Grace Cathedral

I’m excited to share that Grace Cathedral joyfully reopens to visitors on Wednesday, March 16, after closing exactly two years for the pandemic. The cathedral will be joining major cathedrals around the world in offering an elevated visitor experience much like a wonderfully guided museum experience, though specific to the amazing history, values and community of Grace Cathedral. While the cathedral has been open for services and events since last summer, we are now welcoming sightseeing visitors and friends in the community to visit the cathedral outside of services and events, on Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. We can’t wait to have you back!

During the pandemic, Dean Malcolm Young worked with a group of trustees, volunteers and staff who helped us reimagine Grace Cathedral through the eyes of the thousands of people who visit the cathedral every year during non-service times. The result was a vision for a professionally managed and curated visitor experience, along with an eventual path to membership for people who are not part of Grace’s congregation. 

Last fall, we hired museum membership expert Julie Knight, and she hit the ground running to bring this vision to life in under five months. This week, we’re reopening with self-guided and docent-led tour experiences to help visitors more fully appreciate the architecture, artifacts, artistic offerings and history of the cathedral. We hope that this will foster new appreciation and awareness of the cathedral’s history in many important cultural, civic and spiritual movements throughout San Francisco, the country and the world. Later this spring, we will offer a new cultural membership program.

We’re opening with the Highlights Tour – featuring 18 artifacts in 12 professionally curated touch screen stations. Visitors may take a docent-led or self-guided tour. More themed tours will be available this summer. We’re heartened that Grace’s inclusive values and the beauty of our space will shine into the world in this new way.

Here are some of the details for planning your next visit:

The cathedral will be open to sightseeing visitors Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $12. Seniors 65 and older are $10. Youth and young adults between the ages of 12-22 are $10, and children 11 and under are free. Visitors can purchase timed tickets for self-guided or docent-led tours, here.  We welcome members of Grace Cathedral’s congregation and congregants throughout the Diocese of California to visit free of charge. Because we will close occasionally for special services and events, we encourage you to check our website first.

The cathedral is open to all on Sundays for services and general viewing without fee and will always be free and open to all for church services and prayer.

We’re excited to welcome everyone back, and to offer a deeper experience of Grace Cathedral.