St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, seat of the Archdiocese of New York. This guide covers opening hours, ticket prices, transport and parking, accessibility, and practical tips for a first visit.
This guide was checked in August 2026. One detail worth flagging: the official self-guided audio tour now costs $19.99, down from the $25 rate that some older guides still quote.
Quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Open daily, 6:45am–8:45pm |
| Ticket prices | Free entry; self-guided audio tour $19.99; VIP guided tour $99 per person |
| Address | 5th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, New York, NY 10022 |
| Nearest transport | Subway to Fifth Ave/53rd St (E, M) or 47-50 Sts–Rockefeller Center (B, D, F, M) |
| Typical visit length | 15–30 minutes self-guided; up to an hour with the audio tour |
St. Patrick’s Cathedral opening hours
The cathedral is open to visitors daily from 6:45am to 8:45pm, though access is limited during services. Weekday Mass is held at 7:00am, 7:30am, 8:00am, 12:00 noon, 1:00pm and 5:30pm. An extra Miraculous Medal Novena runs on Monday evenings at 6:00pm, alongside a rotating weekly schedule of Rosary and Stations of the Cross.
Saturday Mass is at 8:00am, 12:00 noon and 5:30pm, with the evening Mass fulfilling the Sunday obligation. Sunday is the busiest day, with Mass at 7:00am, 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:15am (Solemn), 12:00 noon, 1:00pm, 4:00pm (Spanish) and 5:30pm.
Confessions are heard Monday to Friday, after the 8:00am Mass and again from 12:00 noon to 12:45pm. Saturday confessions run from 12:00 noon to 12:45pm and 4:30pm to 5:30pm. No confessions are heard on Sundays.
This 14-hour daily opening window is longer than the hours kept at other US cathedrals, such as Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, a similarly active parish cathedral. The cathedral bells at St. Patrick’s ring on the hour, every hour.
5 great New York City experiences to book
- 🕊️ Make sure you get into the 9/11 Memorial Museum by booking tickets in advance.
- 🗽 Take a boat cruise out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
- ⛴️ Learn about NYC’s top buildings on an architecture-themed 1920s-style yacht cruise around Manhattan.
- 🌳 Take a pedicab tour around Central Park – and spot the hidden secrets on the way.
- 🍜 Taste the local flavours of New York on a Chinatown and Little Italy food tour.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral ticket prices
Entry to St. Patrick’s Cathedral is free, and tickets are not required to attend Mass. The exceptions are Midnight Mass on 25 December, Easter Sunday’s 10:15am Mass, St. Patrick’s Day’s 8:30am Mass and the Columbus Day Mass, which do require tickets.
Visitors wanting more context can buy the official self-guided audio tour for $19.99, a roughly hour-long walkthrough narrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. A VIP guided tour with a docent runs twice daily for $99 per person and includes areas not open to general visitors, such as the crypt and sacristy.
Opening hours and ticket prices were checked on the official website and last updated in August 2026. For the latest details, check the official website.
Combination tickets pair the audio tour with other Manhattan attractions. Options include Top of the Rock, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, MoMA, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History.
How to get to St. Patrick’s Cathedral
The cathedral occupies a full city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, 50th Street and 51st Street, directly across from Rockefeller Center. The closest subway stations are Fifth Ave/53rd St on the E and M lines, and 51st St on the 6 line. 47-50 Sts–Rockefeller Center, on the B, D, F and M lines, is also close by.
Several bus routes run along Fifth and Madison Avenues, stopping within a block of the cathedral. Visitors flying into JFK, LaGuardia or Newark can reach Midtown by AirTrain and subway, without needing a taxi or rideshare.
Parking at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
There is no dedicated visitor car park at the cathedral. Nearby garages typically charge $20 to $35 a day when booked in advance, rising to $40 or more for walk-up parking. Metered street parking exists but is scarce and tightly time-limited.
Given Midtown Manhattan’s traffic and parking costs, public transport or a rideshare is far more practical than driving. This is even more true on weekends, when Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue draw heavy foot and vehicle traffic.
How long to spend at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Most visitors spend 15 to 30 minutes inside on a self-guided visit outside Mass times. Adding the self-guided audio tour extends a visit to around an hour, while the VIP guided tour runs 60 to 75 minutes.
