St Paul’s Cathedral Has a One Pound Ticket Hiding in Its Price List

An adult ticket to St Paul’s Cathedral is twenty seven pounds. In the same price table, on the same page, there is a one pound ticket, and it is not a misprint.

It sits at the bottom of the official list under the words “terms and conditions apply”, which is why nobody clicks it. Behind that link is a real means tested scheme: anyone receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance pays a pound, and so do up to four children with them.

A family of five who would otherwise pay sixty four pounds fifty pays five. Here is how it works, what the full prices actually are, and the honest answer to whether you can get in for nothing.

The one pound ticket

Who it is for. UK visitors receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. One pound each for the recipient and up to four children aged six to seventeen.

How to book. Online up to six months in advance, or on the door on the day. They advise booking ahead to guarantee entry.

What you must bring. Two things, and the visit fails without both. First, proof of the benefit: a Universal Credit statement, digital or paper, or a DWP confirmation letter for Pension Credit or ESA. Second, proof of your identity, which does not have to be photo ID: a bank card, a bank statement, a utility bill or a work ID are all accepted. Both must be recent.

Disabled visitors are covered separately. A disabled visitor can book free entry for themselves and a carer or companion, and that is unconnected to the one pound offer, so it does not use it up.

What everyone else pays

Admission covers the Cathedral Floor, the Crypt and the Dome Galleries, and includes the multimedia guides. Prices outside the summer period:

Adults are 27 pounds, or 29.70 with the optional ten per cent donation, and 24.30 each for groups of fifteen or more. Seniors over 65 and students are 24 pounds, with student ID required and ISIC cards accepted. Children aged six to seventeen are 10.50, and under sixes are free. A family of two adults and up to three children is 64.50, and one adult with up to three children is 37.50.

There is a cheaper summer window, and it has closed for this year. Between 25 June and 1 September the adult price drops to 24 pounds, seniors and students to 21.50, children to 9.50 and the larger family ticket to 57.50. Outside those dates you pay the figures above, so from September to June the full price is the only price.

The cathedral is a registered charity receiving no regular state funding, which is what the optional donation is for, and UK taxpayers can add Gift Aid worth another 25 per cent at no extra cost.

Can you get in free?

Yes, to worship. No, to sightsee. That distinction is the whole answer and it is rarely given properly.

There are around thirty services a week and the regular ones, Evensong included, are free of charge. Most need no booking at all: you turn up. You do not need to be a Christian, there is no dress requirement, and the choir is worth the trip on its own.

What you cannot do is treat it as a free look round. Once seated you are asked to stay in your seat rather than wander the building, and photography and filming are not permitted during services. Sit in the Nave rather than under the Dome if you may want to leave early without disturbing anyone.

The Crypt Café needs no ticket either. It is entered directly through the north west Crypt door and opens Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4.30pm, which makes it the one part of the building you can walk into free, any day, and sit down in.

St Paul’s Cathedral

Address

St Paul’s Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AD

Nearest

St Paul’s, two minutes. Mansion House, five. City Thameslink, five

Hours

Sightseeing from 8.30am Monday to Saturday, with last entry usually 4pm and sightseeing ending 30 minutes later. The Dome Galleries open at 9.30am with last entry at 4.15pm, and they also open on Sundays between 15 March and 25 October. The Crypt Café runs Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4.30pm

Booking

Online in advance, or at the door. Free to attend services, most of which need no booking at all

Price

Adults 27 pounds, seniors and students 24, children 6 to 17 10.50, under sixes free. Family tickets 64.50 and 37.50. Every one of those has an optional 10 per cent donation added at checkout, which takes the adult to 29.70. Groups of 15 or more pay 24.30, 21.60 and 9.50. A 1 pound ticket for those on Universal Credit, Pension Credit or ESA, plus up to four children. Free for a disabled visitor and a carer, and free for Friends of the Cathedral

Standing

Admission covers the Cathedral Floor, the Crypt and the Dome Galleries, with multimedia guides included and guided or self guided tours daily in several languages

How to get in

The Dome Galleries are the reason to pay, and they run on their own clock: they open an hour after the cathedral does and take their last entry at a quarter past four. Climbing to the Stone and Golden Galleries gives a view across London that no free platform matches for being inside a Wren dome rather than a modern tower. One rule to plan around if you have children with you: child ticket holders must be accompanied and supervised by an adult of 18 or over to access the Dome Galleries, so a parent who does not fancy the climb is a problem rather than a detail. Sunday is worship only, with no sightseeing.

