Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge vs King’s College Chapel
Two churches in Cambridge. Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge has no online ticket listed; King’s College Chapel has 1 ticket or tour to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Great Saint Mary's is the university church of Cambridge and stands on King's Parade, facing the Senate House and a few steps from King's College Chapel and the market square. Entry to the church is free. The tower is ticketed, and the climb of about a hundred and twenty steps up a narrow spiral is the reason many visitors come: the view from the top is the best in the city, over King's College Chapel, the colleges along the river, and the market below.
The chapel is entered on a college ticket that also covers the front court and the grounds down to the river; it is not cheap by cathedral standards and is timed in summer. Booking online is sensible from June to September and during graduation weeks, when the college closes to visitors entirely. Attending a service is free and is the better way in: Evensong is sung by the college choir on most days in term at half past five, with no ticket, and visitors queue at the side gate beforehand.
