How to Visit York Minster
- 1). Enter through the South Porch and step into the South Transept. Off to the left is the booth to buy tickets for the Central Tower, and beyond it, St. George's Chapel. Way off in the North Transept you'll see the Five Sisters Window. To the right of the South Transept is St. Michael's Chapel, the Consistory Court, Vestry and Zouche Chapel, the last of which you should visit only if you plan to pray there.
- 2). Go straight ahead and stand under the Central Tower. To the right is the Choir. The screen in front of the Choir depicts fifteen Kings of England. Walk down the aisle to the right of the Choir and along the south side of the church, heading east. To the right over the Zouche Chapel is the St. Cuthbert Window. To the left is the Presbytery. Up ahead you'll see the All Saints Chapel.
- 3). Turn left and cross the Lady Chapel. The fifteenth-century Great East Window over the Lady Chapel measures 78 feet by 30. In the northeast corner on this end is the St. Stephen's Chapel, which features a bust of Mother Teresa. Head south down the aisle and to your right you'll see the St. William Window, named for a former Archbishop of York, and further down, the tomb of Prince William of Hatfield. At the west end of the Choir, by the Central Tower, turn right past the nineteenth-century Hindley Clock and into the North Transept and right again into the St. Nicholas Chapel.
- 4). Step out of the Chapel, face north, turn right past the Astronomical Clock, then go straight and then right again into the thirteenth-century octagonal Chapter House, noted for its elaborate carvings. There's a separate admission charge to get in here. Exit the Chapter House and retrace your steps. From the North Transept you have a great view of the Rose Window in the South Transept. St. John's Chapel is on the west side of the North Transept.
- 5). Finish by exploring the Nave on the west end of the building, which includes the Pater Noster Chapel on the northwest corner and St. Cuthbert's Chapel to the southwest. At the west end of the Nave is the Great Western Window. South of the Nave and west of the South Transept is the gift shop, housed in the old Diocesan Muniment Room.