---
title: "The Cathedral roofs: how the visit actually works"
description: "Price and pilgrim discount, where the meeting point actually is, the 140 steps, tours in English and what you are not allowed to carry up."
url: https://santiago.es/en/what-to-see/cathedral/roofs
locale: en
---

# The Cathedral roofs: how the visit actually works

The Cathedral from above

You can walk on the stone roofs of the Cathedral. What almost nobody explains is where the tour starts, what the ticket covers and why you cannot go up with your backpack.

![Tejados y chimeneas del casco histórico de Santiago, grabado dorado](https://santiago.es/img/illus/tejados.jpg)

[© santiago.es · Ilustración](https://santiago.es)

By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) · updated 10 September 2026

Updated 15 August 2026, with the rates and conditions published by the Cathedral Museum.

Plenty of people find out you can walk on the Cathedral roofs the day after they leave Santiago. It is not a secret tour or a hard ticket to get: it is on the official ticketing site, it costs the same as the Pórtico de la Gloria, and it runs several times a day. The problem is that it is filed under "cubiertas" — roofs, not a word anyone searches for — and the practical details are scattered across different pages.

This page pulls them together. Everything here comes from the Cathedral Museum's own ticketing site, checked on 15 August 2026. Prices and opening times are indicative; confirm them when you book.

## What the visit actually is

It is a **guided tour of about 60 minutes** across the stone roofs of the Cathedral. You climb the tower's internal staircase — **140 steps** — walk the stepped roofs, and finish on top of the **Carraca Tower**, roughly **72 metres** up. That is where the panoramic photo of the city comes from.

It is not a viewpoint you wander up to and linger on: you go in a group, at the time printed on your ticket, with a guide. The time matters, and turning up late means losing the ticket.

The usual mistake: you do not enter through the Cathedral

The access point is the **visitor reception area of the Gelmírez Palace**, on **Praza do Obradoiro, under the staircase of the main facade**. It is not one of the doors into the naves. Be there **15 minutes before** your ticket time. Queue at the ordinary Cathedral entrance and you will spend your slot in the wrong line.

## Price, and why pilgrims pay less

**Roof and Carraca Tower tour rates (August 2026)**

| Rate | Price | Who |
| --- | --- | --- |
| General | €15 | Anyone not eligible for the reduced or free rate |
| Reduced | €12 | Accredited pilgrims, students, unemployed visitors, large families, disabled visitors, over-65s and under-12s |
| Free | €0 | Priests and members of religious orders, ICOM members, Amigos de la Catedral |
| Tour in English | Flat rate | Bought separately; no reduced price |

The detail almost everyone misses: **the pilgrim credencial gets you the reduced rate**. That is €3 off, and you prove it at the door, not at checkout. If you have just walked in and still have the credencial on you, use it — it is one of the few things in Santiago where it turns into actual money.

## What else the ticket covers, which is a lot

This is why €15 is reasonable even if you only came for the roofs. The same ticket gives **free entry** to five more places:

- The **Cathedral Museum** permanent collection.
- The **Gelmírez Palace** and its temporary exhibitions.
- The **crypt of the Pórtico de la Gloria**.
- The **MuSar**, the museum of the Colexiata de Sar.
- The **Diocesan Museum**.

And you do not have to cram it into one day: those free visits are valid **on the ticket date or any of the seven days after it**, each within its own opening hours. Do the roofs on your first day and you have a week to use the rest. The MuSar, fifteen minutes' walk from the old town and almost always empty, is the one most people never claim.

What it does *not* include is the guided Pórtico de la Gloria visit with audio guide — that is the combined €23 ticket (€19 reduced). The crypt yes, the Pórtico itself no.

## The language problem

This is the most repeated question and the worst explained. **Tours are generally guided in Spanish.** Tours in English do exist, but they are **sold through a separate button** on the ticketing site: one for "roofs in Spanish", another for "roofs in English". English tours run on a **single flat rate**, with no reduced price, so the credencial does not discount anything there.

If you cannot find an English slot in the calendar, write to the visitor team (**atencionvisitante@catedraldesantiago.es**, phone **+34 981 55 29 85**) and ask about other language options. Most people assume they do not exist because they are not on the default booking screen.

What you cannot bring up

**Bags, rucksacks, umbrellas and pilgrim's walking sticks are not allowed**, and there is no left-luggage at the access point. If you have just finished the Camino and planned to go up before finding a bed, it will not work: drop your things first. Animals are not allowed either, apart from guide dogs — the same rule the Cathedral and its museum apply at ground level, which is why [arriving in Santiago with a dog](https://santiago.es/en/with-a-dog) needs planning around who waits outside.

