Three Worcester museums are free, the cathedral asks £7, and the Battle of Worcester turns 375 on 5 September. Prices and opening times checked this week.

Worcester packs an unusual amount into a small centre: a Norman cathedral with a king buried in it, the building the Royalists used as their headquarters in 1651, a porcelain museum with Nelson’s breakfast teapot, and a country park with two nature reserves ten minutes from the M5. Three of the museums cost nothing at all.

This year the city’s biggest date is Saturday 5 September, the 375th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, marked at The Commandery with musket and pike drills and talks on 17th-century battlefield surgery.

Every venue, price and opening time below was checked against the venue’s own website in the week of 10 August 2026. Times change, so confirm before you set out, and check the live roadworks maps if you are driving in.

What it costs

Worcester attractions by adult admission price Worcester attractions grouped by adult admission price. Free to visit: Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, Tudor House Museum and Worcester Woods Country Park. Suggested donation of seven pounds: Worcester Cathedral. Ten pounds: The Commandery, and separately the cathedral tower climb. Eleven pounds ninety-five: the Museum of Royal Worcester, whose ticket allows unlimited return visits for twelve months. What a Worcester day out costs, one adult Adult admission checked against each venue’s own website, August 2026 Free City Art Gallery & Museum Tudor House Museum Worcester Woods Country Park Cathedral grounds, riverside and canal £7 Worcester Cathedral Suggested donation, not a fixed charge King John’s tomb and Prince Arthur’s chantry £10 The Commandery Child 5 to 16 £5, family £25 Cathedral tower climb 235 steps, under 18s £5, closed at time of writing £11.95 Museum of Royal Worcester Child 5 to 17 £4.50, family £31 Ticket allows unlimited returns for 12 months

The free ones

Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, Foregate Street

Free entry. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm, closed Mondays and bank holidays, with last entry an hour before closing. It is a two-minute walk from Foregate Street station.

The summer show, 54321FAB!, brings original Thunderbirds and Gerry Anderson puppets to the city and runs to Sunday 6 September, free. The permanent Your Worcester gallery opened in 2025. The restored Steward’s Chemist Shop, seen on The Repair Shop, opens on the first Friday of every month from 11am to 3pm, free, with a “High Dosage” tour at 11am and 2pm for £4.50.

One thing to know: the building is being improved between 2024 and 2027, so parts of it close in rotation. The lift was out of action until the end of July and is now back in service. A ticketed John Singer Sargent exhibition runs alongside the free galleries.

Tudor House Museum, Friar Street

Free, donations welcome. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. A 16th-century Grade II* listed building on Worcester’s oldest street, run by volunteers, telling the story of the house itself from Tudor weavers through to its use as an air-raid warden’s post. Being a Tudor building, it is all steps, stairs and low beams; the museum publishes an access guide.

Worcester Woods Country Park, Wildwood Drive

Free, open daily, car park 5am to 10pm. Two nature reserves, a large open field, an adventure play area and the Orchard Cafe, at WR5 2LG just off the A4440 and about five minutes from M5 junction 7. The waymarked Woodland Trail through Nunnery Wood is level, and the visitor centre, picnic area and play areas are wheelchair accessible.

The Cathedral

Suggested donation £7 per adult. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12.30pm to 3pm, with hours varying around services and events. Enter by the north porch in College Yard, opposite the High Street. There is no visitor parking; Blue Badge spaces must be booked ahead.

King John is buried in front of the high altar, and Prince Arthur, Henry VIII’s elder brother, has a chantry chapel beside it.

The tower climb is 235 steps, £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s, with under-8s not admitted and one adult required per two children. It normally runs on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from February half term to 30 September, hourly from 11am on Saturdays and half-hourly from 12.30pm on Sundays. As of this week the cathedral’s own tower page says the tower is closed and it hopes to reopen for August and September 2026, so check before you plan a trip around it. Tickets are sold only at the Welcome Desk on the day; there is no advance booking.

The Commandery, and the Battle of Worcester at 375

Adult £10, child 5 to 16 £5, under 5s free, family of up to two adults and three children £25, National Art Pass £8.95. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm, February to December, closed all January, last entry an hour before closing.

