Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: the bull, the rooftop walk and where to eat

Prices and opening hours below were checked on 5 October 2026 on the official sites of Highline Milano and of the shops and restaurants named.

What the Galleria is

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIMap is a covered street in the shape of a cross. Its long arm runs about 200 meters from Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala, and where the two arms meet there is an octagon under a glass dome 47 meters high. The Milanese call it il salotto, the city’s drawing room, and it is often called Italy’s oldest shopping mall.

It has no doors and no tickets. You can walk through at 2am or at noon, and you probably will, because it is the direct route from the Duomo to La Scala. The walk from one square to the other takes about 7 minutes without stops.

Opening hours and how to get there

• Arcade: open 24 hours, every day, free.
• Shops and restaurants: each keeps its own hours, listed below for the main cafés.
• Metro: Duomo (red M1 and yellow M3) is about 2 minutes away on foot, and Cordusio (M1) about 5 minutes.
• Tram: lines 1, 2, 12, 14, 16 and 19 stop at Teatro alla Scala or Duomo.
• Car: the center is inside the Area C traffic zone, so leave the car at the hotel.

From Milano Centrale, the yellow M3 reaches Duomo in four stops. The south entrance is on the north side of Piazza del Duomo, under the monumental arch.

A short history, from 1865 to 1878

Giuseppe Mengoni designed the Galleria, and King Vittorio Emanuele II laid the first stone on 7 March 1865, in the octagon, during a heavy snowfall. The roof was finished by mid-1867 and the arcade opened that year, still without the monumental arch on Piazza del Duomo.

Mengoni did not see it finished: he fell from the scaffolding in 1877, and the arch was inaugurated in 1878. That is why you will see the construction dates given both as 1865 to 1877 and as 1865 to 1878.

Allied bombs hit the Galleria on the nights of 13 and 15 August 1943, damaging the plaster, frescoes and floor. It was restored between 1948 and 1955, and the floor of the octagon was relaid in the 1960s. Look up in the octagon to see four painted lunettes, one for each continent: Africa, Asia, Europe and America.

Every shop and café must use gold letters on a black background for its sign, following the original design, so the shopfronts all match.

Why people spin on the bull

The floor of the octagon carries the arms of the House of Savoy in the center and, around them, the coats of arms of the four cities that were capitals of the Kingdom of Italy: Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome. Turin’s coat of arms is a rearing bull.

The tradition is to put one heel on the bull’s testicles and turn around three times for good luck. Generations of heels have worn a hollow into that spot, and the tiles have been replaced many times. The most recent repair started in May 2026: the city replaced the worn tiles with marble of the same type, and on 5 June 2026 it announced the mosaic was back in use.

At busy times you may have to wait your turn. Watch your bag while you wait, since the octagon is one of the most crowded spots in Milan.

Highline Galleria: the rooftop walk

Above the glass vaults runs Highline MilanoMap, a walkway about 250 meters long and about 40 meters above the street. The route includes a panoramic glass elevator, the Sala degli Orologi (a historic hall where the 1932 mechanism that controlled the city’s public clocks is still preserved) and a terrace on top of the entrance arch, facing the Duomo.

Ticket	Price
Full price	€15
Ages 19 to 25, over 65	€12
Ages 13 to 18	€10
Ages 7 to 12	€7
Ages 0 to 6, visitors with disabilities	Free
Open-date ticket (no fixed time)	€20
Guided tour (in Italian)	€25

• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, last entry 5:30pm. Closed on Mondays, and some dates close for private events.
• Entrance: inside the Galleria at number 11/12, in the atrium on the Piazza della Scala side. The ticket desk is on the ground floor, and the walk starts on the 6th floor, reached by elevator or stairs.
• Booking: capacity is limited, so book a time slot on highlinegalleria.it. You can also buy at the desk on the day with no fees, but on busy days there may be no space.
• Before you go: the route has stairs and a metal grating, and high heels, pets and bulky bags are not allowed. The audio guide is free on your own phone, so bring headphones.

The walk is partly outdoors, so check the weather. If you want a higher view, the Duomo rooftop terraces are a few steps away and cost from €16.