## Opening times, closures and accessibility

The museum opens **10:00 to 20:00**, every day, with the ticket office and access closing **half an hour earlier**. Your specific roof tour runs at the time on your ticket. Every other sight in the city keeps its own calendar — check the [opening hours](https://santiago.es/en/opening-hours) page before you plan the rest of the day.

**Closing days** are 1 and 6 January, 25 July, 25 December, and 24 and 31 December from 14:00. Individual spaces can also close for [religious celebrations](https://santiago.es/en/what-to-see/cathedral/mass-times) and official events: it is a working cathedral, and that is not announced far ahead.

**The roofs cannot be visited in a wheelchair.** It is 140 steps up an internal tower staircase, with no alternative route. For specific accessibility questions use the email and phone above. The other spaces included in the ticket do not have that limitation, and the rest of the city, door by door, is in [accessible Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/accessible).

## Is it worth it?

If you only have one day in Santiago and must choose between the Pórtico de la Gloria and the roofs, the Pórtico matters more: it is the Romanesque work that makes this cathedral unique. The roofs are a different thing — the city from above, and the building from an angle you never otherwise see — and they work best in late afternoon. For how this fits into a longer stay, see the [itineraries](https://santiago.es/en/itineraries) guide.

If you have two or three days, the roof ticket is the best value of the three, because seven days of free access to the other museums turn €15 into a pass. And if it rains — which in Santiago is half the year — remember the tour is outdoors on stone: rain makes it uncomfortable or cancels it. Check the forecast before picking a time. During the 2027 Holy Year, expect roof slots to fill up faster than usual whenever the [Holy Door](https://santiago.es/en/xacobeo-2027/holy-door) is open, so book ahead if your dates overlap.

## Frequently asked questions

**How much does the Santiago Cathedral roof tour cost?**

The general rate is €15 and the reduced rate is €12. The reduced rate covers accredited pilgrims, students, unemployed visitors, large families, disabled visitors, over-65s and under-12s. You have to prove it at the entrance, not when booking.

**Do pilgrims pay less for the Cathedral roofs?**

Yes. Accredited pilgrims get the €12 reduced rate by showing their credencial at the access point. It is one of the few discounts the credencial actually gets you inside the city.

**Where does the roof tour start?**

At the visitor reception area of the Gelmírez Palace, on Praza do Obradoiro, under the staircase of the main facade. It is not one of the doors used to enter the Cathedral naves, and that is the mistake most people make. Be there 15 minutes before the time on your ticket.

**Are there Cathedral roof tours in English?**

Yes, and they are sold separately: the ticketing site has two different buttons, one for the tour in Spanish and one for the tour in English. English tours have a single flat rate, with no reduced price. If you buy the standard ticket, the tour is generally guided in Spanish.

**Is the Cathedral roof accessible by wheelchair?**

No. The roofs cannot be reached in a wheelchair: the route climbs 140 steps up the tower's internal staircase. For any accessibility question the Cathedral answers at atencionvisitante@catedraldesantiago.es and on +34 981 55 29 85.

**Can I take my backpack up to the roofs?**

No. Bags, rucksacks, umbrellas and pilgrim's walking sticks are not allowed, and there is no left-luggage at the access point. If you have just walked into Santiago, drop your pack at your accommodation or a locker first.

**How long is the Cathedral roof tour?**

About 60 minutes. You climb 140 steps up the internal staircase, walk the stepped stone roofs, and finish by going up the Carraca Tower, roughly 72 metres above the city.

**What else does the roof ticket include?**

Quite a lot: the same ticket gives free entry to the Cathedral Museum's permanent collection, the Gelmírez Palace and its temporary exhibitions, the crypt of the Pórtico de la Gloria, the MuSar (Colexiata de Sar) and the Diocesan Museum. And you do not have to do it all in one day: it is valid on the ticket date and the seven days after it.

## Keep reading

**[Santiago Cathedral](https://santiago.es/en/what-to-see/cathedral)** — The full visit — Opening times, museum prices, the Pórtico de la Gloria and the 2026 restoration works. — Read the guide

**[Botafumeiro schedule](https://santiago.es/en/what-to-see/botafumeiro)** — The moment — The guaranteed dates, which mass it flies at and what booking it costs. — Read the guide

**[Santiago weather](https://santiago.es/en/weather)** — Before you pick a time — 140 rainy days a year and what that means for an outdoor visit. — Read the guide