What to know

Check the one pound ticket before you pay twenty seven. It is on the official price list and it is bookable online six months ahead. If you receive any of the three qualifying benefits, that is the ticket.

The Dome Galleries close first. Last entry to the galleries is 4.15pm and last entry to the cathedral is usually 4pm, but the galleries only open at 9.30am, an hour after the doors. An early visit is a cathedral visit, not a climb.

No sightseeing on a Sunday. Sightseeing runs Monday to Saturday. Sunday is for services, which are free.

Bring ID for the discounts. Students need a current photo ID from their place of study with an unexpired date, and ISIC cards work. The one pound ticket needs benefit proof plus any recent ID, photographic or not.

The café is free to enter. North west Crypt door, no ticket, seven days.

Everything here was taken from St Paul’s Cathedral’s own published information and rechecked on 28 September 2026. The summer pricing window is dated and will move. Confirm before you book.

The London Eye is the ride rather than the climb, at 29 pounds online against 27 here, with a queue rule worth knowing before you book.

Where to go next

The best views in London puts the Dome Galleries against the towers, and The Shard is the direct comparison: higher, more expensive, and it names St Paul’s as one of the five landmarks its own View Guarantee is measured against.

Sky Garden and Horizon 22 are the free alternatives if the view is the only reason you were going, and Tower Bridge is free to watch from the road whenever a ship is due.

The restaurants with a view are the version where you sit down rather than climb, and free things to do in London covers the rest, and the coffee guide covers what to drink nearby, though most of it shuts by five.

Questions we get asked

Is it free to go up St Paul’s Cathedral?

No. Climbing to the Dome Galleries is part of the sightseeing ticket, which is 27 pounds for an adult. Getting into the building is free if you come for a service, of which there are around thirty a week including Evensong, but you are asked to stay in your seat and photography is not allowed, so it is not a route to a free look round. The Crypt Café can be entered free through the north west Crypt door.

How much is a ticket to St Paul’s Cathedral?

27 pounds for an adult, 24 for seniors over 65 and students, and 10.50 for children aged 6 to 17, with under sixes free. Family tickets are 64.50 for two adults and up to three children, or 37.50 for one adult. Groups of fifteen or more pay 24.30 an adult. Between 25 June and 1 September 2026 the adult price drops to 24 pounds.

What is the 1 pound ticket at St Paul’s Cathedral?

A means tested sightseeing ticket for UK visitors receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. It costs a pound for the recipient and a pound each for up to four children aged 6 to 17. Book online up to six months ahead or at the door, and bring both proof of the benefit and proof of identity, which does not have to be photographic.

What time do the Dome Galleries open at St Paul’s?

9.30am, an hour after the cathedral opens at 8.30am for sightseeing, with last entry to the galleries at 4.15pm. Last entry to the cathedral itself is usually 4pm and sightseeing ends thirty minutes after that. Children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult aged 18 or over to go up to the galleries.

Can you visit St Paul’s Cathedral on a Sunday?

For a service, yes, and it is free. For sightseeing, no: sightseeing runs Monday to Saturday only. The Crypt Café opens on Sunday from 11am to 4.30pm and needs no ticket, entered through the north west Crypt door, so a Sunday visit can still get you inside part of the building.

Do you need to book to attend a service at St Paul’s?

For most services, no. You can turn up as you are, and there is no requirement to dress smartly or to be a member of any church. Around thirty services take place each week and the regular ones such as Evensong are free. A small number are ticketed and those are listed separately in the cathedral’s service calendar.