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Best cathedrals to visit worldwide

A cathedral is the church that holds a bishop’s throne, and that one fact explains why so many of them are the largest and richest building in their city. The ones travellers book most are the great Gothic and Renaissance names: Florence, with Brunelleschi’s dome and its timed climb; Milan, where the ticket that matters is the one for the roof terraces; Seville, with the Giralda bell tower included; Wawel in Kraków, the coronation church of Poland; and Notre-Dame de Paris, reopened after the fire. Spain adds the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Toledo, Santiago de Compostela and Palma, and Sicily adds the gold mosaics of Monreale.

Florence Cathedral

Florence, Italy

The cathedral nave is free to enter, and the queue for it moves steadily along the north side of the building.

67 tickets & tours

Milan Cathedral

Milan, Italy

Tickets here are modular and the choice matters more than at most cathedrals. The cheapest covers only the church.

61 tickets & tours

Seville Cathedral

Seville, Spain

One ticket covers the cathedral, the Giralda tower and the Church of the Saviour a few streets away, which is a better…

60 tickets & tours

Wawel Cathedral

Krakow, Poland

The cathedral has its own ticket, sold in the house across the courtyard rather than at the door, and it is separate…

37 tickets & tours

Notre-Dame de Paris

Paris, France

Entry to the cathedral is free and always has been, and since the reopening in December 2024 it is also timed: you…

34 tickets & tours

Monreale Cathedral

Monreale, Italy

The church is free to enter for prayer but a ticket is charged for the tourist visit, and there are three things to pay…

31 tickets & tours

Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba

Cordoba, Spain

One ticket covers the whole building, and buying it online with a time slot saves a queue that is long from mid-morning…

22 tickets & tours

Toledo Cathedral

Toledo, Spain

The standard ticket covers the cathedral, the sacristy with its El Grecos, the treasury and the chapter house, and it…

15 tickets & tours

Palma Cathedral

Mallorca, Spain

One ticket covers the cathedral, the chapter house museum and the terraces below the rose window;

13 tickets & tours

Pisa Cathedral

Pisa, Italy

Everything on the Piazza dei Miracoli is sold through one office, and the pricing is unusual: the cathedral is free,…

12 tickets & tours

Granada Cathedral

Granada, Spain

The cathedral and the Royal Chapel next door are separate buildings with separate tickets and separate queues, and most…

10 tickets & tours

Matthias Church

Budapest, Hungary

The church charges a modest entry that includes the museum in the gallery and the crypt;

9 tickets & tours

Malaga Cathedral

Malaga, Spain

The basic ticket covers the cathedral and its museum, and includes an audio guide in most versions.

8 tickets & tours

Siena Cathedral

Siena, Italy

The cathedral is sold through a single combined pass, the OPA SI, which covers the church, the Piccolomini Library, the…

8 tickets & tours

St Paul’s Cathedral

London, United Kingdom

One ticket covers the cathedral floor, the crypt and all three galleries in the dome, and it includes a multimedia…

8 tickets & tours

Phát Diệm Cathedral

Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Phát Diệm Cathedral stands in the town of Phát Diệm in Ninh Bình province, northern Vietnam, about 120 kilometres south…

7 tickets & tours

Porto Cathedral

Porto, Portugal

Entry to the church is free; the cloister and the treasury are the ticket, and it is one of the cheapest in the city.

7 tickets & tours

Segovia Cathedral

Segovia, Spain

The standard ticket covers the cathedral, the cloister and the museum, and it is inexpensive;

7 tickets & tours

Salzburg Cathedral

Salzburg, Austria

The cathedral asks for a voluntary donation rather than a ticket, so entry is effectively free;

6 tickets & tours

St John’s Co-Cathedral

Valletta, Malta

One ticket covers the church, the oratory with the Caravaggios and the museum, and includes an audio guide that is…

6 tickets & tours

Valencia Cathedral

Valencia, Spain

The standard ticket covers the cathedral, the chapel of the Holy Chalice and the museum, and includes an audio guide;

6 tickets & tours

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury, United Kingdom

A single ticket covers the cathedral, the crypt, the cloisters and the precincts, and includes a media guide;

5 tickets & tours

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury, United Kingdom

Salisbury Cathedral stands in a large, green cathedral close in the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, and visitors…

5 tickets & tours

Most cathedrals are working churches first, so the practical questions are the same everywhere: which parts need a ticket (the treasury, the crypt, the tower or the roof), when services close the nave to sightseers, and what dress code applies. Each page below answers those for one cathedral, lists the tickets and tours sold for it, and says which hour of the day or the week makes the visit easier.