# The Last Supper: 15 minutes, 40 people a slot > Slots last 15 minutes and hold 40 people. Tickets come out quarterly, plus 215 extra a day released online every Wednesday at noon for the week after. URL: https://myitalia.it/attractions/cenacolo-vinciano Last updated: 2026-09-02 A visit to Leonardo's Last Supper lasts 15 minutes for a maximum of 40 people per slot, which is the whole reason tickets are so hard to get (2026). ## 15 minutes, 40 people: the arithmetic of scarcity Each turn lasts 15 minutes and admits at most 40 people. Multiply that across an opening day and you have the ceiling on how many people can ever see the painting. No pricing trick and no reseller changes that ceiling. When a site tells you it has guaranteed availability, it is holding slots from the same fixed supply. The room is a refectory with a climate to protect, not a gallery. The cap is conservation, not queue management. ## The 4 quarterly releases Tickets are released on a quarterly cycle: September opens the November to January window, December opens February to April, March opens May to July, and June opens August to October (2026). Plan against that calendar rather than against your departure date. If you are traveling in May and it is already April, the quarterly window closed in March and you are down to the weekly mechanism below. ## Wednesday at 12:00, 215 extra tickets a day Every Wednesday at 12:00 Italian time the museum puts online 215 extra tickets a day for the following week, sold through the online channel only. That is the second chance, and for anyone booking under a month out it is the only realistic one. Convert noon in Milan into your own clock before Wednesday, not on the day. Italy runs UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, and the [switch dates](/plan/time-zone-and-daylight-saving) do not match the American ones. ## €15, and booking is compulsory even when entry is free The ticket costs €15 full and €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25 (2026). Under-18s enter free. Free does not mean walk-in. Booking is compulsory for every category, the free ones included, so a child with a €0 entitlement still occupies a reserved place in a 40-person slot. Two independent official sources agree on this price and this rule, which is rare enough to be worth saying. ## Be there 30 minutes early Turn up at least 30 minutes before your booked time. Whoever is not present by then loses the right to enter, and with 40 places on a 15-minute rotation the slot does not wait. Milan traffic and the walk from Cadorna are the two things that eat that half hour. Treat the booked time as the moment the door shuts, not the moment you arrive. ## Hours, and the Monday problem The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 7 pm, with last entry at 6:45 pm (08:15 to 19:00 and 18:45 on Italian signs). It closes on Mondays, January 1 and December 25 (2026). A Monday in Milan is a real constraint on a short stay. Our page on [what is closed on Mondays](/plan/closed-on-mondays) sets out how widespread the habit is. ## The painting: 1494 to 1497, and why it is fading Leonardo painted it between 1494 and 1497 on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie, at 460 by 880 centimeters. He worked in a dry technique rather than in true fresco, and that choice is the cause of the early deterioration. It is why the room is controlled and the slots are short, five centuries later. The complex of Santa Maria delle Grazie with the Last Supper has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1980. ## FAQ ### How long do you get in front of the Last Supper? 15 minutes, with a maximum of 40 people in the room at once. The slot is the product: there is no lingering, no second lap, and the group ahead of you leaves before yours goes in. ### When do Last Supper tickets go on sale? Quarterly. September opens November to January, December opens February to April, March opens May to July, and June opens August to October. On top of that, 215 extra tickets a day for the following week go online every Wednesday at 12:00. ### How do you get Last Supper tickets at short notice? The Wednesday release at 12:00 Italian time is the realistic route: 215 extra tickets a day are put online for the following week, sold online only. Work out what noon in Milan is where you are and be ready before it. ### How much is a ticket for the Last Supper? €15 full and €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25 (2026). Under-18s enter free, but booking is compulsory for every ticket type including the free ones, so a free entry still has to be reserved in advance. ### What happens if you arrive late for your Last Supper slot? You lose the entry. The rule is to be there 30 minutes before the booked time, and anyone who is not forfeits the right to go in. With 40 places per 15-minute slot there is no room to absorb a late arrival. ### Is the Last Supper closed on Mondays? Yes. It runs Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 am to 7 pm with last entry at 6:45 pm, and closes on Mondays plus January 1 and December 25 (2026). See our page on what is closed on Mondays in Italy for the wider pattern. ## Sources | Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until | |---|---|---|---| | La visita all'Ultima Cena di Leonardo dura 15 minuti a turno, con un massimo di 40 persone per turno; chi non si presenta 30 minuti prima dell'orario prenotato perde il diritto d'ingresso (2026). | [Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano](https://cenacolovinciano.org/info/) | medium | 2027-06-30 | | I biglietti del Cenacolo Vinciano vengono rilasciati su base trimestrale (a settembre per novembre-gennaio, a dicembre per febbraio-aprile, a marzo per maggio-luglio, a giugno per agosto-ottobre); in aggiunta, ogni mercoledi' alle ore 12.00 vengono messi in vendita solo online circa 215 biglietti giornalieri extra per la settimana successiva (2026). | [Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano](https://cenacolovinciano.org/info/) | medium | 2027-06-30 | | Il biglietto per il Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano a Milano costa 15 euro intero e 2 euro per i cittadini UE tra 18 e 25 anni (2026); la prenotazione e' obbligatoria per ogni tipo di biglietto, anche per gli aventi diritto alla gratuita'. | [Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano](https://cenacolovinciano.org/info/); [Ministero della Cultura](https://cultura.gov.it/luogo/museo-del-cenacolo-vinciano) | high | 2027-06-30 | | Il Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano apre da martedi' a domenica dalle 8.15 alle 19.00, con ultimo ingresso alle 18.45; e' chiuso il lunedi', il 1 gennaio e il 25 dicembre (2026). | [Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano](https://cenacolovinciano.org/info/); [Ministero della Cultura](https://cultura.gov.it/luogo/museo-del-cenacolo-vinciano) | high | 2027-06-30 | | L'Ultima Cena fu dipinta da Leonardo tra il 1494 e il 1497 sulla parete del refettorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie e misura 460 per 880 centimetri; Leonardo lavoro' a secco anziche' ad affresco, ed e' questa la causa del degrado precoce dell'opera. | [Ministero della Cultura](https://cultura.gov.it/luogo/museo-del-cenacolo-vinciano) | medium | 2099-12-31 | ## Image https://media.myitalia.it/media/poi.cenacolo.v2.1600.jpg Author: Joyofmuseums. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22The_Last_Supper%22_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Joy_of_Museums.jpg ## Other languages - it: https://myitalia.it/it/attrazioni/cenacolo-vinciano.md - es: https://myitalia.it/es/atracciones/cenacolo-vinciano.md - fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/attractions/cenacolo-vinciano.md - de: https://myitalia.it/de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/cenacolo-vinciano.md