Guided Visits

Gardens & Grounds Tours

Every weekend, the Cathedral regularly offers in-person, outdoor, guided walking tours of the 11-acre campus. On these tours, a Cathedral educator will guide you and a group of fellow nature and archutecture enthusiasts through the beautiful gardens and grounds of the Close. Learn about the history of the different buildings on the Close and stop to smell our blooming flowers. Summer dates can be found here.

Highlights Tours

Every Friday and Saturday, join a Cathedral Educator for a guided tour of the Cathedral's highlights. Explore the secrets of the Cathedral’s history, architecture, and artwork — from the Great Bronze Doors to the seven Chapels of the Tongues. Each tour is different, so you never know what you will learn! Summer dates can be found here.

Spotlight Tours

The Cathedral regularly offers special guided spotlight tours to show off more specific features of our art, architecture, and campus. Occasionally these tours will involve a guided walk through Morningside Heights to explore the Cathedral in context of this historic neighborhood. Next up is a tour of our Textile Conservation Lab!

Private Tours

The Cathedral offers the option to schedule a private tour with an expert Educator. These experiences are customized for the interests of the group and offer an in-depth study of the Cathedral, including its history, art, and architecture. For info on private group tours of the Cathedral, please contact our Public Education Office at [email protected].

Experience the Cathedral

Explore what the Cathedral looked like in 2014, during Phoenix: Xu Bing at the Cathedral.

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The Great Rose Window

The Cathedral's Great Rose Window is one of our most iconic elements, even inspiring our logo, but from the ground it's easy to miss all of the details that make this window truly unique. Mia Michelson-Bartlett, manager of visitor services, walks us through some of the more interesting parts of the fourth largest rose window in the world.

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Who is St. John the Divine?

Senior Guide Tom Fedorek tackles another one of the most asked questions at the Cathedral: Who is St. John the Divine?

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Cathedral Stained Glass

Stained glass is a playground for the sun, and if you've ever visited the Cathedral on a winter afternoon, you know that the combination of sun and glass means apparent rainbows about. The Cathedral's Ruth Whaley explains how light plays an important role in the experience and structure of our building.

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Cathedral Close & Peace Fountain

To celebrate #NationalTakeAWalkInTheParkDay on March 30, we created a virtual walk through the Cathedral's Close with a spotlight on Artist in Residence Greg Wyatt's Peace Fountain.

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Cathedral Subway Station?

Have you heard the urban legend that there used to be a subway station under the Cathedral? Senior guide Tom Fedorek looks into how these rumors originated and the very real connection between the Cathedral and the MTA New York City Transit, with special shout outs to Madeleine L'Engle, Grand Central Terminal, and the Bronx Zoo.

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Portal of Paradise

The Cathedral's Portal of Paradise on the Western Facade is one of the most seen and most misunderstood features of this great building. In this four part series, senior guide Tom Fedorek takes a closer look at the Portal to get beyond the misconceptions.

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How to Make Texture Rubbings at Home

A favorite activity for workshops at the Cathedral is for groups to make texture rubbings from surfaces inside our great building in the tradition of pilgrims across the world. In this video, we show you how you can texture rubbings in your own home--a fun craft project for an indoor day that can help you see your space in a whole new way!

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Reduce, Reuse, and Build

Wondering what to do with all those cardboard boxes and empty toilet paper rolls laying around? This architecture workshop for children helps you reduce, reuse, and...build your very own Cathedral using the same principals that built our great structure.

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