Sforza Castle Accessibility
Most of the castle's museums can be reached without a step, the Pietà Rondanini museum is level throughout, and a visitor with disabilities and one companion both enter free. The figures below are the castle's own measurements, so you can judge each ramp and lift before you go. If you would rather book Sforza Castle tickets with a guide, check the operator's accessibility line on each card first.
Getting to the castle: metro, tram and parking
The red M1 stops at Cairoli, 200 metres from the main museum desk; the green M2 stops at Lanza, 240 metres away. Tram 1 stops at Cairoli, 190 metres away, and trams 2, 4, 12 and 14 at Lanza, 150 metres away. For the Pietà Rondanini desk, Cadorna on either metro line is 350 metres, and bus 97 stops 210 metres off.
The square in front of the fountain is pedestrian and inside the Area C zone. There are two disabled parking bays in Piazza Castello and two more on Via Quintino Sella, and blue badge holders can also use the blue bays along Foro Bonaparte.
Into the museums: the desk and the ramps
The main ticket office has a 2.5 cm threshold, a 6% ramp and a double door of two 84 cm leaves. A 4% ramp leads from the desk into the Museo d'Arte Antica. Inside, three ramps take you over the changes in level, at 10%, 10% and 8%, and a five-metre ramp at 11% brings you back to the Corte Ducale at the exit.
| Counter | Height |
|---|---|
| Info Point, in the Filarete Tower | 81 cm |
| Bookshop | 85 cm |
| Museum ticket office | 86 cm |
| Pietà Rondanini ticket office | 86 cm |
The Corte Ducale lift and the six steps
A lift from room 15 of the Museo d'Arte Antica serves the Pinacoteca and the Furniture museum on the first floor and the Egyptian gallery below. A short ramp at 7% leads to it. Its door is 85 cm wide and its cabin 95 by 135 cm, with Braille buttons, audible and visual floor signals and an induction loop.
One room is out of reach: room 20 of the Pinacoteca is reached only by six steps. If the Egyptian gallery lift is unavailable, staff can take you by an outdoor route with two cobbled ramps of about 20 metres each, up to 18%.
The Rocchetta lift and the upper museums
The Rocchetta is reached from the Corte Ducale by a 15-metre ramp at 4% to 10%, then 30 metres of uneven paving to a second lift. That one has a 96 cm door and a 160 by 124 cm cabin, and serves the Musical Instruments museum on the first floor, the Decorative Arts museum on the second and the Sale Panoramiche on the third.
On the first floor, ring the bell at the lift for staff to open room 37; room 38 is four steps up, so double back to room 34 and use the 10% ramp. On the second floor a 10% ramp with rails leads into room 31, and the rooms beyond need a 13% ramp. The route is a loop, so you retrace it to the lift.
The Pietà Rondanini museum, step-free
A level paved path leads from the Cortile delle Armi to the entrance. A 5% ramp and a 120 cm automatic sliding door bring you into the atrium, where the desk and lockers are. Another 8% ramp and a 108 cm automatic door lead into the hall itself, which has no obstacles and wooden benches at 30, 40 and 50 cm. You can move all the way round the sculpture.
Wheelchairs, free entry and toilets
Two wheelchairs can be borrowed free at the Museo d'Arte Antica desk against an identity document. A visitor with disabilities and one companion enter free.
There are three accessible toilets, all inside the museums. Two are at the end of the Egyptian gallery, with 90 cm doors. The third is in the passage between the Cortile delle Armi and the Rocchetta, reached by an entryphone, with a baby-changing table.
Blind, partially sighted, deaf and neurodivergent visitors
- Tactile route: about 20 original works in the Museo d'Arte Antica can be touched, marked with a hand symbol; latex gloves and a guide for your companion are at the Bookshop.
- DescriVedendo: audio descriptions of the Pietà Rondanini, the May tapestry of the Trivulzio series and the Ruckers virginal, downloadable to your phone, and guided sessions Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, by appointment.
- Italian Sign Language: LIS videos on the Pietà, the history of the castle and the tapestries, by QR code at the desk.
- Museo per tutti: easy-to-read and symbol-supported guides to the castle, the courtyards and six museums, to download or borrow at the desk.
The battlements by lift, and which tours can take you
The Merlate Panoramiche, the unguided stretch of the ramparts, has its own lift and no barriers, so wheelchairs and pushchairs can go up. The guided evening battlement tour and the underground covered way are not accessible: both have steps and narrow passages.
Among the tours listed here, the operators of Sforza Castle and Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini guided experience and of the private Milan: Private Walking Tour with Duomo, Castle and Gelato list their routes as wheelchair accessible. The Duomo-and-castle combination and one of the Last Supper private walks say they are not. Every card carries the operator's own line, so read it before you book.
A castle tour that lists step-free access
Ninety guided minutes, meeting under the Filarete Tower, with the museum ticket in the fare and wheelchairs and pushchairs listed as welcome.
Check AvailabilityGetting to the square is on the map page, and every fare is compared on Sforza Castle Tours.