Vilnius Cathedral and Bell Tower: Tickets, Crypts, Hours and Visiting Guide

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Entry to the main nave of Vilnius Cathedral is free every day from 07:00 to 19:00. It has a neoclassical colonnade and the baroque Chapel of St Casimir. The standalone Bell Tower costs €6 for adults and €4 reduced (Church Heritage Museum), opening Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 (closed Sundays). Guided tours into the royal crypts cost €12 (€6 reduced) and must be booked in advance. Or book a tour: Vilnius: Hidden Cathedral Crypts and Medieval Secrets Tourad (from €30, 4.7 stars from 42 reviews) is a guided tour that goes into the cathedral crypts and views the Upper Castle from below.

⚠️ Closed Sundays and church services. The Bell Tower and the crypts are closed every Sunday and on public holidays, and close an hour early on the eve of a holiday (bpmuziejus.lt). Sightseeing in the main Cathedral stops during Mass.

Ticket prices and opening hours

The Cathedral is a working Catholic parish and the seat of the Archdiocese of Vilnius. The Bell Tower and the crypts are run by the Church Heritage Museum (Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus).

Prices from bpmuziejus.lt. Reduced tickets are for students, schoolchildren, teachers, lecturers, pensioners and people with disabilities, on showing proof. Preschool children with family members enter free.

The ticket office for the Bell Tower and the crypts is on the ground floor of the Bell Tower on Cathedral Square.

The Cathedral Bell Tower standing on Cathedral Square. Photo: Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Climbing the Cathedral Bell Tower

The detached white Bell Tower stands on the edge of Cathedral Square and is 52 metres high. Its circular lower levels were built as a defensive round tower of the Lower Castle in the 13th century, with brick firing loops and boulder stonework. In the 16th century an octagonal Renaissance timber-and-brick belfry was added on top, followed by a late baroque dome in the 19th century.

Inside, visitors climb restored 19th-century timber stairs up to a viewing floor at 45 metres.

• The lower level: Archaeological masonry, defensive loopholes, and the marks of the fires that repeatedly burned the Lower Castle: molten bricks and blackened stone (bpmuziejus.lt).
• The clock: At the top of the tower is the city’s oldest clock, according to the museum. The bells chime every 15 minutes.
• The viewing floor: The top timber gallery looks across Cathedral Square to the neoclassical pediment statues of the Cathedral, the ramparts of Gediminas Tower behind, and Pilies Street below.

Visitors who cannot climb can see the view on video cameras installed at 52 metres.

The Cathedral interior and St Casimir’s Chapel

Vilnius Cathedral (Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika) owes its classical temple form to Lithuanian architect Laurynas Gucevičius, who redesigned the building between 1783 and 1801. He unified the medieval and Renaissance structures into a Neoclassical building fronted by six Doric columns.

Inside the central portal:

1. The nave: The interior is a three-aisle basilica. Square pillars support vaulted ceilings with 18th-century plasterwork. Sixteen side chapels line the aisles, dedicated to patron saints and noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
2. The Chapel of St Casimir (Šv. Kazimiero koplyčia): In the south-east corner of the cathedral. It was built between 1623 and 1636 by the Italian architects Costante Tencalla and Matteo Castelli for King Sigismund III Vasa, and survived Gucevičius’s rebuilding intact. The interior is lined with red and black marble from Swedish and Italian quarries. Above the altar is the 17th-century embossed silver sarcophagus holding the relics of Saint Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania.
3. The rooftop statues: Three figures stand on the triangular pediment: Saint Helena in the centre holding a gilded cross, Saint Stanislaus on the left and Saint Casimir on the right. They are 1997 reconstructions of the 18th-century originals, which Soviet authorities dynamited in 1950.

The Baroque Chapel of St Casimir in Vilnius Cathedral. Photo: Derbrauni, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The underground crypts and royal mausoleum

Beneath the cathedral floor is a network of vaulted chambers and burial vaults dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The crypts can be entered only on a guided tour, booked through the Church Heritage Museum or on a third-party tour.

The underground route includes:

• The earliest masonry: Foundations of the first cathedral, commissioned by King Mindaugas in 1251 after his baptism, and the Gothic stonework of 1387 built by Grand Duke Jogaila (King of Poland).
• The Crucifixion fresco: One of the earliest frescoes in Lithuania, painted at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, showing Christ on the Cross flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist (bpmuziejus.lt).
• The royal mausoleum: In 1931, spring floodwaters from the Neris breached the cathedral basements, and engineers found a forgotten sealed burial crypt. Here rest Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon (died 1506), Elisabeth of Austria (Queen of Poland, died 1545) and Barbara Radziwiłł (Barbora Radvilaitė, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, died 1551). A silver-lined casket holds the heart of King Władysław IV Vasa.

