Visiting the Cathedral

Group Visits

Visitor Facilities

prices from April 2009 in red

Advance group bookings are taken by the Visits Office. Visits by primary/secondary schools are dealt with by the Schools Office. Bookings for conferences, hospitality or accommodation are made with the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge and Study Centre. Pre-booked groups benefit from a reduced entrance rate of:

  • Adults £6.00 (£6.50)
  • Concessions / Full-time students (18-24 yrs) £5.00 (£6.00)
  • Language schools / Under 18 years £4.50 (£5.00)

Groups may book an ‘entrance only’ or any of the additional facilities, such as private guided tours, audio-tours, audiovisual presentations, lectures or ‘behind-the-scenes’ tours.

Joint Tickets

Groups may benefit from special rates when combining a visit to the Cathedral with a visit to St Augustine’s Abbey and/or Canterbury. Contact the Visits Office for up-to-date information and rates.

Guided Tours

Our guides are experts at making the Cathedral and its history come to life and we strongly recommend that you book a tour for your group.

Guided tours in several languages as well as special tours of an extended or specialised character can be arranged, starting any time between 09.00 and 15.30 hrs (Monday-Friday) and 09.00 and 13.30 hrs (Saturday). There are no guided tours on Sunday.

Cost for entrance and guided tour:

  • Adult £10.50 (£11.00)
  • Concessions £8.50 (£9.50)

Only accredited Cathedral guides are permitted to conduct tours in the Cathedral.

Audio-Visual Presentations

Audio-visuals in several languages provide an appropriate introduction or conclusion to a visit (pre-booked groups only).

Costs:

  • £1.00 p.p.
Audio-tours

Audio-tours in English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, lasting 40 minutes, are available inside the main entrance.

Costs:

  • Adults £3.50
  • Concessions £2.50
Private Evening Tours

Depending on the availability of the Cathedral private evening tours may also be arranged.

Costs:

  • £20.00 per person
Behind-the-Scenes tours

Behind the scenes a great deal goes on - some 220 people work on preparing Services, creating beautiful music, restoring the stained glass or conserving unique and rare books and documents, much as the monks did many centuries ago.

Groups visiting the Cathedral can now experience these fascinating aspects of Cathedral life.

Packages and tours can be tailor-made so that people can visit what interests them most:

  • Cathedral's priceless archives and rare books library;
  • beautiful church vestments;
  • the studio where stained glass is restored and made or where the masons work in stone.

These visits are very popular - numbers are limited and they must be booked well in advance.

Visitor Welcome Brochure

Download our brochure to learn more about the cathedral and to prepare for a visit.

Cathedral Closures

There will be restrictions to general visting when the Cathedral is used for Services and/or special events To view forthcoming closures.