Can you get into St Paul’s Cathedral for free?

Free to worship, ticketed to sightsee

This is the single most misunderstood thing about St Paul’s and it accounts for a good share of the disappointed faces in the churchyard. The cathedral holds services every day and nobody is charged to attend one or to sit and pray. What you cannot do during a service is walk the sightseeing route with a multimedia guide, go down to the crypt as a visitor, or climb the dome. Those are the ticketed parts, and they are what pays to keep a 1675–1710 Wren building standing.

The discounted-ticket routes

• Disabled visitors and one carer are admitted free of charge. Note that the dome galleries are stairs only, while the floor and crypt have ramps, lifts and step-free entry at the North Transept — see getting there.
• Children under 6 go free. Children aged 6 to 17 have their own ticket band, and there are two family combinations. The tiers are explained on the ticket page.
• UK residents on Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment Support Allowance can get a heavily discounted sightseeing ticket through the cathedral’s own scheme. It is run by the cathedral rather than by any booking site, so apply through stpauls.co.uk.
• National Art Pass holders get a substantial discount on walk-up individual tickets.

The honest caveat

Going in for a service is a real experience and I recommend it, particularly Evensong. It is not a substitute for a visit. You will see the nave and hear the choir and you will not see Thornhill’s dome paintings from the Whispering Gallery, the Stone Gallery view or the crypt tombs. If those are what you came for, buy the ticket and read whether it is worth it first.

Frequently asked questions