums open at 10:00 and the last entry is at 16:30. Our suggestions:
- For the museums: arrive at 10:00, when the doors open. That is a judgement, not a measurement, but it also gives you time to see every section before the last entry.
- In summer: go in the morning. July’s average high is 30.7 °C, and the afternoon will be warmer than the morning.
- For a free look: walk through the courtyards in the early morning, or after the museums close at 17:30 and before the courtyards shut at 19:30.
- For a guide: the walk-up museum tour leaves at 11:00 on Saturdays in English and Sundays in Italian. Meet at 10:45 at the castle Infopoint.
If you are building a trip around the castle, our getting there and where to stay pages cover the practical side.
