Free carol services on 23 and 24 December, doors 4.30pm, Midnight Mass at 11pm, Christmas Day at 11am. Winter admission £18, kids free, locals free with a Pass.
Canterbury Cathedral has published its Christmas 2026 programme, and almost all of it is free. The two big carol services are on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December at 5.30pm, unticketed, with the doors opening at 4.30pm and queues expected. Midnight Mass is at 11pm on Christmas Eve and the Christmas Day Eucharist at 11am. This page sets out every dated service and concert, what a daytime visit costs in winter, and who gets in free.
The quick answer
Cathedral Carol Services: Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, 5.30pm to 7pm, free, first come first served, doors 4.30pm. Midnight Mass: Christmas Eve, 11pm. Christmas Day: Eucharist 11am, Evensong with Carols 3pm. Daytime sightseeing admission from October to March is £18 for adults, and children go free; anyone living or working within four miles of Bell Harry tower can get a free Cathedral Pass. Attending a service is always free.
The Christmas services, in date order
All from the Cathedral’s Christmas at the Cathedral page, read on 25 September 2026. Services are free with a retiring collection unless a price is shown.
| Date | Event | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 13 and Sat 14 November | A Christmas Carol, Operation Moonlight theatre production | 7.30pm | Ticketed, "selling fast" |
| Sat 21 November | Handel's Messiah by Candlelight, Cathedral choristers and lay clerks with period instruments | 7.30pm | £25 |
| Fri 27 November, 4, 11 and 18 December | Journeying to Christmas reflections, words and music | 12.30pm to 1pm | Free |
| Sun 29 November | Advent Carol Service, candlelit, about 50 minutes | 5.30pm | Free |
| Sun 6 December | St Nicholas Family Service, aimed at children | 5.30pm to 6.15pm | Free |
| Sun 13 December | Festival of Carols, with living nativity tableau | 5.30pm to 6.30pm | Free |
| Tue 15 December | Friends' Carol Service | 7pm to 8pm | Free, fundraising for the Friends |
| Sat 19 December | A Christmas Candlelight Classical Concert, string trio | 7.30pm | £40 to £90 plus fees |
| Sun 20 December | Candlelit Reflection with organ meditation | 5.30pm to 6.30pm | Free |
| Wed 23 December | Cathedral Carol Service | 5.30pm to 7pm, doors 4.30pm | Free, unticketed |
| Thu 24 December | Family Crib Service | 10am to 10.45am | Free |
| Thu 24 December | Cathedral Carol Service | 5.30pm to 7pm, doors 4.30pm | Free, unticketed |
| Thu 24 December | Midnight Mass | 11pm to 12.05am | Free |
| Fri 25 December | Christmas Eucharist | 11am | Free |
| Fri 25 December | Evensong with Carols | 3pm | Free |
| Tue 29 December | Memorial service for the martyrdom of St Thomas, visiting choir | 5.30pm to 6.30pm | Free |
The Cathedral’s practical notes for the services: there is no parking on site, only assistance dogs are admitted, accessibility requests need four working days’ notice, and the 23 and 24 December carol services are described as popular with queues likely.
Getting a guaranteed seat at the carol service
The one paid route into the Christmas Eve and 23 December carol services is through the Cathedral Lodge, the Cathedral’s own hotel. Its Christmas afternoon tea on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, with sittings at 2.45pm, 3pm and 3.15pm, costs £35 a head, £41 with Prosecco, £14 for under-12s and free for under-3s, and includes “guaranteed tickets to Carol Service”. The Lodge also runs a New Year’s Eve gala dinner and dance on 31 December from 6.30pm to 1am at £155 a head, over-18s only.
Visiting in the daytime this winter
Sightseeing admission is seasonal. From October to March it is £18 for an adult, against £19.50 from April to September and £21 on July and August weekends (plan your visit). Children go free every day, other than in group and school bookings. The Cathedral is open 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, last admission 4pm, and on Sundays from 11.30am, with only the grounds and shop open until the church itself opens at 12.30pm.
Free entry applies to Cathedral Pass holders, described by the Cathedral as “locals living/working within 4 miles of Bell Harry tower”, to members of the Friends, to UK residents receiving Universal Credit or Pension Credit, to full-time students at the local universities with ID, and to holders of an Application Registration Card. And “it is always free to attend a service of worship or come into one of the Cathedral’s chapels to pray”. Annual passes start at £19.50.
The Cathedral’s opening times and closures list, which shows when the nave, quire or crypt are shut for rehearsals and services, currently runs only to the end of October 2026. The December closures, which in a normal year are frequent around the concerts and carol services, are not yet listed. Check it on the day.
Christmas around the Cathedral
The Canterbury Christmas Market’s third section sits inside the Cathedral Precincts; the market runs from Thursday 12 November to Christmas Eve, with hours and Santa booking prices on our Canterbury Christmas market page. The city’s lights switch-on and Herne Bay’s confirmed 22 November date are on the Christmas lights page. The Marlowe’s pantomime opens on 27 November. For the half term before all this, the Cathedral’s free creature trail and Bayeux embroidery sessions are in our October half term round-up.
Still to be confirmed
Ticket links for the 13 and 14 November theatre nights and the 19 December concert are on the Cathedral’s Christmas page; the December closures list is expected in November. Getting there without a car: the Christmas Eve last trains and the festive timetable are on Canterbury Christmas train times, and the everyday car parks are on parking in Canterbury.
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