St Patrick's Cathedral Official Behind the Scenes VIP Tour
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
New York City, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the quarters of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on this small-group guided tour. Along with a Cathedral historian, explore areas of the religious landmark that aren’t usually seen by the general public including the archbishop quarters. The tour concludes with reserved front-row seats for mass.
- Ideal for history buffs and spiritual travelers wanting to learn more
- Limited to only 12 people per day, the tour is a unique experience
- Both first-time and returning visitors to NYC will enjoy this tour
- The behind-the-scenes tour is only offered in the morning
What's Included
- 60-Minute VIP Guided Behind the Scenes Tour
- Live Tour Guide (Cathedral Historian)
- Entry to sacristy
- Entry to crypt (subject to availability)
- VIP Front Row Reserved Seats for Mass
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- St. Patrick's Cathedral Parish House, 14 E 51st St, New York, NY 10022, USA
Meet your tour guide at the Parish House entrance at 14 E 51st St
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Near public transportation
- Wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- All visitors to St Patrick's Cathedral must pass through airport-style security
- Participants are asked to dress and act appropriately since you'll be inside a church
- Strollers are OK – but there are steps
- Not suitable for pets or wheelchairs.
- No luggage or large bags or outside food and drinks allowed
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Frequently Asked Questions (7)
Q:Where is St. Patrick's Cathedral located?
A:St. Patrick's Cathedral is located on 5th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in central Manhattan.
Sep 2022
The answers provided are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 33 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Anthony gave my wife and me the tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He did a marvelous job explaining the history and construction of building. Really liked seeing the crypt and other out of the way rooms. I highly recommend the tour.
The guide was very knowledgeable and informative about the history of grand central station. The tour was better with a guide than just looking around on your own. The guide was also very friendly and even called to make sure we were coming due to few wrong turns! Loved it!
Great tour, tour guide very knowledgeable. She had a great manner and knew her stuff. However, very expensive for only one hour! I thought Mass was supposed to come after, but no Mass?
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your review! We’re very happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and found your guide knowledgeable and engaging. St. Patrick’s Cathedral has such an incredible history, and we’re glad the experience reflected that.
We also appreciate your feedback regarding the tour length and pricing. The Behind-the-Scenes VIP experience is designed as a specialized one-hour guided access tour focused on exclusive areas of the cathedral.
Regarding Mass, while guests are welcome to attend public services at the cathedral independently, Mass is not officially included as part of the guided tour experience. We apologize for any misunderstanding and appreciate you sharing your comments.
While the tour does cover the history of St Patrick’s in a manner that would probably interest Catholics and non-Catholics alike, a lot of the tour focused on minutia of Catholicism that might leave non-Catholics a little confused.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed learning about the history of St. Patrick's Cathedral. As one of New York City's most iconic landmarks, the cathedral has a rich history that we strive to bring to life for visitors of all backgrounds.
We appreciate your observation regarding the detailed discussions of Catholic traditions and practices. The Behind-the-Scenes VIP Tour is designed to provide an in-depth look at both the cathedral's history and its religious significance, and we understand that some aspects may be more familiar to those with a Catholic background than others.
Your feedback is valuable and helps us continue improving the experience for all guests. We hope you enjoyed the unique access and insights offered during the tour, and we thank you for visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral with us.
The Attractions4us Team
Our tour guide was actively involved with st patricks church working on her credentials. Very knowledgeable about the church history and current day activities. Included info about the vision, the architects, and the builders from past to present. No discussion about religion was included.
The tour guide was not the usual guide per her information. The 2hr tour started 20 min late and lasted 70 min.
I think there were more stories to be shared about the Cathedral but we did not receive them. Disappointed.
Good overview of the Cathedral. Went during December, so saw some Christmas related displays. Worth it.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We’re thrilled to hear that our guide’s enthusiasm and knowledge made your tour of the cathedral so memorable.
We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to her — she’ll be delighted! We’d love to welcome you on another tour soon for more amazing experiences.
The tour guide was very knowledgeable, her enthusiasm of sharing her knowledge of the cathedral was contagious. She was absolutely amazing and I would recommend this tour anybody as long as she was the tour guide.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We’re thrilled to hear that our guide’s enthusiasm and knowledge made your tour of the cathedral so memorable.
We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to her — she’ll be delighted! We’d love to welcome you on another tour soon for more amazing experiences.
I was at 15 E51st St at 9:20 just to be safe- 10:00 came and no one met me!!! At 10:15 I just happened to ask at the desk in the shop if any tours start out front! The nice lady directed me to go ACROSS THE STREET AT 14- I was then allowed to join Kathleen’s 10:30 group thank Goodness- she was wonderful! I’m very upset about this incident. My first bad experience with Viator.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re truly sorry for the confusion at the meeting point and understand how frustrating that must have been, especially when you arrived early. We’ll be sure to review our instructions to make them clearer so this doesn’t happen again. On the bright side, we’re so glad Kathleen was able to turn things around and give you a wonderful tour. We really appreciate your feedback and hope we’ll have the chance to welcome you back for a smoother, stress-free experience next time.
Kathleen was wonderful easy to talk to and made it an incredible experience. For me, it was all the little things she showed us and told us about that goes on at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral being a New Yorker. It was a wonderful experienceIt was just Kathleen myself and another woman so it was very personalized. I would recommend it again.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you so much for your lovely review! We're delighted to hear that Kathleen made your visit such a special and personalized experience. She truly has a gift for sharing those unique local insights that make places like Saint Patrick’s Cathedral come alive. We’re so glad you enjoyed the tour and appreciate your recommendation — we hope to welcome you back again soon!
The behind the scenes tour of St Patrick’s cathedral was wonderful and very informative. Our tour guide was Cat. The tour group was only 6 participants so the tour was very conversational. Really gained insight on the history of the cathedral. Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral. It sounds like Cat did a fantastic job making the tour both informative and personal, especially with such a small group. We're glad you gained valuable insights into the cathedral's history. We appreciate your recommendation and hope you’ll have more amazing experiences like this in the future!
Our guide Anthony was a historian and took us through the Cathedrals history and gave perspective to the experience..
Wonderful experience. Guide was very knowledgeable. More behind the scenes than I expected. Staying for Mass capped an awesome time.
This tour was amazing! So much information and a look into behind the scenes. I highly recommend it.
Fabulous and I formative. Special
Shout out to tour guide Ginny!!!
THE BEST. Direct access to Alter, special mass area below church and the catacombs too
The alter, all of the craftsmanship and the crypt. I feel a deeper connection to the building and what it stands for.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Thank you for taking the time to write this review it is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again soon
Good 'behind the alter'. Guide was friendly, informative and also a parishioner. We saw sacristy, cript and got insider s explainations for the various side alters.
The tour was great. Randall clearly knows the cathedral well and loves it. He had a lot of great information, he answered a lot of questions, and he just generally made the tour a great experience.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for taking the time to write this review and we hope to see you again.
Member Pricing
From
$122.55
per personWas $129.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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St Patrick's Cathedral Official Behind the Scenes VIP Tour
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