Light through the stained glass of the choir inside St Vitus Cathedral, Prague

Forty-five guides · Seven countries

Churches worth going out of your way for

What to look at, how to get in, and what everybody else walks past. Written for people on holiday, not for architectural historians.

Czech Republic 12 England 10 Italy 6 Portugal 7 Ireland 5 Georgia 2 Armenia 3

Inside St Vitus, Prague — photograph by Rodi Düger on Pexels

There is no shortage of pages telling you that a cathedral is beautiful. There is a shortage of pages telling you that the entrance is hidden in an arcade, that the good frescoes are seventy metres up so bring binoculars, or that doing the two halves of a day trip in the obvious order will cost you an hour. That is the gap this site is trying to fill.

Three places to begin

Every guide ↓

Kutná Hora

Sedlec Ossuary

Forty thousand people arranged into furniture by a woodcarver who signed his work in finger bones.

England

Wells Cathedral

An emergency repair from 1338 that turned out to be the most beautiful thing in the building.

Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica

Free to walk into, and most people still pay. The dome is the ticket that is actually worth buying.

Six that repay the detour

St Vitus CathedralPrague · inside the castle walls York MinsterEngland · the Great East Window San ClementeRome · three levels down BatalhaPortugal · the roofless chapels Skellig MichaelIreland · six hundred steps out of the Atlantic Khor VirapArmenia · Ararat behind it

Where they are

The written index ↓

Every guide on the site, plotted from its own coordinates. Choose a country to zoom in, or go straight to a church by clicking its marker.

Basilica of St George — PragueSt Vitus Cathedral — PragueThe Loreta — PragueSt Nicholas Church, Malá Strana — PragueSt Nicholas Church, Old Town Square — PragueChurch of Our Lady before Týn — PragueStrahov Monastery — PragueChurch of Our Lady Victorious — PragueBasilica of St Peter and St Paul at Vyšehrad — PragueSedlec Ossuary — Kutná HoraCathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and St John the Baptist — Kutná HoraSt Barbara's Church — Kutná HoraDurham Cathedral — DurhamYork Minster — YorkLiverpool Cathedral — LiverpoolLincoln Cathedral — LincolnEly Cathedral — ElyWestminster Cathedral — Westminster, LondonCanterbury Cathedral — CanterburyWells Cathedral — WellsSalisbury Cathedral — SalisburyWinchester Cathedral — WinchesterThe Sistine Chapel — Vatican CitySt Peter's Basilica — Vatican CityThe Pantheon — RomeSanta Maria Maggiore — RomeBasilica of San Clemente al Laterano — RomeArchbasilica of St John Lateran — RomeSanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte — BragaBatalha Monastery — BatalhaSanctuary of Fátima — FátimaConvent of Christ — TomarAlcobaça Monastery — AlcobaçaJerónimos Monastery — LisbonCapela dos Ossos — ÉvoraKylemore Abbey — Connemara, County GalwayChrist Church Cathedral — DublinSt Patrick's Cathedral — DublinRock of Cashel — Cashel, County TipperarySkellig Michael — County KerryGergeti Trinity Church — Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)Svetitskhoveli Cathedral — MtskhetaEtchmiadzin Cathedral — VagharshapatGeghard Monastery — Kotayk ProvinceKhor Virap Monastery — Ararat Province

Every guide on the site

Sitemap →

Forty-five guides across seven countries, published region by region. Each one carries the date its hours and admission prices were last checked against the building's own website.

Czech Republic

12 guides

See on the map ↑
St Vitus CathedralPragueChurch of Our Lady before TýnPragueSt Nicholas Church, Malá StranaPragueSedlec OssuaryKutná HoraSt Barbara's ChurchKutná HoraThe LoretaPragueStrahov MonasteryPragueChurch of Our Lady VictoriousPragueSt Nicholas Church, Old Town SquarePragueBasilica of St GeorgePragueBasilica of St Peter and St Paul at VyšehradPragueCathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and St John the BaptistKutná Hora

England

10 guides

See on the map ↑
Canterbury CathedralCanterburyLincoln CathedralLincolnYork MinsterYorkLiverpool CathedralLiverpoolWinchester CathedralWinchesterSalisbury CathedralSalisburyWestminster CathedralWestminster, LondonEly CathedralElyDurham CathedralDurhamWells CathedralWells

Italy

6 guides

See on the map ↑
The PantheonRomeSt Peter's BasilicaVatican CityThe Sistine ChapelVatican CitySanta Maria MaggioreRomeArchbasilica of St John LateranRomeBasilica of San Clemente al LateranoRome

Portugal

7 guides

See on the map ↑
Jerónimos MonasteryLisbonConvent of ChristTomarAlcobaça MonasteryAlcobaçaSanctuary of FátimaFátimaCapela dos OssosÉvoraBatalha MonasteryBatalhaSanctuary of Bom Jesus do MonteBraga

Ireland

5 guides

See on the map ↑
Skellig MichaelCounty KerrySt Patrick's CathedralDublinRock of CashelCashel, County TipperaryChrist Church CathedralDublinKylemore AbbeyConnemara, County Galway

Georgia

2 guides

See on the map ↑
Gergeti Trinity ChurchStepantsminda (Kazbegi)Svetitskhoveli CathedralMtskheta

Armenia

3 guides

See on the map ↑
Etchmiadzin CathedralVagharshapatGeghard MonasteryKotayk ProvinceKhor Virap MonasteryArarat Province

How every guide is built

The story

What happened here, and why it earns the detour — before any practicalities.

The cheat sheet

Hours, admission, the ticket you actually need, and the date it was last checked.

What to find inside

The handful of things worth seeking out, and where in the building they are.

From having been

The queue, the light, the order to do things in, and what everybody else walks past.

A note on what counts. This is a guide to Christian places of worship that are open to visitors — cathedrals, basilicas, abbeys, monasteries, chapels, stave churches, rock-cut churches, ossuaries and significant ruins. Buildings raised as churches are covered even where they now serve another faith, and so are buildings in Christian use whatever they were built as. More on the scope and how these guides are written.