It is cool and damp underground, so bring a light jacket even in summer.

Tours and guided walks

Vilnius: Hidden Cathedral Crypts and Medieval Secrets Tour

From €30 · 4.7 stars from 42 reviews · 2.5 hours · cathedral crypts and the Upper Castle from below

Vilnius: Hidden Cathedral Crypts and Medieval Secrets Tourad: a guided tour of the medieval centre: the cathedral crypts, the Upper Castle seen from below, and the Palace of the Grand Dukes.

Vilnius: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide & Chocolate

From €21 · 4.9 stars from 26 reviews · 2.5 hours · local guide and chocolate tasting

Vilnius: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide & Chocolatead: a walk through the Old Town led by a local, covering the city’s history, everyday life and hidden corners, with chocolate as part of the tour.

Vilnius: Guided Baroque City Tour

From €30 · 5.0 stars from 5 reviews · 2 hours · St Theresa’s, Dominican Church and the cathedral

Vilnius: Guided Baroque City Tourad: a guided tour of Baroque Vilnius, visiting the Church of St Theresa, the Dominican Church and the cathedral.

Official ticket or tour: the prices side by side

The neoclassical Doric portico of Vilnius Cathedral. Photo: Alma Pater, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

The Stebuklas tile on Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square (Katedros aikštė) hosts national celebrations and the annual Christmas tree and market.

As you walk across the square between the Cathedral portico and the Bell Tower, look down at the flagstones to find the Stebuklas tile. The word Stebuklas is Lithuanian for “Miracle”. This inscribed granite stone marks the southern terminus of the human chain formed during the Baltic Way on 23 August 1989.

• The Ritual: Step onto the centre of the tile with both feet, close your eyes, make a private wish in your mind, and slowly turn around clockwise three full circles (360 degrees three times) without stepping off the stone.
• Locating the Stone: The tile is roughly halfway between the base of the Bell Tower and the north-western corner of the Cathedral portico, a circular disc level with the grey granite flagstones.

Practical visitor rules

• Dress code: The Cathedral is an active place of worship. Remove hats and caps on entering, and cover shoulders and knees.
• Silence and photography: Keep voices low. Photography without flash is allowed in the nave and St Casimir’s Chapel, but not during Mass.
• Accessibility: The Cathedral and St Casimir’s Chapel have a wheelchair-accessible ramp at the side entrance. The Bell Tower and the crypts have steep stairs and narrow passages that do not suit wheelchairs or large pushchairs.
• Public transport: The nearest bus stop is Arkikatedra, on T. Vrublevskio Street opposite the square, served by bus lines 10, 11, 33 and 89 (bpmuziejus.lt).

What to see next

• Palace of the Grand Dukes: behind the Cathedral, the reconstructed royal residence.
• Gediminas Tower: up Castle Hill, with a view back down onto the Cathedral roof.
• Vilnius University and St John’s: 200 metres south along Pilies Street.
• Vilnius Christmas Market and Winter: the tree and market on Cathedral Square each winter.
• Vilnius Hub: the city overview.

Common questions

Is entry to Vilnius Cathedral free?

Yes. Entry to the main nave and the Chapel of St Casimir inside Vilnius Cathedral is free. You pay only to climb the detached Bell Tower (€6) or to join a guided tour of the underground crypts (€12, €6 reduced).

How much are tickets for the Cathedral Bell Tower?

An adult ticket is €6 and a reduced ticket for students, pupils, teachers and pensioners is €4 (bpmuziejus.lt). The ticket takes you up to the viewing floor at 45 metres and the exhibition on the tower's history.

How do you visit the crypts of Vilnius Cathedral?

The crypts (požemiai) can be visited only on a guided tour, booked in advance with the Church Heritage Museum on +370 600 12080. A ticket costs €12 (€6 reduced). The crypts are open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:30, with the last entry at 16:30 (bpmuziejus.lt).

When are the Cathedral and Bell Tower open?

The Cathedral is open daily from 07:00 to 19:00 for worship and quiet visiting. The Bell Tower is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and the crypts from 10:00 to 17:30; both are closed on Sundays and public holidays (bpmuziejus.lt).

Who is buried in the Vilnius Cathedral crypts?

The royal mausoleum beneath the Cathedral contains the remains of Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon (King of Poland), Queen Elisabeth of Austria, Queen Barbara Radziwiłł (Barbora Radvilaitė), and the heart of King Władysław IV Vasa.

What is the Miracle tile on Cathedral Square?

The Stebuklas (Miracle) tile is a circular inscribed granite pavement slab set between the Cathedral portico and the Bell Tower. Local custom holds that standing on the stone, turning three times clockwise, and making a wish brings good fortune.