Castello Sforzesco

The Castello Sforzesco is a huge red-brick fortress on the edge of the historic centre, and one of the most rewarding places in Milan to spend a morning. The first castle was built by Galeazzo II Visconti in the 14th century, destroyed in 1447 and rebuilt from 1450 by Francesco Sforza as his ducal residence. Under Ludovico Sforza it drew artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Later it became a Spanish citadel and then a barracks, and the architect Luca Beltrami restored it at the end of the 19th century, rebuilding the tall Filarete Tower over the main gate.

The courtyards are free to enter and open daily, and simply walking through them gives a good sense of the castle's scale, with walls up to seven metres thick and a square plan about 200 metres a side. The museums inside need a ticket. The highlight for most people is the Museum of the Rondanini Pietà, which displays the unfinished marble Pietà that Michelangelo was still carving days before his death in 1564. The Museum of Ancient Art, the picture gallery with works by Mantegna, Bellini, Titian and Canaletto, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the furniture collection and the Egyptian and prehistoric collections are all within the same complex.

Leonardo's painted ceiling in the Sala delle Asse, a canopy of interlaced tree branches, has been under long-term restoration, so check the official website before you go if it is important to you. The museums are closed on Mondays. Entry to the museums is free on the first Sunday of the month and on the first and third Tuesday afternoons, and under-18s go free.

Allow two to three hours for the museums, or half an hour for the courtyards alone. Families do well here: children usually enjoy the battlements, the moat and the armour, and the open courtyards give room to move. Much of the museum route is accessible, though the old building has some uneven ground.

The main gate faces Largo Cairoli, with the Cairoli stop on metro M1 in front and Lanza on M2 nearby. Behind the castle, Parco Sempione stretches to the Arco della Pace, and Via Dante leads straight back to the Duomo in about 15 minutes on foot.