Westminster Abbey
#1sur 10 lieux à visiter à LondonLondon, England, United Kingdom
Aussi appelé Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster
L'essentiel
Horaires d'ouverture : 09:30–15:30 and 09:30–15:00, closed Sundays, last entry 09:30. Entrée : £31. Comptez 1.5 hrs. Meilleure période : 09:30.
Mis à jour le · Rédigé par Traveliac, avec assistance IA · 5 min de lecture
- Horaires d'ouverture
- 09:30–15:00
- Closed Sundays
- Prix d'entrée
- £31
- Billet à partir de
- Durée nécessaire
- 1.5 hrs
- Meilleur moment de la journée
- 09:30
- Meilleurs mois
- May – Jul, Sep
- Adresse
- 20 Deans Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3PA
À propos de Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey has hosted every English and British coronation since William the Conqueror's in 1066, with the sole exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII, neither of whom was crowned. The current building is largely the work of Henry III, who demolished the Norman-era abbey from 1245 and rebuilt it in French Gothic style, using Reigate stone for the structure and Purbeck marble for the slender columns that give the nave its vertical pull. At 31 metres, the nave vault is the tallest in England, a fact that becomes obvious the moment a visitor steps through the North Door into the transept and looks up rather than ahead. The floor plan reads as a layered history rather than a single design: Henry VII's Lady Chapel, added 1503–1519, introduces a fan-vaulted ceiling in a different architectural vocabulary from the 13th-century nave, while the western towers, completed only in 1745 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor, are Baroque additions grafted onto a Gothic body. More than 3,300 people are buried or memorialised inside, from medieval kings to Charles Darwin and the Poets' Corner cluster of writers including Chaucer and Dickens.
Meilleur moment de la journée : 09:30. At opening. The Abbey admits a fixed flow of visitors through a single entrance at the North Door, and the first hour has noticeably shorter queues than midday, when coach groups from Victoria and Parliament Square converge.
Horaires de Westminster Abbey
- Horaires d'ouverture
- 09:30–15:00
Mon–Sat 09:30–15:30 and 09:30–15:00 Sunday Closed - Monday–Friday 09:30–15:30 (last entry), Saturday 09:30–15:00 (last entry); closed to sightseeing on Sunday for services
- Fermé le
- Sunday (sightseeing)
Bon à savoir : Hours shift around state events, royal ceremonies, and Christmas/Easter services; the Abbey closes to tourists entirely on short notice for state occasions.
Horaires d'ouverture établis à partir de westminster-abbey.org et de sources publiques, mis à jour le . Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides
Prix d'entrée de Westminster Abbey
| Billet | Prix |
|---|---|
| Billet standard | £31 |
| Tarif réduit (étudiant / senior) | £28 |
| Enfants | £14 |
Adult standard entry is £31 as of 2026; a reduced VAT-period rate near £27 has applied in some summer windows in past years, so verify at the official site before booking. Under-6s enter free. An audio guide is included in the standard ticket. Fee covers the Nave, Royal tombs, Poets' Corner, and Lady Chapel; the Abbey's museum galleries in the triforium require a separate timed slot.
Tarifs établis à partir de westminster-abbey.org et de sources publiques, mis à jour le . Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides
Meilleure période pour visiter Westminster Abbey
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Very busy
09:30 – 10:30
Opening WindowBest time to go
First entry slot after security screening opens. Nave and Poets' Corner are walkable without queuing behind tour groups.
Quiet10:30 – 13:30
Coach Group Peak
Continental and domestic tour coaches arrive from Victoria; the Royal tombs circuit backs up and audio-guide pacing slows to match group flow.
Very busy13:30 – 15:00
Afternoon Taper
Group numbers thin after lunch departures; Lady Chapel and Diamond Jubilee Galleries remain steadier to move through.
Moderate17:00 – 18:00
Evensong
Free choral service open to the public without a sightseeing ticket; nave seating is unallocated and rarely full.
Quiet
Histoire de Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey's founding is traditionally dated to the mid-10th century, when Benedictine monks settled Thorney Island in the Thames marshes, though the church that gave the site royal status was Edward the Confessor's Romanesque abbey, consecrated in December 1065, days before his death and burial there. William the Conqueror's coronation on Christmas Day 1066 fixed the Abbey's role as the coronation church, a function it has performed for every subsequent monarch bar two.
