Toledo Cathedral Opening Hours

If you visit the city, you will surely want to visit the Catedral Primada de Toledo, or Cathedral of Santa María, one of the best things to see and do in Toledo. Now a World Heritage Site, the cathedral was begun in 1226 and is the second largest cathedral in Spain.

Being one of the most visited attractions in the city of Toledo, it is important that you can plan your visit in advance, so in this article you will find detailed opening hours of the Toledo Cathedral, the best time to visit it and more information for you to take into account during your visit.

Toledo Cathedral is open for tours only during the day every day of the week at the following times, except on public holidays, or the eve of public holidays, when it is open at a reduced time:

• Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6.30pm.
• Sundays from 14 to 18.30 hs.
• Last visiting hours: Half an hour before closing time (6 p.m.).

On the other hand, January 1st and December 25th are the only days of the year when the Cathedral is not open to the public.

The entrance is through the Puerta Llana of the Cathedral, which is located to the east, on Cardenal Cisneros Street. This door is the only one that has no steps at the entrance, hence its name, and is the one usually used by processions.

General admission includes visits to the following museums:

• The Sacristy, built by Vergara el Mozo.
• The Treasury, which exhibits pieces of gold and silver work, the Processional Monstrance by Enrique de Arfe, tapestries and other pieces of art of great value.
• The Chapter House is surrounded by oil paintings by outstanding painters such as Goya, Vicente López and Carvajal.
• The Choir, located in front of the High Altar.
• The Transparent by Narciso Tomé in 1732, illuminated by an oval window in the centre.
• The Chapel of the Kings.
• The Cloister.
• Primate Temple.
• The Infantes College Museum.

The general admission ticket does not include the visit to the Bell Tower, which must be requested separately. This usually sells out quickly, as it is carried out in small groups and accompanied by a guide.

To climb the Bell Tower, you have to climb 32 steps to the base of the Bell Tower and then 38 steps up a narrow staircase. There are 8 liturgical bells in the first room and another 6 in an upper room. The Campana Gorda or San Eugenio bell, the third largest in the world, is at the centre of the liturgical bells.

Entrance to Toledo Cathedral

The entrance ticket can be purchased at the Cathedral shop. It costs around €10 and has a discount for the over 65s, the under 18s, the disabled and large families.

Admission is free for children under 13 accompanied by an adult, and for those born or resident in the Archdiocese of Toledo. You can consult this article on the prices of Toledo Cathedral for full information.

There is usually quite a long queue to buy your ticket, so I recommend that you go with plenty of time to reserve your place. Another option is to buy the Toledo City Tour Plus card, which not only allows you to enter Toledo Cathedral without queuing up, but also gives you the chance to get to know it in depth with an expert guide. It also includes entry to 10 of Toledo's emblematic monuments, such as the Alcázar and the church of Santa María la Blanca, among others.

There are days on which, on the occasion of special celebrations, Toledo Cathedral changes its opening hours or is open at a reduced time. For example, on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve , Epiphany, Holy Week and Palm Sunday, and the day of the Virgin Mary.

Please note that the public holidays of Holy Week and Palm Sunday do not have a specific date because this varies from year to year. Palm Sunday is usually between 15 March and 15 April, and Easter Sunday is usually between 22 March and 25 April. Specifically, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, and Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter Sunday.

Below is a list of the public holidays when the Cathedral is open to the public at different times, but you should always check the Toledo Cathedral website before you go, just in case there are any last minute changes.

Toledo Cathedral's public holidays timetable

• 6th January: from 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm. Epiphany.
• 23rd January: from 2pm to 6.30pm. San Ildefonso.
• Palm Sunday: from 2.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. (last admission at 6.00 p.m.).
• Holy Tuesday: from 2pm to 6.30pm. Chrism Mass (last entrance at 6 p.m.).
• Maundy Thursday: from 11am to 5pm (last admission at 6pm).
• Good Friday: from 11am to 5pm (last admission at 4pm).
• Holy Saturday: from 11 am to 6.30 pm (last admission at 6 pm).
• Easter Sunday: from 2 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. (last admission at 6 p.m.).
• Corpus Christi: from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
• 15th August: from 4.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Virgen del Sagrario.
• 1st November: from 2.00 pm to 6.30 pm. All Saints' Day.
• 8th December: from 2pm to 6.30pm. Immaculate Conception.
• 24th December: from 10 am to 2 pm.
• 31st December: from 10 am to 2 pm.

A good option for getting to know Toledo Cathedral is to take a guided tour, as this way you will see everything you cannot miss in Toledo Cathedral.

The visits usually take place at midday, around 12.30 pm, and in the afternoon, around 4 pm. They usually last about an hour or an hour and a half. You can book a guided tour for any day of the week. There is usually a lot of demand, so it is important to book in advance, as it is one of the best tours you can do in Toledo.

Some of the must-sees of Toledo Cathedral are the Transparent of Narciso Tomé (1732), the bell of San Eugenio, or Campana Gorda, the third largest in the world with a panoramic view of the city of Toledo, the Chapter House, where you can see paintings by Goya, the image of San Cristóbal, the Mozarabic chapel and the statue of the Virgen Blanca.

If you profess the Catholic religion, you may be interested in knowing the mass timetables so that you can attend some of these religious celebrations in Toledo Cathedral.

