Christmas at the Duomo

What changes for your visit

The Duomo's December calendar is full of short days. These are the dated changes on the official calendar; anything already past drops off the table.

Changes already on the calendar

6 November 2026	Cathedral, Archaeological Area and Crypt closed to tourists until 12:30
8 November 2026	Cathedral, Archaeological Area and Crypt closed to tourists until 12:30
10 November 2026	Admission to the Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 17:30
15 November 2026	Cathedral, Archaeological Area and stairs to the terraces until 15:30
25 November 2026	Admission until 17:00
26 November 2026	Admission to the Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 17:30
30 November 2026	Admission until 17:00
2 December 2026	Admission until 17:00
8 December 2026	Cathedral, Archaeological Area, Crypt and stairs to the terraces closed to tourists until 12:30
9 December 2026	Admission to the Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 17:30
13 December 2026	Cathedral and Archaeological Area closed to tourists until 12:30
16 December 2026	Admission to the Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 17:30
17 December 2026	Admission to the Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 17:30
23 December 2026	Extraordinary Museum opening, 10:00–19:00
24 December 2026	Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 16:30, Museum until 13:00
25 December 2026	Complex closed to visitors, cathedral open for Mass
26 December 2026	Museum closed
30 December 2026	Extraordinary Museum opening, 10:00–19:00
31 December 2026	Cathedral and Archaeological Area until 16:30, Museum until 13:00
1 January 2027	Museum closed; Cathedral, Archaeological Area and Crypt until 15:30
6 January 2027	Cathedral, Archaeological Area, Crypt and stairs to the terraces closed to tourists until 12:30; Museum open 10:00–19:00

Three things follow from it.

• 24 and 31 December: go in the morning. The Museum stops at 13:00 and the cathedral at 16:30.
• 25 December: nothing is open to tourists. Palazzo Reale, on the same square, opens 14:30–18:30.
• Wednesdays in the holidays: the Museum normally closes on Wednesdays, but it opens on 23 and 30 December and on 6 January, 10:00–19:00.

Sunday 27 December is the Museum's free day, as on every last Sunday of the month, with booking required from the preceding Tuesday. The cathedral still needs a ticket that day.

The market around the cathedral

The Mercatino di Natale in Duomo fills the square with wooden huts from 1 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. The city has awarded the 2026 edition, but its hours were not out at our last check. The 2025 market kept 9:00 to 21:00 every day, which is a guide and no more. The square and the huts need no ticket, so an evening stroll costs nothing even after the cathedral has closed. The Piazza del Duomo page covers what stands around it.

The tree and the lights

For 2026 the city asked for a natural tree at least 26 metres tall in Piazza del Duomo, with LED lights, bringing a natural tree back into its sponsor call after three years of the Olympic tree. That is the brief, not the final design. The lit period is given as roughly 1 December to 6 January, and the date of the lighting ceremony is unannounced.

Street lights across the city are planned from 15 November 2026 to 6 January 2027. In the Galleria, the brief asks for a luminous vault in the Octagon dome, with set-up allowed from 1 November 2026 and removal due by 15 January 2027.

Inside the cathedral: the St Charles paintings

Every year, from 4 November to Epiphany, the large canvases on the life of St Charles Borromeo hang in the cathedral. A restoration of all 26 began in October 2026 and is expected to take about six years, so expect some to be missing from the display. They are part of the walk through the interior.

Music and the first feast days

The Duomo concert Night of Light, in the Scintille di Musica series, is on Wednesday 9 December 2026 at 19:30, with access from 18:45. It is free with mandatory booking, which opens on 2 December at 16:00.

Milan starts its festive season with two feast days: Sant'Ambrogio on 7 December and the Immacolata on 8 December. La Scala opens its season on 7 December 2026 with Verdi's Otello. On the 8th, the cathedral, Archaeological Area, Crypt and terrace stairs are closed to tourists until 12:30, so plan that visit for the afternoon.

Elsewhere in the city

• Palazzo Marino: a free show in the Sala Alessi, Mattia Preti's Sermon of St John the Baptist, 2 December 2026 to 10 January 2027.
• Giardini Indro Montanelli: Villaggio delle Meraviglie, 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027.
• Rho Fiera Milano: Artigiano in Fiera, 5 to 13 December 2026.

Not announced when we last checked

The date the tree is lit, the Oh Bej Oh Bej dates, the market's hours and the Christmas Mass times. We add them once they are official.