Things to do in St Albans: free museum, £3 Roman theatre

St Albans is unusual among market towns in that its best days out are cheap and its expensive ones are optional. The museum in the old Town Hall is free. The Roman theatre costs £3. The cathedral does not sell tickets to walk in. What you pay for here are the extras: a tower climb, a Roman museum, an aircraft hangar in London Colney.

Everything below was checked against the venue’s own website on 10 August 2026.

The two Roman sites, and which one to pay for

Verulamium Museum is the one people come for, and its ticketing changed on 31 July 2026: every paid admission now includes an annual pass at no extra cost, so a £10 adult ticket or a £23 family ticket buys a year rather than a day. Concessions for over-60s and students are £6, under-5s are free, groups of 15 or more pay £5 each, and National Art Pass holders get in free. There is a gallery talk at 2.30pm every weekend, included with admission. Last admission is 3.30pm.

Two ways in for nothing. Hertfordshire families on free school meals can apply for a Herts Card, which gets £1 entry during school holidays. And the museum is free on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026 for Heritage Open Days.

The Roman Theatre is a separate site on the Gorhambury Estate and it opens only on Fridays and Saturdays. At £3 for an adult and £2 for a child it is the cheapest thing in this article that you actually pay for. The estate describes it as the only example of its kind in Britain, a theatre with a stage rather than an amphitheatre, built around 140AD and seating 2,000 by about 300AD. The ruins were unearthed in 1847 and 1935, and were refurbished in 2014 with new steps, pathways and handrails. Disabled access is improved but still limited. Under-5s go free and seniors and students pay £2.50.

The Hypocaust and Roman mosaic sit inside Verulamium Park in their own building and cost nothing.

St Albans Museum + Gallery

The old Town Hall on St Peter’s Street, converted over three floors, with the Assembly Room, the Courtroom and the cells still there to walk through, plus a basement gallery that was hand excavated for the flagship exhibitions. Free entry, daily 10am to 4pm.

One thing to expect if you go this year: there is scaffolding on parts of the building from July to December 2026 while the roof lights are repaired. The museum, the galleries, the Courtroom Café and the events programme all stay open.

The cathedral

Open daily 9am to 5pm, with entry through the Welcome Centre at Sumpter Yard rather than the West End door. There is no ticket for general visiting; the Cathedral’s published prices are for tours and events.

The Tower Tour costs £15 for adults and £12 for 11 to 18 year olds, lasts about an hour and involves 211 steps, mostly on a steep and narrow medieval staircase. Under-11s cannot go, and the Cathedral is direct about vertigo and claustrophobia.

The shop opens daily 10am to 5pm, and 9am on Saturdays. The café opens daily 9am to 4pm and the Abbot’s Kitchen 10am to 4pm. If you are doing the cathedral circuit, the pilgrim passport is £5 from the shop.

The parks, and the five Green Flags

In July 2026 the council won five Green Flag awards and named four of them. Harpenden Town Council and Sandridge Parish Council hold three more between them.

Verulamium Park is 175 acres with the Roman city walls and the outline of the London Gate still visible in the grass, a lake, a splash park and the museum at one end. It is the default St Albans afternoon and it is free.

Nomansland Common, between Sandridge and Wheathampstead, is the new one. The council’s parks lead called it “a wonderful, atmospheric place on the borders of Heartwood Forest” and it is popular with walkers and dog owners. Heartwood Forest, the Woodland Trust site next to it, is open access.

Parking note: Clarence Park is free for up to three hours on weekdays and free all day at weekends, and Westminster Lodge charges £1.50 for two hours, which is the cheapest way to park for Verulamium Park. Full tariffs are on St Albans roadworks, parking and travel.

