Civico Museo di Storia Naturale
Civico Museo di Storia Naturale
4
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
About
This natural history museum is the oldest civic museum in Milan. Its six sections offer a look at everything from the history of humankind to the study of paleontology (dinosaurs, anyone?) to zoology.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Centro Storico
The pulsating core of Milan is in Centro. Duomo Square is enclosed by the gothic cathedral, the historic icon of Milan. However, shopping is what draws most crowds to this area. The classy and versatile Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with luxury boutiques and high quality restaurants will turn any shopping or lunch expedition into a royal experience. Head to the rooftop of the flagship La Rinascente to enjoy the view of the animated square with a panorama of the Duomo. The Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is the street for high-end shopping. Brands of all kinds and street artists attract the attention of all visitors; while at Via Santa Radegonda 16, Luini Panzerotti is a much appreciated street food shop providing unimaginable culinary experiences. If shopping takes its toll on you, consider visiting Castello Sforzesco, a 15th century castle housing several museums. Those looking to relax can go to Parco Sempione, where nature provides respite from the energy of this dynamic and international city.
How to get there
- Palestro • 3 min walk
- Porta Venezia • 4 min walk
Best nearby
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6,725 within 3 miles
Attractions
1,777 within 6 miles
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
870 reviews
Excellent
309
Very good
346
Average
129
Poor
49
Terrible
37
John C
23 contributions
Oct 2022
£5 for an adult and £3 for a teenager, this is money well spent.
An excellent museum full of fossils, dinosaurs and incredibly well- p[resented animals (all dead obviously)
Seriously, the standard of presentation and taxidermy was the best I have ever seen.
A 2-hour stay.
An excellent museum full of fossils, dinosaurs and incredibly well- p[resented animals (all dead obviously)
Seriously, the standard of presentation and taxidermy was the best I have ever seen.
A 2-hour stay.
Written October 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marieka86
United Kingdom271 contributions
Jan 2020
Think there were some maintenance works going on on the ground floor that made the order/sections currently difficult to follow. As this floor covers things like evolution, this was particularly disconcerting. Upstairs there were some very impressive dioramas of nature scenes from different habitats all around the world that raised the quality of the whole museum. So, although not the biggest, most impressive natural history museum, it's a fair spot to take children for an hour or two, with the added convenience of being just in the corner of the park!
Written February 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alessandro F
Milan, Italy26,002 contributions
Sep 2020
Beautiful palace inside the Montanelli Park, the neoclassical palace was built in 1838 to collect the donation of Giuseppe de Cristoforis (1803-1837) a naturalist and collector .
Inside the museum you can see five permanent sections: Mineralogy, Paleontology, Anthropology, Invertebrated Zoology and Vertebrate Zoology .
The museum offers to you the largest Italian collection of dioramas , a three-dimensional full size or miniature model of life during centuries
Inside the museum you can see five permanent sections: Mineralogy, Paleontology, Anthropology, Invertebrated Zoology and Vertebrate Zoology .
The museum offers to you the largest Italian collection of dioramas , a three-dimensional full size or miniature model of life during centuries
Written September 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AMohsen
Port Said, Egypt410 contributions
Feb 2020
I noticed this museum through tripadvisor.com coincidentally while we were in Milan, and it was extremely impressive to my child who is obsessed with dinosaurs, fossils, nature, and animals. It was a good price ticket, and the animals were perfectly sculptured, the museum has a broad spectrum of sections and everything about nature and humanity. Only one observation is that many sections have no translated illustrative texts and labels, where they were in only the Italian language.
Written May 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lauramillertexas
Saint Louis, MO33 contributions
Jan 2016
We needed a rainy day activity to entertain two young children. This museum is definitely geared towards adults and not kids. Our 3-year-old lasted about an hour. Just wish it would have been more kid friendly.
Written January 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael Adamidis 🇬🇷
Kastoria, Greece6,350 contributions
Sep 2018 • Friends
near to porta venezia and close to buenos aires street.is the civil museum of natural history .good to go with kids or for bigger kids..it is a nice spot of the town of milano.worths the visit.
Written September 12, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
seajanetravell
Maryland148 contributions
Aug 2019
I try to make the effort to visit Natural History museums whenever I travel; it's kind of becoming my MO.
The entry fee is pretty cheap: less than $6USD for adults, kids <6yrs are free. Accepts Credit cards and cash.
Time: If you read Italian, probably 2-3hrs. If you don't read Italian, about an hour.
The museum is located in a park, which has a playground right behind the museum. It's also located very close to multiple metro stops and the park is very nice.
The exhibits themselves are very well set out and are immaculate. It is a small museum; if you're expecting some kind of major event, this isn't it. There aren't any interactive exhibits (i.e. tangible exhibits, videos, etc.). However, what does exist is thoughtfully put together and easy to follow.
The only thing I wasn't keen on was that you have to double-back to get out. The museum ends abruptly. It seems that the exit exhibit was closed.
Also, if you don't speak/read/understand Italian, either download the Google Translate App (you can take pics and it translates) or learn Italian. Most of the signs are in Italian. I found it challenging (in a good way) trying to read the signs and understand. I ended up learning some Italian like that.
**IF YOU GO IN AUGUST, MAKE SURE THEY'RE OPEN.** Milan essentially shuts down for the whole month for vacation. Google Maps doesn't always notate this.
The entry fee is pretty cheap: less than $6USD for adults, kids <6yrs are free. Accepts Credit cards and cash.
Time: If you read Italian, probably 2-3hrs. If you don't read Italian, about an hour.