Bear in mind that this is not a tourist visit, and you will not be able to tour the Cathedral at your leisure, as it is a religious rite. In other words, it is only recommended for people who profess religion and who are interested in participating in this celebration in a place as special as Toledo Cathedral.

• Weekdays: 8.30 am and 5.30 pm (from October to June).

   At 9 a.m. is the Choral Missal and Mass of the Hispano-Mozarabic Rite.
  

• Sundays and public holidays: 9.45 a.m. Choral Mass and Mass in the Hispano-Mozarabic Rite.

  6.30 p.m. Cristo de la Vega / Basilica of Santa Leocadia.
  

• Holiday eves: 8.30 hs from October to June.

  9 hs Choral Missal and Spanish-Mozarabic Rite Mass. From April to October also at 7 pm.
  

Toledo Cathedral is closed only 2 days of the year: January 1st and December 25th, the day of St. Mary, Mother of God, and the day of the Nativity of Jesus, respectively. The other days of the year it is open from 10 am to 6.30 pm every day, Sundays and public holidays from 2 pm to 6.30 pm, and some public holidays with reduced opening hours.

Furthermore, the Cathedral is only open during the day. For this reason it is not possible to take tours or guided visits at night.

In any case, it is always a good idea to visit the Toledo Cathedral website to check the opening times before you go, as they usually publish in advance if the Cathedral is closed on any other day or if there are any last-minute changes to the opening times.

It is also possible to visit Toledo Cathedral free of charge from 8 am to 9.30 am from Monday to Friday, except on public holidays. The latest admission time is 15 minutes before that time, i.e. 9.15 a.m.

During that time, guided tours are not allowed in the Cathedral, but only for people going on their own. Admission is through the Clock Gate, which is located on the north façade and is the oldest door of the Cathedral. The free entrance only includes access to the naves.

The naves are the spaces between walls or columns around the central part. Curiously, in Toledo Cathedral there are 5 instead of the usual 3. As for the doors, the main façade has 3: the Puerta del Perdón in the centre, the Puerta del Juicio Final on the right and the Puerta del Infierno (Hell's Door) on the left.

The Clock Gate, built in 1300, is on the north façade and is the oldest door in the Cathedral. To the east is the Lions' Gate and the Plain Gate, which is the door through which visitors enter the Cathedral. There is also a door that leads directly into the cloister, the Puerta del Mollete.

Toledo Cathedral has a Chapter Library and a Chapter Archive which can be visited by researchers. Both can be visited from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 2 pm, and are closed to the public on weekends, public holidays and local festivals.

The Chapter Archive and the Library began at the end of the 11th century and their history is linked to that of the Chapter, when the Roman liturgical rite was adopted in Castile. The Library has 3 sections: the Old Toledano Fund, the Zelada Fund and the Lorenzana Fund. The Chapter Archive has more than 12,000 files generated by the Chapter and the Archbishop, Blood Cleansing files and music files, among many others.

• Location: C/ Hombre de Palo, 2. P.O. Box 295

The Catedral Primada de Toledo can be visited on weekends, at the following times, until half an hour before closing time:

• Saturdays from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
• Sundays from 2pm to 6.30pm.

Please note that on January 1st and December 25th, the Cathedral is closed to the public, and that on public holidays the Cathedral has reduced visiting hours. On these days it usually opens in the afternoon or closes earlier.

If you are visiting the Cathedral on a public holiday, the eve of public holidays or local festivals, it is best to check the opening times on the Toledo Cathedral website before you go so that you are aware of any unforeseen timetable changes.

Many people prefer to visit Toledo in spring, when the weather is more pleasant, from mid-March to the end of June. This is when the city receives the most visitors, so if you are looking for peace and quiet you may want to travel to Toledo and visit the Cathedral at other times of the year.

From mid-July to mid-August, for example, is when the locals go on holiday and when the city is at its quietest. But it is the middle of summer in Toledo and temperatures are around 30-40 degrees during the day.

On the other hand, in December and January it is winter in Toledo, and the city does not receive as many visitors. This can be a good time to visit the city and the Cathedral if you are looking for peace and quiet and to avoid the queues.

Apart from visiting Toledo Cathedral, there are many things you can see in Toledo in one day. Visiting nearby attractions such as the Alcazar of Toledo and the Caves of Hercules is one of the best things to see and do in Toledo.

Alcazar of Toledo

The Alcazar of Toledo is a 16th century palace, which is five streets away from the Puerta de los Leones. The Alcazar Army Museum can be visited every day of the week except Mondays, from 11am to 5pm. Admission costs around 5€ and around 8€ with audio guide.

The Alcazar of Toledo is closed on January 1st, January 6th, and December 24th, 25th and 31st. It can be visited free of charge every Sunday and on the following dates: 29 March, 18 April, 12 October and 6 December.

• Location of the Alcázar of Toledo: C/ De la Paz s/n, 45001, Toledo

The Caves of Hercules

Close to Toledo Cathedral, just 100 metres away, are the Caves of Hercules, a site of great archaeological value, as there were cisterns there during Roman times. It can be visited from Tuesday to Saturday from 12 to 14 hs and from 17 to 19 hs.

To visit it, it is necessary to fill in and send a form from the Consorcio de Toledo website.

• Location of the Caves of Hercules: Callejón de San Ginés, number 3, 45001, Toledo.