If you live in the city it is worth asking about the Worcester Resident Annual Ticket at £8.95 for an adult and £23 for a family, which costs less than a single adult day ticket and lasts a year. You need proof that you pay council tax to Worcester City Council, and these passes are bought in the shop rather than online.

The Commandery was the Royalist headquarters at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the battle that ended the English Civil Wars. Inside are Oliver Cromwell’s death mask and the Civil War Story exhibition, plus a Charles II-themed escape room, Commandery Quest, which runs to its own hours.

The Last Battle, Saturday 5 September, marks the 375th anniversary with musket and pike drills from Worcester Reenactors, talks and displays on 17th-century battlefield surgery by medical historian Kevin Goodman, and flag decorating for children. General admission applies and you can turn up on the day.

Three Saturdays this autumn the museum closes early at 3pm, with last entry at 2pm: 15 August, 29 August and 26 September.

Museum of Royal Worcester, Severn Street

Adult £11.95, child 5 to 17 £4.50, under 5s free, family of two adults and three children £31, one adult and three children £19. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays.

The ticket is better value than it looks: entry allows unlimited free return visits for twelve months. The collection includes some of the earliest porcelain made in England and Admiral Lord Nelson’s breakfast teapot. There is a Paint Your Own Pottery studio (£5.75 for materials, ceramics from £9) and a family sensory trail. Blue Badge holders get three hours free on Severn Street.

Sport and stage

Worcestershire County Cricket Club, New Road

The most photographed county ground in England, with the cathedral over the boundary. The Rapids play Durham in the Metro Bank One Day Cup on Tuesday 11 August, 11am, and Worcestershire host Lancashire in the County Championship from Thursday 27 August. Tickets are sold through the club.

Worcester Racecourse, Pitchcroft

Jump racing on the riverside meadow in the middle of the city. Coming up: Wednesday 19 August evening jump racing, the Neu-Servo Family Fun Day on Sunday 23 August, and Friday Night at the Races on 4 September.

Worcester Theatres

The Swan Theatre on The Moors and Huntingdon Hall by Crowngate are both run by Worcester Theatres, which is also home to the Worcester Repertory Company and the Swan Youth Theatre. The box office is on 01905 611427, open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 11am to 2.30pm.

A free half day, planned

If you want a route rather than a list: start at the City Art Gallery and Museum on Foregate Street, walk down the High Street past the Guildhall to the Cathedral, drop to the riverside path along the Severn, then cut back up Friar Street for Tudor House. That is three of the city’s best buildings, a river walk, and nothing to pay except what you choose to give the cathedral.

Frequently asked questions

What is there to do in Worcester for free?

Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum on Foregate Street, Tudor House Museum on Friar Street and Worcester Woods Country Park are all free. The cathedral asks for a suggested £7 donation rather than charging admission, and the riverside and canal walks cost nothing.

How much is Worcester Cathedral?

There is no fixed charge. The suggested donation is £7 per adult. The tower climb is a separate £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s, and it was closed at the time of writing.

Is the Worcester Cathedral tower open?

Not at the time of writing. The cathedral’s tower page says it is closed and that it hopes to reopen for August and September 2026. The climb is 235 steps and under-8s are not admitted.

How much is The Commandery in Worcester?

£10 for an adult, £5 for children aged 5 to 16, free for under-5s, and £25 for a family of two adults and three children. Worcester council tax payers can buy an annual resident’s pass for £8.95.

What is happening for the Battle of Worcester anniversary?

The Commandery marks the 375th anniversary with The Last Battle on Saturday 5 September: musket and pike drills, battlefield surgery talks and family activities, on general admission.

What is there to do in Worcester with children?

Worcester Woods Country Park has an adventure play area and is free. The Commandery runs family activities and an escape room, the Museum of Royal Worcester has a paint-your-own pottery studio and a sensory trail, and the City Art Gallery’s Thunderbirds exhibition runs to 6 September. Under-16s also travel free on Worcestershire buses throughout August 2026.

Sources

Opening times and prices were checked on 10 August 2026 and change, particularly around events and bank holidays. Confirm with the venue before you travel.