Duomo Milan Accessibility

The Veneranda Fabbrica publishes ramp gradients, lift dimensions and door widths for its own building, which is more than most cathedrals do. Everything below is its figure, not an estimate, so you can decide before you travel rather than at the door.

Getting through the west front

The cathedral entrance has two ramps, 20 metres long, handrailed, at a maximum incline of 8%. Shorter ramps at up to 21% reach the main doors themselves. The security check is at the same point for everyone and involves opening bags and emptying pockets of metal.

Inside: what is level and what is not

The aisles are broad and navigable and the main floor is step-free. Four places are not: the Feriale Chapel, the Baptistery of Santo Stefano, the Scurolo di San Carlo and the Crypt, all of which are reached by stairs. That is worth knowing before you buy a Culture Pass, since two of the four are what it exists to open.

The terraces by lift, and how far it goes

Wheelchair users reach the roof by the South Elevator, which measures 77 by 106 by 130 cm, with the North Elevator as a backup. The passage from the south lift is 78 cm wide and from the north 68 cm. Access runs daily from 10am to 5pm, which is a shorter window than the terraces' own 9am to 7pm.

Two limits are stated plainly by the Fabbrica and both change the plan. A wheelchair user reaches the retrochoir area only, entering by the facade, rather than the full terrace circuit — and access to the roof and to the baptistery requires an accompanying person. The Fabbrica also reserves the right to close either entrance for technical or precautionary reasons.

The Baptistery lift

The Baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti under the square has its own lift, 88 by 165 by 147 cm, reached from the underground station side near Via Pellico. Inside, the ramps run to 7.5 metres at a maximum 12% incline. As with the roof, an accompanying person is required.

Free admission, and the wheelchair you can borrow

Entry is free for a disabled visitor and an accompanying person on production of documents, and a manual wheelchair is lent free at the ticket office against an identity document. Free tickets still have to be collected from a desk rather than walked past, which means one queue you cannot skip — the ticket office is at Piazza Duomo 14/A, not at the cathedral door.

Deaf visitors: the LIS video guides

Video guides in Italian Sign Language with subtitles are available by QR code, so you can run them on your own phone as you walk. They are the Fabbrica's own production and cover the cathedral rather than the terraces. Arrange them through the Fabbrica; no tour operator listed here offers a signed departure.

Blind and partially sighted visitors: the tactile boards

The Fabbrica runs guided tours using thick-printed tactile boards with Braille captions, which reproduce the facade and the plan in relief. They have to be booked with the Fabbrica in advance rather than turned up for. Assistance dogs are admitted throughout, and are the one animal the access regulations allow.

Toilets, and where the free one is

There are no toilets on the terraces, inside the cathedral, or at the Piazza Duomo 14/A ticket office. They are inside the Duomo Museum, or outside the cathedral for a fee. The accessible toilet is always free, and families with children under six may use it. Equipped washrooms exist in the sacristy, in the external facility and in the museum.

Planning the day around the lift window

The one timing that catches people is the accessible route to the terraces, which runs 10am to 5pm against the roof's own 9am to 7pm. If you are using it, the day works best in this order: arrive for 10am, take the south lift up while the window is open, come down for the cathedral floor, and finish in the museum across the square, where the toilets are. Doing it the other way round leaves you at the lift after five with the roof shut.

Which of these tours can take you

Accessibility differs sharply between these fares, and the titles do not tell you which. Read the card.

If the roof is the reason you are coming and you use a wheelchair, the Fabbrica's own retrochoir route between 10am and 5pm is the way in, not a guided departure — a Duomo Milan tickets bought direct keeps the free companion admission that a tour fare does not.