Shops in the Galleria

The arcade is lined with luxury brand stores, cafés and restaurants. Two shops have a story worth knowing:

• PradaMap. Mario Prada opened Fratelli Prada here in 1913, selling luxury luggage and leather goods, and in 1919 it became official supplier to the Italian royal house. The original shop still has its mahogany shelving. In September 2026 Prada reopened its spaces as Prada Galleria, eight floors that include the men’s and women’s stores and Pradasphere, a permanent exhibition on the company’s history that you visit by registering in advance.
• Libreria BoccaMap, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II 12. An art bookshop in the Galleria since 1930, listed by the city as a historic shop.

The OsservatorioMap of the Fondazione PradaMap is also inside the Galleria, an exhibition space covered by the €15 Fondazione Prada ticket. For more shopping, the Quadrilatero della Moda starts a few minutes east; our Milan shopping guide has the streets and the department store next door.

Cafés and restaurants in the Galleria

Expect to pay more for a coffee here than in the streets around it. These are the places with a history or a reason to book:

• Camparino in GalleriaMap, Piazza del Duomo 21, at the arcade’s entrance. Davide Campari opened it in 1915. The ground-floor Bar di Passo is a stand-up counter, open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 11pm, Saturday 10am to 11pm and Sunday 9:30am to 9pm. It is No. 18 in Europe’s 50 Best Bars 2026. The house drink is the Campari Seltz, served at this counter since 1915.
• Marchesi 1824Map, a pastry café upstairs, above the Prada men’s store. The Milanese pastry maker, founded in 1824, serves breakfast and afternoon coffee and cakes here.
• SaviniMap, one of the oldest restaurants in the Galleria, open every day from 8am to 11pm. Call +39 02 72003433 to book.
• Cracco in GalleriaMap, a restaurant with one MICHELIN star that reworks Milanese classics. The ground-floor café is open all year. The restaurant serves lunch Tuesday to Friday and dinner Monday to Saturday, and the window tables over the Galleria need booking well ahead.
• Terrazza AperolMap, at the corner of the Galleria and Piazza del Duomo, has a balcony looking straight at the cathedral. It reopened after a restyling in March 2025.

For the history of Campari and how aperitivo works, see our aperitivo in Milan guide. For dinner elsewhere, our best restaurants in Milan list covers every budget.

Tips for visiting

• Go early or late for photos. The arcade never closes, so first thing in the morning or late at night you can see the floor and the dome without the crowds.
• Mind your pockets. Piazza del Duomo and the Galleria are always crowded. Keep your phone in a front pocket, and ignore street sellers of fake designer goods: buying from them is illegal in Italy and can get you fined. Our guide to safety in Milan has more.
• Eat a few streets away. I avoid eating around the Duomo and the Galleria unless it is one of the historic places above. A 15-minute walk away, Il PoliticoMap sells panini from a kiosk by Sforza Castle, and SorbilloMap makes Neapolitan pizza on Largo Corsia dei Servi, off Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.
• Skip the piled-up gelato. Tall, bright mounds of gelato in a shop window look fake for a reason. Good gelato sits flat in its tray or in covered metal tubs (pozzetti).
• Whisper under the arches. Two minutes from the Duomo, under the portico of Palazzo della Ragione in Piazza dei Mercanti (Palazzo della Ragione)Map, speak into one corner pillar and a friend at the diagonally opposite pillar hears you.
• Come back in December. The Galleria puts up its own Christmas tree and lights the glass vault; our Christmas markets guide lists what else is on.
• Take a walking tour if you want the stories. GetYourGuide lists tours that include the Galleria, often combined with the Duomo or La Scala.

What is nearby

At the north end, Piazza della Scala holds the Teatro alla ScalaMap opera house. Its La Scala MuseumMap is open every day from 9:30am to 5:30pm and costs €12; our La Scala guide explains when you can see the auditorium.

From La Scala, the art district of Brera is a 9-minute walk north. At the south end, the Duomo sells timed tickets online, from €10 for the cathedral and museum. All three fit in a morning; our one day in Milan itinerary shows how, and our list of things to do in Milan covers the rest of the city. If you want a hotel within walking distance, see where to stay in Milan.