How many steps to the top of Milan Cathedral rooftop?
The 251 steps take you not to a viewing platform but onto the roof itself, where you walk among 135 marble spires and roughly 3,400 statues on a marble surface that slopes. There is also a lift, and the stairs ticket is cheaper. The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete, and the final gate was fitted in 1965. Walking on the roof of a working cathedral is unusual enough that this is the climb people remember more than the height.
The numbers
- Steps
- 251
- Reaches
- the roof terraces, at 70 m among the spires
- Public access
- Open to climb
- Where
- Milan, Italy
- Height climbed
- 70 m — 230 ft
- Average rise per step
- 279 mm
What the climb is like
About 15 minutes. A lift is available; the roof surface is sloped marble and slippery when wet.
Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.
How it compares
Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.
| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade | 262 | the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m | Open to climb |
| Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | 257 | the gallery below the lantern room, at 63 m | Open to climb |
| Leaning Tower of Pisa | 251 | the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m | Open to climb |
| Milan Cathedral rooftop | 251 | the roof terraces, at 70 m among the spires | Open to climb |
| Christ the Redeemer | 220 | the statue's viewing platform, from the upper station of the Corcovado railway | Open to climb |
| Statue of Liberty (pedestal) | 215 | the top of the pedestal, at 47 m — the observation level below the statue itself | Open to climb |
| The Motherland Calls (Mamayev Kurgan) | 200 | the base of the statue, from the foot of the memorial complex | Open to climb |
Common questions
- How many steps to the top of Milan Cathedral rooftop?
- 251, reaching the roof terraces, at 70 m among the spires.
- Can the public climb Milan Cathedral rooftop?
- Open to climb. About 15 minutes. A lift is available; the roof surface is sloped marble and slippery when wet.
- How high is that climb?
- 70 m, about 230 ft, which averages 279 mm per step.
Related pages
- Cathedrals and churches All 19 here
- How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa? 251 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up St Peter's Basilica dome? 551 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)? 334 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up St Paul's Cathedral? 528 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral? 463 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Notre-Dame de Paris towers? 422 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Sagrada Família towers? 400 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Cologne Cathedral south tower? 533 steps · open to climb
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place