Booking choice: The cathedral and terraces combined ticket, 2 to 3 hours at your pace. Book this Tour details
Every Fabbrica ticket for the terraces, and most of the guided tours, make you choose at booking: stairs or lift. The stairs are about 250 steps of marble spiral, 251 by the count most sources quote. The lift is a short ride from a door behind the apse, and it lands on the first terrace level, from which the Milanoguida listing counts about 80 more steps to the highest walk under the spires. Nobody rides to the top, and nobody goes up to the Madonnina.
That makes the choice less about fitness than people think. If 80 steps are fine and 250 are not, take the lift. If 80 steps are not fine, the roof walk is not for you, and the first terrace by the south lift is as far as a wheelchair goes. Below: where each entrance is, what the climb feels like, who should think twice, and when to go.
The quick answer
Stairs: about 250 steps, one way, narrow and spiral, from the north side. Lift: a ride from behind the apse to the first terrace, then about 80 steps to the top walk, per the Milanoguida listing. Lift tickets sell out first and the lift queue can be longer than the climb. Fit visitors: climb up, walk down. Everyone with a lift ticket should expect to walk down the stairs.
How many steps are there to the Duomo roof?
About 250 to the first terrace level by the stairs; the city's tourism office counts 251, and the Fabbrica's own story says about 256.
The count depends on where you start counting, which is why the Fabbrica's GetYourGuide listings say about 250. The staircase is a spiral inside a corner tower, one person wide, with slit windows and a rail. It is one-way, so nobody is coming down at you, and it is marble, so it is cool in summer and slippery in rain. Most people are up in ten minutes with a pause or two. A guest on the terraces ticket called the stairs the worst part in the heat and the roof worth it.
After the first terrace, the roof itself has more steps: short flights between the levels of the transept roof and the walk along the nave, and a final run up to the highest terrace around the main spire. They are broad and nothing like the tower spiral.
Does the Duomo lift take you to the top?
No. The lift lands on the first terrace behind the choir; the Milanoguida listing counts about 80 more steps to the highest walk.
This surprises more visitors than anything else about the roof. The lift saves the spiral tower, which is the hard part, but the upper terraces are reached by stairs from there and the listing for the guided tour with lift says so in plain words: after the lift there are about 80 more steps to the upper terrace. The Fabbrica's fast-track tour listing adds that the staircase to the highest terrace is narrow.
If 80 steps with rails are fine, the lift is the right call and the top is yours. If they are not, the first terrace still gives you the flying buttresses and a view over the apse, and that is where a wheelchair stops too.
Where are the stairs entrance and the lift entrance?
Stairs: a door on the north side, the Galleria side, where the nave meets the transept. Lift: behind the cathedral where the transept meets the apse, signposted lift access.
Both are outside the building, after the security check on the parvis. Walk round to the left of the facade for the stairs, or keep going along the north flank to the back for the lift. The Fabbrica's terraces listing describes the lift entrance as behind the Duomo and signposted. Individual visitors are usually sent to the north lift; the south lift, on the Palazzo Reale side, is the one named for wheelchair users and often used by groups. Which runs on a given day depends on maintenance, so follow the signs rather than this paragraph.
| Option | Where you start | What you climb | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stairs | North side, Galleria side, nave and transept corner | About 250 spiral steps, then the roof's own flights | Anyone fit who dislikes queues |
| Lift | Behind the apse, signposted lift access | A short ride, then about 80 steps to the top walk | Anyone who can manage 80 steps with a rail |
| Wheelchair | South lift, 10:00 to 17:00 | No steps: first terrace only | Wheelchair users with a companion, both free |
Is the climb to the Duomo terraces hard?
Moderate: ten minutes of spiral stairs for most people, harder in July heat. Vertigo, heart or knee trouble, and a stroller are reasons to stay down.
The spiral is the only hard part. It is steady rather than steep, but there is nowhere to overtake and the air gets warm by midday in summer. Up top the walks have parapets and the paths between the spires are wider than they look from the piazza. People with a fear of heights usually cope on the lower terraces and stop before the final flight; the Crown Tours listing rules out guests with vertigo altogether, which tells you how exposed the top feels.
Strollers are not admitted on the terraces and most listings exclude them from the tour, so bring a carrier for a small child. Unaccompanied minors cannot go up. High heels are banned on the roof, and the marble is uneven enough that flat shoes with grip are the sensible choice for everyone.
Prefer the lift and a guide who knows the way between the terraces? The two-hour Milanoguida tour rides up, walks the spires with headsets, then takes you into the museum. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Book thisCan wheelchair users visit the Duomo terraces?
