Matisse at MUDEC Milan: Tickets, Hours and What to See (Until February 21, 2027)

From October 8, 2026, to February 21, 2027, MUDEC, Milan’s Museum of Cultures, is hosting Matisse. Il mondo in una stanza (Matisse: The World in a Room), an exhibition about Henri Matisse and the cultures he met through his studies and his travels outside Europe.

About 100 works, including paintings, works on paper and sculptures, come from museums such as MoMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Musée d’Orsay. Full tickets cost 16 euros at the box office, and you can book your ticket online to pick your day in advance.

Matisse at MUDEC at a glance

• Dates: October 8, 2026, to February 21, 2027
• Venue: MUDEC, Via Tortona 56, Milan
• Curators: Ellen McBreen and Chiara Gatti
• Works: about 100 paintings, works on paper and sculptures, in eight sections
• Tickets: 16 euros full price, audio guide included
• Train discount: 8 euros if you arrive in Milan by Frecciarossa or Frecciabianca
• Official information: MUDEC and 24 ORE Cultura, the producer

Tickets and prices

The prices below are the official box office rates. Online, a presale fee of 2 euros per ticket plus a service fee is added at checkout. The audio guide, on the AMUSEAPP app, is included in every ticket.

Ticket	Who it is for	Price
Full	Any visitor	16 euros
Reduced	Eligible visitors (categories listed on the official MUDEC website)	14 euros
Special reduced	Eligible visitors (categories listed on the official MUDEC website)	12 euros
University students on Tuesdays	University students, on Tuesdays only	10 euros
Frecciarossa	Visitors arriving in Milan by Frecciarossa or Frecciabianca (see below)	8 euros
Family	2 to 5 people. Adults (one or two): 14 euros each. First and second child aged 6 to 13: 10 euros. First and second child aged 14 to 26: 14 euros. Third child aged 6 to 13: free	From 10 euros
Open	No fixed date, valid until February 14, 2027	18 euros + 2 euros fee

Book your Matisse ticket

The train discount is the best deal. Frecciarossa is the official train of the exhibition: if you travel to Milan on a Frecciarossa or Frecciabianca, you pay half price. Choose the “Ridotto Frecciarossa” ticket, online or at the box office, and bring your train ticket. It must have Milan as its destination and be dated no more than two days before your visit. You show it at the entrance, and if you can’t, you pay the difference to the full price (conditions on the Trenitalia website).

Reductions have to be proved at the door, so bring the card or document that matches the category you chose.

Guided tours. MUDEC runs guided tours for individual adults at 24 euros, and family tours with a workshop at 22 euros per adult and 20 euros per child (presale fee not included). Dates and times are on the official website.

What you will see

Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 – Nice, 1954) is best known for his bold color and his paper cut-outs. This exhibition looks at something the organizers say was long left in the background: the role of African, Islamic, Russian, Pacific and Chinese art in shaping his style.

Alongside the works, the show displays objects and textiles that were central to the artist’s imagination, lent by the Musée Matisse in Nice, the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome and other institutions. Among them is a blue and green mashrabiya, a cotton textile with appliqué embroidery and openwork, from the Nice museum.

Highlights include:

• the monumental diptych Océanie
• the plates of Jazz, his 1947 artist’s book made with cut-out colored paper
• his illustrations for Mallarmé’s Poésies and Montherlant’s Pasiphaé
• preparatory drawings for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence
• period photographs, including previously unpublished pictures taken by Matisse himself in Morocco

The paintings featured in the official press materials include Seated Nude, Back Turned (1918, Philadelphia Museum of Art), The Bulgarian Blouse (around 1920, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), Pianist with Still Life (1923, Kunstmuseum Bern) and an Odalisque from 1925 that belongs to Milan’s own Museo del Novecento.

Other lenders include the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection in New York, the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Musée Picasso, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Bargello in Florence and MUDEC itself.

Opening hours and the best time to go

• Monday: 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The ticket office closes one hour before the museum. Hours can change on public holidays, so check the official MUDEC page if you plan to go around Christmas or New Year’s.

Thursday evening is the longest opening of the week, with entry until 9:30 p.m. Monday is the shortest day, as the museum opens only in the afternoon. If you are a university student, Tuesday is the day to go.

Milan has another big exhibition this season: Dalí and Fashion at Palazzo Reale, open until January 31, 2027. With both on the same trip, you can plan one museum in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

How to get to MUDEC

MUDEC is at Via Tortona 56, in the Tortona district. According to the museum, the closest public transport stops are:

• Metro: Sant’Agostino on the M2 green line, or California or Coni Zugna on the M4 blue line
• Tram: line 14, Piazza del Rosario stop

For visitors with reduced mobility, the museum recommends Sant’Agostino (M2) or California (M4), which have elevator exits. A standard urban ticket covers the ride, and you can tap a contactless card at the gates (see how Milan’s tickets work).

Staying a night or two to fit in the exhibitions? You can compare hotels in Milan for your dates. For the rest of the museum, from its permanent collection to the building itself, see our guide to MUDEC.

Get your tickets for Matisse at MUDEC