Hi - I’m traveling to London with my family in October and starting to plan our itinerary and buy tickets for things that need them. How far an advance does one need to buy tickets for these two places? Specifically wondering if we can buy while we are there. I’m not worried about a specific time or day of our trip I’d like to be a little flexible on some of the stuff I plan with kids as much will depend on energy level and jet lag.
Thanks!
There's no need to prebook, particularly if you don't need a specific timeslot. I would normally just book day of, or day before.
It's worth noting that they are closed to tourists on Sundays (open for worship only), and Westminster Abbey is sometimes closed or has restricted hiurs due to special state events.
Even if you have an advance ticket, you will still wait in line at Westminster Abbey. There really isn’t a great deal of time savings involved.
The Abbey is closed on 1 October until 1pm- for a special morning service to mark the start of the Legal Year, all day on 16 October (not stated why) and all day on 18 October for the annual National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Edward the Confessor- who founded the modern Abbey.
We had a different experience to Simon and Carol, maybe due to the time we were there? - June, last year. For Westminster we could not book a morning time slot easily in advance once we were in London and, once we did have a booking, we didn't have to wait in line at our alloted entry time. We spent a few hours inside.
If you are interested in attending Evensong at Westminster. We left the abbey for a couple of hours, then returned and were able to bypass the very long queue waiting outside: just walk right up to the entry point.
Gundersen, you're correct about morning timeslots (I should have been more specific, but they noted they weren't fussed about an exact time of day). It does tend to book out in the mornings.
But if you're not looking for a morning, it's not something I'd book in advance, particularly if you're not sure the kids will be up to it.
We were in London last month and visited both places. They are amazing. We spent 4 hours in St. Pauls and 5 hours in Westminster Abbey.
We got in St. Paul's without pre-booking, but for Westminster Abbey you need to book in advance.
We were in London last month and visited both places. They are
amazing. We spent 4 hours in St. Pauls and 5 hours in Westminster
Abbey.
Wow, you spent 5 hours in Westminister Abbey? Is it very, very big? I assume it could be about 3 hours.
Of course, it requires online advanced booking for a visit to Westminister Abbey.
J,
There is a lot to see. Many, many famous British people are buried in Westminister Abbey in addition to many royals.
Also, we did a tour that included an interesting area where you take steps up to a second level, which adds about another hour.
In March I spent just about 3 hours at Westminster Abbey including the 90 minute Verger Tour.
"Of course, it requires online advanced booking for a visit to Westminister Abbey."
Not necessarily- I'm in London now, and checking the web site for tomorrow, I can see only the 9.30-10am slot is sold out. All the rest are still available. Last time we went we only decided in the morning, and booked a ticket the same day.
It is always the case that the morning slots at Westminster Abbey are the first to go. There is always on the day availability from late morning onwards, even in peak summer, which October isn't.
St Paul's is so big, I can't imagine it could sell out. I just did the walkup last year and got right in. I've already mentioned that the woman seated at the staircase up to the dome quietly suggested it wasn't worth the effort.
I should add that they post a schedule of events for the week at several locations outside the church, you might do a prerun to check it out. As we walked past one day there was some serious commotion with lots of cops and apparently a royal or two had dropped by for a memorial service.
Hi cj.
Not your exact question, but this past spring we attended Evensong at Westminster. It was so beautiful. Even my angsty teens loved it. Highly recommend.