Yes, as far as the first terrace behind the choir, daily 10:00 to 17:00, by the south lift. The upper terraces need stairs.
The Fabbrica's accessibility page sets it out: wheelchair users reach the terraces by the ramp at the front doors, then the south lift (77 by 106 by 130 cm, with a 78 cm passage from the shaft) or, if that is out of service, the north lift, which is narrower. Access is limited to the first terrace at the back of the choir and to those hours. Disabled visitors and their companions enter free, and a manual wheelchair can be borrowed free at the DuomoInfopoint at Piazza del Duomo 14/a against an ID.
None of the operator tours on this site accept wheelchair users for the roof; their listings say not suitable for mobility impairments. Go independently with the Fabbrica's own ticket, or rather without one, since the entry is free, and ask at the Infopoint first.
Can you climb up to the Madonnina?
No. The terraces end on the roof below the main spire; the Madonnina stands 108.5 metres up and only the Fabbrica's restorers go there.
From the highest terrace you look up at her from about forty metres away, which is as close as any visitor gets. The main spire itself is not open, and there is no ticket that changes that. What you get instead is the best view of the spire from below: the 1774 copper statue, 4.16 metres tall, re-gilded in 2012, with her halberd doubling as the lightning rod. Our history guide tells how she got up there and why Milan's skyline stayed below her for decades.
When is the best time to go up to the Duomo roof?
The first slot of the morning, around 9:00, or the last hour before closing. Avoid midday in summer: there is no shade on the roof.
Security queues on the parvis grow through the morning, and the lift queue grows with them. An early slot gets you up with few people between the spires and the light still low across the city toward the Alps. Late afternoon gives you the warm light on the marble and, in winter, the sun going down behind the Porta Nuova towers. The terraces are open daily from 9:00 with last entry late in the afternoon; check the Fabbrica's calendar for your date, because the roof closes in rain, ice or strong wind without much notice.
Winter has its own problem: fog. Milan's fog sits on the city some mornings from November to February, and the view can be fifty metres. The spires are still there, and some people prefer them in the white; the winter post goes into it.
An hour with a guide inside, then the roof by the stairs at your own pace: the Museum Voyage tour hands you the terrace ticket and lets you climb when you are ready. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Book this Tour detailsHow do you get down from the Duomo terraces?
By the stairs, most of the time. Even with a lift ticket, visitors are usually directed down the staircase, and it is quicker than queuing for the lift.
The Fabbrica does not promise a ride down, and the Crown Tours listing warns that you may need stairs to come down from the terrace. Going down the spiral is easy and takes five minutes. One guest on the terraces ticket put it neatly: the lift up was easy and the walk down was not difficult. That is our advice in one line: lift up if you have one, stairs down regardless, and if you are fit, stairs both ways and skip the queue.
The exit from the stairs drops you on the north side, a short walk from the north door and the Galleria. If your ticket includes the museum, it is across the piazza at number 12, open from 10:00 and closed Wednesdays.
Frequently asked questions
Is the lift ticket a fast-track ticket?
On the Fabbrica's terraces listing and its combined ticket, the lift option is the one described as fast-track for the terraces. It skips the ticket queue at the lift door, not the security check on the parvis, which everyone passes.
Do I need a timed slot for the terraces?
Yes. The terraces ticket and the terrace options of the combined ticket are sold with a start time, and the lift slots are the first to sell out in high season. Arrive a little before the slot; the security check comes first.
Can children climb the stairs?
Children can go up with an adult; unaccompanied minors are not admitted to the terraces. Strollers are not allowed on the roof, so carry small children. Children from 6 to 12 have a reduced ticket; under-6s enter free.
What happens if the terraces are closed by the weather?
Rain, ice and strong wind close the roof. The Fabbrica's fast-track tour listing says the guided visit goes to the museum instead; for a plain terraces ticket, ask at the Infopoint at number 14/a about rebooking, since the ticket itself is non-refundable.
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Choose your ticket
Each option opens on GetYourGuide with the operator named and the inclusions listed.
Duomo Rooftop and Cathedral Guided Tour
- Skip-the-line tickets for the cathedral and the terraces, lift up
- Live guide in English with headsets
- Guided visit of the Duomo Museum and San Gottardo Church
Skip-the-Line Guided Tour with Rooftop Access
55 minutes of guide inside, then the roof by the stairs on your own
Cathedral and Rooftop Terrace Guided Tour
Lift to the roof and a guide in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese or Russian
