There are various kinds of tours available for visitors to Westminster Abbey, designed to help you to see as much as possible and get the most out of your visit, depending on your areas of interest and the time you have available.
Verger-led tours
Verger-led tours of the Abbey are available, in English, for individuals or family groups only (and not for larger parties or school visits). They start at the North Door, last for approximately 90 minutes and include a tour of the Shrine (containing the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor), the Royal Tombs, Poets' Corner, the Cloisters and the Nave.
Price: 3.00 per person (in addition to the entrance charge).
Verger-led tours usually commence at the following times but are subject to availability. Please call to confirm times in advance of your visit +44 (0)20 7654 4834.
Summer: April to September
Monday-Friday 10.00am, 10.30am, 11.00am, 2.00pm, 2.30pm
Saturdays 10.00am, 10.30am, 11.00am
Winter: October to March
Monday-Friday 10.30am, 11.00am, 2.00pm, 2.30pm
Saturday 10.30am, 11.00am
All verger-led tours are limited to 25 persons. For further details and to confirm a booking please contact the Abbeys Information Desk on +44 (0)20 7654 4834
Audio guides
Audio-guides are free with your individual entry tickets at the North Door. They have proved popular with visitors who prefer to take their own time and pace to visit the Abbey but who appreciate some extra guidance on the history and meaning of what they see. This tour takes around one hour.
The audio guides are hand-held sets and are easy to use. The English-language tour is narrated by the Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons but audio guides are also available in ten other languages: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portugese, Polish, Hungarian, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese.
They are available at the Abbeys Information Desk near the North Door between the following times:
Monday - Friday: 9.30am - 3.30pm (excluding Wednesday)
Wednesday: 9.30am - 6.00pm
Saturday: 9.30am - 1.30pm (June - September available until 3.30pm)
The audio guides need to be returned in Poets' Corner before continuing your tour of the Cloisters, Chapter House and Museum.
Guided tours
Guided Tours can be accommodated during normal opening hours, provided the group does not exceed 26 and is always accompanied by a Blue Badge Guide. If you need to book a guide please click on either of these links for more information: Association of Professional Guides, or The Guild of Registered Tourist Guides.
For further information please email: tours@westminster-abbey.org.
Because many special services take place at the Abbey, tour details are subject to change, sometimes unavoidably without notice. If you are making a special visit to the Abbey, please phone beforehand and check opening times.
Schools, youth groups and other Educational establishments are welcome to visit the Abbey from September to June, with or without a Blue Badge Guide. To pre-book please complete the Booking Form.
Any University or School group wishing to attend during the summer months, July and August, should be advised that this is our peak visiting time and the Abbey can get quite crowded. For this reason these groups can only visit with a Blue Badge Guide. Please email tours@westminster-abbey.org for more information. Or visit the Schools section of this website.
Parish Prayer pilgrimages at the Abbey on Wednesday evenings
The Abbey is pleased to receive requests from Parish groups in the UK to visit on Wednesday evenings after we have closed for general visiting. Parish groups of up to fifty people can join our Canon Steward for these pilgrim tours, which take you around the Abbey hearing about its history and praying in its sacred places. The tours begin at 6.15pm ending with Compline at 7.15pm. The tours are only possible on Wednesday evenings subject to availability.
If you would like to book such a pilgrimage evening, which can be specially adapted for your parish please contact the Canon's PA, Catherine Butler (tel: 020-7654-4805 or by emailing catherine.butler@westminster-abbey.org.