The museum is located in a park, which has a playground right behind the museum. It's also located very close to multiple metro stops and the park is very nice.
The exhibits themselves are very well set out and are immaculate. It is a small museum; if you're expecting some kind of major event, this isn't it. There aren't any interactive exhibits (i.e. tangible exhibits, videos, etc.). However, what does exist is thoughtfully put together and easy to follow.
The only thing I wasn't keen on was that you have to double-back to get out. The museum ends abruptly. It seems that the exit exhibit was closed.
Also, if you don't speak/read/understand Italian, either download the Google Translate App (you can take pics and it translates) or learn Italian. Most of the signs are in Italian. I found it challenging (in a good way) trying to read the signs and understand. I ended up learning some Italian like that.
**IF YOU GO IN AUGUST, MAKE SURE THEY'RE OPEN.** Milan essentially shuts down for the whole month for vacation. Google Maps doesn't always notate this.
Written November 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tiptoes
44 contributions
Oct 2019 • Family
The exhibits were ok (far cry from the Natural History museum in Ueno, Japan). However, the visit was marred by the unpleasant experience with the gallery attendants. First, the stern "do not touch anything" warning was totally unnecessary. Second, the 2 kids asked to be silent while inside. It's a museum and kids are bound to be curious and ask questions there and then. Unreasonable. Next, when the kids were pointing to something inside a glass exhibit, and thus, had contact with the glass - they were told "off the glass!". I appreciate that the exhibits need to be protected. But let it be within reasonable limits and without killing the opportunity for children to learn. Furthermore, an adult was present with them the whole time. To me, it was not child-friendly because many displays (e.g. those near the entrance) were too high and I had to carry my 5YO to see it. Plus, most of the description were only in Italian.
Written October 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kamilot
Krakow, Poland182 contributions
Jun 2017 • Family
When you traveling with kids forget long shopping and restaurant slalom. To make them happy I'd recommend to visit this museum. 2 hours of excitement and big WoW for them. You will be not disappointed.
PS. Not so many visitors, what makes sightseeing more relaxed.
PS. Not so many visitors, what makes sightseeing more relaxed.
Written June 20, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Boris B
Belgrade, Serbia2,420 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
Although this museum is not as large as some similar ones in Europe (London, Vienna), it has magnificent exhibits and in some points from my point of view it is even better than the others. Besides huge collection of stuffed animals and fossils, it has large number of real size life scenes (dioramas).
The entrance fee is 5 eur for adults (children go in free of charge). Please have in mind that Museum Card costs 12 eur and gives you 72 hour pass to all Civic museums, including this one, Castello Sforzesco, Costume gallery, Modern art gallery, Archaeological museum.
The entrance fee is 5 eur for adults (children go in free of charge). Please have in mind that Museum Card costs 12 eur and gives you 72 hour pass to all Civic museums, including this one, Castello Sforzesco, Costume gallery, Modern art gallery, Archaeological museum.
Written March 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elena R
1 contribution
Conoscete un bar vicino al museo per organizzare una merenda ai bambini dopo festa al museo grazie
aldabra007
Trieste, Italy1,770 contributions
No
Giorgos G
Thessaloniki, Greece
few questions as we will have a couple of hours in Milano before taking our train and seems ideal to spend them there with the children.
a) Does the museum has a facility to leave our luggage at the lobby (classic cabin lagguages) ?
b) how easy is to find a taxi on the nearby taxi stations on a friday morning to take us shortly back to the station ?
thank you
karinadidonato
Cavenago di Brianza, Italy
Buonasera, domenica 1 febbraio 2021 sarete aperti? Grazie
Giraerigira
Monselice, Italy112 contributions
C'è un deposito zaini / bagagli?
Luciano D
Milan, Italy703 contributions
Non ne sono sicuro.
Franco Z
Padova2 contributions
Buongiorno, ho visto dalle recensioni che la visita al museo può durare parecchie ore. Vi chiedo se entrando verso le 11,00, è possibile uscire verso le13,00 per pranzare e poi rientrare per continuare la visita? Grazie
Raf
Milan, Italy459 contributions
La durata della visita di un museo dipende dall’interesse personale-se una persona legge tutto ci sta un giorno intero, se no anche mezz’ora. Per poter rientrare dopo pranzo deve chiedere in biglietteria
Madamora
Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy3 contributions
Da due giorni che provo a chiamare il museo per capire se la domenica 1 settembre è aperto. Il telefono è fuori uso. Le persone che hanno visitato il museo ad agosto mi sanno dire se chiudeva per ferie? Grazie
massimiliano b
Brescia, Italy84 contributions
Buongiorno, mi pare molto strano sia chiuso
Odyssey492870
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Is it open on Sunday?
WencyB
Silver Spring, MD202 contributions
Open on Sunday, 9 am-5:30 pm.. they are closed on Mondays
Civico Museo di Storia Naturale (Milan) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Civico Museo di Storia Naturale
- Civico Museo di Storia Naturale is open:
- Tue - Sun 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
- Hotels near Civico Museo di Storia Naturale:
- (0.07 mi) Casa Cipriani Milano
- (0.12 mi) Riviere Luxury Rooms at the Park
- (0.20 mi) Mercure Milano Centro
- (0.21 mi) Hotel Fenice
- (0.30 mi) Senato Hotel Milano
- Restaurants near Civico Museo di Storia Naturale:
- (0.10 mi) LùBar
- (0.10 mi) Andrea Aprea - Ristorante
- (0.08 mi) Caffettino1993
- (0.10 mi) Andrea Aprea - Caffè Bistrot
- (0.09 mi) Bar Bianco