Milan with Kids on a Budget: Prices and Closures
Milan’s kid-specific places are cheap and strict. A family of four gets into MUBA for €25, the science museum charges €7.50 for anyone aged 3 to 26, and the aquarium is €8. What will cost you a day is the calendar: MUBA is closed to families on weekdays, the aquarium and the science museum both close on Mondays, and the submarine everyone wants to see is a separate ticket that sells out. Where a guided option genuinely helps, compare Milan family activities .
Prices and closing days at a glance
| Place | Adult | Child | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia | €10 | €7.50 ages 3 to 26 | Mondays |
| MUBA, Museo dei Bambini | €6 | €8 | Tue to Fri, when it is schools only |
| Acquario Civico | €8 | €8 | Mondays |
| Leonardo3 | See site | See site | Only 25 December |
| Castello Sforzesco courtyards | Free | Free | Never |
| Parco Sempione | Free | Free | Never |
| Navigli boat cruise | About €19 | €10 ages 5 to 10 | Weather dependent |
The booking rule that catches families out
MUBA, the Museo dei Bambini Milano, sits in the late-Baroque Rotonda della Besana and is built for children from 12 months to 12 years. From Tuesday to Friday it takes school groups only. Families get Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, on timed sessions at 10:00, 11:30, 14:30 and 16:00.
Tickets are €8 per child and €6 per adult, so the child costs more than the grown-up, with a family pack at €25 for four and a ten-entry pass at €55. Programming is a rotating hands-on exhibition rather than a permanent collection, so check what is running before you commit a morning. Booking and current sessions are at muba.it . A family that walks up on a Wednesday does not get in.
Science museum, and the ticket that is not included
The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci at Via San Vittore 21 is Italy’s largest science and technology museum, with the Leonardo galleries of working models built from the codices, plus real trains, aircraft and ships. Adults €10, ages 3 to 26 €7.50. Open Tuesday to Friday 09:30 to 17:00 and Saturday and Sunday 09:30 to 18:30, closed Mondays.
The submarine Enrico Toti is the thing children remember and it is a separate ticket with its own timed reservation and strictly limited places, in the region of €8 to €10. It sells out. Reserve it in the same transaction as museum entry at museoscienza.org , because a family arriving on the assumption it is covered does not get aboard.
What does the Acquario Civico actually have?
About 50 species across freshwater and Mediterranean habitats: mountain-stream trout, a reproduction of a stretch of Lake Como, a Mediterranean reef, and a walk-under bridge tank with small catsharks and rays passing overhead. It is Italy’s third-oldest aquarium and it lives in a surviving 1906 Liberty-style pavilion from the Milan International Exhibition, which is half the reason to go.
Viale Gerolamo Gadio 2, inside Parco Sempione. €8 since 10 May 2026, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:30, closed Mondays, and free on the first Sunday and the first and third Tuesday of the month. Details at acquariodimilano.it .
The reliable late-afternoon answer
Most Milan museums shut at 17:30. Leonardo3, The World of Leonardo, on Piazza della Scala at the Galleria end, opens daily 09:30 to 21:00 and closes only on 25 December. Physical working reconstructions of Leonardo’s machines that children are meant to touch, plus digital reconstructions of the codices. Hours at leonardo3.net . When everything else has closed and nobody is ready for dinner, this is the answer.
Free green space that works with small children
Parco Sempione behind the Castello Sforzesco is Milan’s largest central park, with playgrounds, the Acquario Civico, the Torre Branca, the Arena Civica and the Triennale inside it. Parco Nord Milano, Parco Forlanini and Boscoincittà are larger and further out.
The Castello Sforzesco courtyards are free and open daily, which makes them the cheap half of a family morning; the museums inside cost €5 adult and €3 reduced and run Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:30, per milanocastello.it .
The Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli at Porta Venezia is Milan’s oldest public park, with playgrounds, shade, the natural history museum with its dinosaur skeletons and habitat dioramas, and Italy’s largest planetarium next door.
Boats, and a cheap hour on the water
Scheduled guided battello cruises leave the Darsena and run the Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese, roughly €19 adult, €10 for children aged 5 to 10 and free under 5, taking about 50 minutes. Small children find a boat considerably more interesting than a gallery. Book ahead at weekends, or look at guided canal trips if you would rather not queue.
Two things to plan around before you arrive
Strollers are not permitted on the Duomo terraces, and the lift reaches only the first level, around 50 m, with steps above and on the way down. Infants have to be carried. Budget for that before promising a rooftop.
The Last Supper is a poor use of a scarce ticket for young children. Fifteen silent minutes in a climate-controlled room, 40 people per slot, booked months ahead, no second chance and nothing sold at the door. It is worth the effort for teenagers with an interest and rarely worth it below that. Prices for everything else are in the Milan sightseeing guide .
For guided products and stadium tours, see the attraction tours page ; the activities guide covers the rest. A flat near Porta Venezia puts the park, the planetarium and the natural history museum within a pram push, and you can check family rooms on Booking.com .
Book MUBA for a Saturday or Sunday session before you travel. There are only four timed slots a day and weekdays belong to school groups.