This is a much shorter visit than at a cathedral the scale of Washington National Cathedral. The sixth-largest cathedral in the world, its sightseeing alone can take two hours or more. Visitors combining St. Patrick’s Cathedral with Rockefeller Center or Fifth Avenue shopping should plan for the shorter end of this range.
Accessibility at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is wheelchair accessible, with a ramp located on 51st Street. The main nave and principal chapels are step-free once inside.
The cathedral’s published FAQs do not detail hearing loop provision or accessible restroom locations, so visitors with specific needs should contact the rectory in advance. All bags and luggage are subject to search at the entrance and must stay with the visitor throughout, since the cathedral does not offer storage.
Inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral: what to see
St. Patrick’s Cathedral was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. in the Neo-Gothic style, with construction starting in 1858 and the main structure completed in 1878. Its twin spires, added in 1888, rise 330 feet, considerably shorter than the 515-foot twin towers of Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the tallest twin-spired church in the world.
Inside, the bronze entrance doors depict six saints connected to New York, and the Great Organ combines two instruments totalling more than 9,000 pipes. The cathedral’s Pietà, a marble sculpture near the Lady Chapel, is three times the size of Michelangelo’s original in Rome.
Unlike the medieval origins of Notre-Dame de Paris, which began construction in the 12th century and only reopened to visitors in December 2024 after a five-year restoration, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a 19th-century structure built in a single continuous phase. The Lady Chapel, added between 1900 and 1908, houses stained glass by both Tiffany and the French studio Boulanger. This makes it one of the top glass art attractions in the US, along with the Corning Museum of Glass in the Finger Lakes and the Morse Museum in Winter Park, near Orlando, Florida.
Practical visitor tips
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Timing | Visit early on a weekday morning for the quietest, most unhurried experience. |
| Crowds | Sunday mornings and holiday weeks are busiest; expect queues for the audio tour desk. |
| Layout | Enter via the main Fifth Avenue doors; the tour desk is near the rear of the nave. |
| Entry process | All bags are subject to search, and phone calls are not permitted inside. |
| On-site logistics | Men should remove hats on entering, and only water is allowed inside the cathedral. |
Frequently asked questions about St. Patrick’s Cathedral
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is St. Patrick’s Cathedral suitable for children? | Yes, children are welcome at all times, including during Mass. |
| Do you need to book tickets in advance for St. Patrick’s Cathedral? | No, entry and regular Masses are free and unticketed, aside from a few named holidays. |
| Is St. Patrick’s Cathedral open on Sundays? | Yes, though confessions are not heard and access is limited during Mass. |
| Are bags allowed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral? | Yes, but all bags and luggage are subject to search at the entrance. |
| Can you take a guided tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral? | Yes, a self-guided audio tour and a twice-daily VIP guided tour are both available to book. |
Things to do near St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is close to several other Midtown Manhattan landmarks, making it easy to build into a wider Fifth Avenue itinerary.
- Top of the Rock observation deck — an observation deck at Rockefeller Center, directly across Fifth Avenue from the cathedral.
- Museum of Modern Art — a world-renowned art museum a few blocks north on 53rd Street.
- Empire State Building — the Art Deco skyscraper and observation deck, around a 15-minute walk south.
- SUMMIT One Vanderbilt — an immersive observation experience near Grand Central, about a 12-minute walk east.
- Morgan Library and Museum — a manuscript and rare book museum in Murray Hill, around an 18-minute walk south.
Alternative attractions
Visitors interested in other cathedrals or places of spiritual significance have several options within a two-and-a-half-hour drive of New York City.
- The Cathedral of St. John the Divine — the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
- The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral — the original 1815 cathedral in Nolita, a short subway ride south.
- The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark — a French Gothic cathedral about 30 minutes west, longer and taller than St. Patrick’s.
- The Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City — a Gothic Revival Episcopal cathedral on Long Island, around 45 minutes east.
- The Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford — a mid-century modern cathedral in Connecticut, about two hours northeast.
More New York City travel
Other New York City travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Manhattan Museum guides: American Museum of Natural History, National Museum of Mathematics and Intrepid Museum.
- New York art museum guides: The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Frick Collection.
- Plan your visit to Vessel at Hudson Yards.
- Guides to NYC’s wildlife attractions: Queens Zoo, New York Aquarium and Prospect Park Zoo.
- Upper Manhattan attractions: The General Grant National Memorial and the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.
