Westminster Abbey

Why visit

A Benedictine abbey stood here by the 10th century, and Edward the Confessor built a great church on the site, consecrated in 1065. Henry III began the Gothic church you see today in 1245. Since then, almost every English and British monarch has been crowned here, including King Charles III in 2023, and many are buried here too.

What to see

• The Coronation Chair: the oak chair made around 1300 for Edward I, used at coronations ever since.
• The Lady Chapel: Henry VII’s chapel, with a breathtaking fan-vaulted stone ceiling and the banners of the Knights of the Bath.
• The royal tombs: including the shrine of St Edward the Confessor and the tomb of Elizabeth I, which she shares with her half-sister Mary I.
• Poets’ Corner: the graves and memorials of Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens and many other writers.
• Scientists: Isaac Newton’s monument in the nave, and the graves of Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking nearby.
• The Grave of the Unknown Warrior: an unidentified soldier of the First World War, buried in 1920 just inside the west door.
• The cloisters and College Garden: quiet medieval cloisters, and a garden that has been cultivated for around 900 years.

Royal occasions

Queen Elizabeth II was married here in 1947 and crowned here in 1953, and Prince William married Catherine Middleton here in 2011. On days of national events, the Abbey may close to visitors at short notice.

Tips

• The Abbey is open for sightseeing from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays it is open for worship only.
• Services, including choral Evensong, are free and open to everyone, and are a beautiful way to hear the choir.
• Buy tickets online in advance for the best price and a shorter wait.
• Combine it with Parliament and the river in our one-day Westminster itinerary.