Henry III's rebuilding from 1245 replaced Edward's Romanesque structure with the French Gothic design that survives today, employing master mason Henry of Reynes, whose work shows influence from Reims and Amiens cathedrals. The Abbey was a Benedictine monastery until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, after which Henry VIII refounded it briefly as a cathedral before Elizabeth I re-established it in 1560 as a Royal Peculiar — a church answering directly to the sovereign rather than to a bishop, a status it retains.
The Abbey survived the Blitz with damage but no structural collapse; a bomb destroyed the Deanery in 1941, and the Lantern roof was hit the same year, repaired after the war. Queen Elizabeth II was married here in 1947 and crowned here in 1953; her funeral followed in September 2022, and King Charles III's coronation in May 2023.
Règles et étiquette à Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey enforces a strict no-photography and no-filming policy throughout the interior, including phones; stewards ask visitors to put devices away, and the rule is applied consistently. Silence is expected during services and the daily Evensong (usually 17:00 weekdays, times vary), and visitors present during a service are asked to remain seated rather than continue moving through the nave.
Bag checks and airport-style security screening operate at the North Door; large suitcases and rucksacks over cabin-bag size are not permitted and there is no left-luggage facility, so travellers arriving from a hotel checkout should store bags elsewhere first. Shoulders should be covered as a matter of courtesy, though the Abbey does not enforce as strict a dress code as some continental cathedrals.
The Poets' Corner and Royal tombs fill first as tour groups move through a broadly fixed clockwise circuit; visitors lingering at Isaac Newton's monument or the Coronation Chair should expect to step aside for group flow.
Conseils pour visiter Westminster Abbey
- 1
Westminster Abbey's Evensong, sung most weekdays around 17:00 by the Abbey Choir, is free to attend without a sightseeing ticket and offers unhurried access to the same nave and choir stalls that daytime visitors see only in passing — arrive 20 minutes early as seating is unallocated and fills on a first-come basis.
- 2
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, reached via a narrow spiral stair in the medieval triforium, require a separate timed ticket and are frequently overlooked; they hold the Litlyngton Missal and royal funeral effigies and are rarely crowded even when the nave below is at capacity.
- 3
Combine the visit with the Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower across Parliament Square, and St Margaret's Church, the Abbey's smaller parish-church neighbour, free to enter and usually empty. Pickpocket activity concentrates around the Parliament Square crossing and the queue itself rather than inside, where bag checks make theft difficult.
Comment se rendre à Westminster Abbey
20 Deans Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3PAItinéraire sur Google Maps
Depuis Westminster Underground Station
0.25 km · 3–4 min
£2.80 single Tube fare with Oyster/contactless (Zone 1)
Depuis London Victoria Station
1.6 km · 20 min walk or 8 min by Tube
£2.80 single Tube fare with Oyster/contactless (Zone 1)
Depuis Heathrow Airport (LHR)
26 km · 50–60 min
£13.90 off-peak Elizabeth line fare plus £2.80 Tube fare
Aéroport le plus proche
Depuis London City Airport (LCY)
16 km, approximately 40 minutes via DLR and Jubilee line.
Gare la plus proche
Depuis Westminster Underground station (Circle, District, Jubilee lines)
250 metres, 3–4 minutes on foot.
FAQ — Westminster Abbey
How much does it cost to enter Westminster Abbey?
Standard adult admission is £31 as of 2026. Concession tickets (students, seniors) are £28, children aged 6–17 are £14, and under-6s enter free. Confirm current pricing at westminster-abbey.org before booking, as rates are reviewed periodically.
Is Westminster Abbey open on Sundays?
No, not for sightseeing. Sundays are reserved for worship services, which are open to the public to attend as a congregant but do not permit general tourist visits or ticketed entry to the wider Abbey.
Can visitors take photographs inside Westminster Abbey?
No. Photography and filming, including on phones, are prohibited throughout the interior, and stewards enforce the rule consistently. Photography is permitted in the outdoor Cloisters and College Garden.
Is Evensong at Westminster Abbey free to attend?
Yes. The daily choral Evensong, usually around 17:00 on weekdays, is free and open to the public without a sightseeing ticket. Seating is unallocated, so arriving roughly 20 minutes early is advisable.
Rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA à partir de sources officielles et de registres publics, et publié seulement après les vérifications décrites dans Comment nous rédigeons ces guides. Personne chez Traveliac ne s'est rendu sur place. Mis à jour le . Comment nous classons et vérifions les lieux