With children

Willows Activity Farm at London Colney is the big one: Peter Rabbit adventure playground, funfair rides, shows, tractor rides and farm animals on one all-in ticket. This summer it is running a Summer Spectacular with a maize maze and a foam party, and a five-visit Summer Multi-Ticket at £28.82, valid for visits up to 31 August 2026, sold under the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme. Two things to know before you book: children under 90cm tall pay nothing beyond a booking fee, and Willows does not admit adult-only groups, which it explains plainly on its own site.

de Havilland Aircraft Museum, also at London Colney, calls itself the first aviation museum in the UK and is the only museum in the country with three Mosquito aircraft, alongside the Comet 1a, the first jet airliner, whose fuselage you can walk through. Adult £12 without Gift Aid or £14 with, child £6.50 or £8, family £31.50 or £35. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm until 31 October, closed Mondays except bank holidays, last entry 4pm. The car park is free. Wheelchair access covers the main display buildings, though the open aircraft are reached by stairs.

Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre, run by Everyone Active next to Verulamium Park, has two pools, a 145-station gym, an indoor climbing wall, a hot yoga studio, a crèche and the Verulamium Spa. The main pool has a moveable floor, a hoist and an accessible platform for a wet wheelchair.

The market, and the mill

St Albans Charter Market runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9am to 4.30pm, up St Peter’s Street: a general market with an international street food section. The council traces markets here to 860 and the Roman forum before that, which is a claim few markets can make.

Redbournbury Watermill and Bakery is the last working mill on the River Ver. The mill shop and museum open on Sundays, 1pm to 4.30pm, and the bakery sells bread and cakes milled on site. Two dates for the diary if you are going this month: the bakery is closed on 22 and 29 August 2026 for the holidays, with only a limited range in the mill, and it will not be at the St Albans and Harpenden farmers’ markets in August. The mill shop and museum stay open as normal.

A day plan that costs almost nothing

Start at Verulamium Park, walk the city walls and the London Gate outline, go into the Hypocaust for the mosaic, then up Fishpool Street to the cathedral. Cross to St Albans Museum + Gallery in the old Town Hall. If it is a Wednesday or a Saturday the Charter Market is on the way. That is a full day, and the only money you have to spend is on lunch and parking, and Clarence Park’s first three hours are free.

If you have a car and a Friday or Saturday, add the Roman Theatre for £10 for a family of four.

Frequently asked questions

Is St Albans Cathedral free to visit?

There is no ticket for general visiting. The Cathedral is open daily 9am to 5pm and its published charges are for tours and events, including the Tower Tour at £15 for adults and £12 for 11 to 18 year olds.

How much is Verulamium Museum?

£10 for an adult, £5 for a child under 16, £6 concession and £23 for a family. Under-5s are free. Since 31 July 2026 every paid ticket includes an annual pass at no extra cost, and the museum is free on Heritage Open Days, 19 and 20 September 2026.

What can you do in St Albans for free?

Verulamium Park, the Hypocaust and Roman mosaic, St Albans Museum + Gallery, general entry to the cathedral, the Charter Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the Green Flag parks including Nomansland Common, Harpenden Common and Jersey Farm Woodland Park. Verulamium Museum is free too on 19 and 20 September 2026 for Heritage Open Days.

What is there to do in St Albans with kids?

Willows Activity Farm and the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, both at London Colney; the splash park and lake at Verulamium Park; Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre with two pools and an indoor climbing wall; and Verulamium Museum, which has hands-on areas and free activity sheets.

When is St Albans market on?

Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9am to 4.30pm, on St Peter’s Street, with a general market and international street food.

What happened to Butterfly World in St Albans?

It closed and it is not coming back. The attraction’s old web address no longer belongs to it, so do not go looking for tickets there.

Is the Roman Theatre open every day?

No. Fridays and Saturdays only, 10am to 4pm. Adults £3.00, seniors and students £2.50, children aged 5 to 16 £2.00.

Sources

• St Albans Museums, including the pages for Verulamium Museum and St Albans Museum + Gallery, for admission, opening hours, the annual pass change and the roof light works.
• St Albans Cathedral: visit and Tower Tours for opening hours and tour prices.
• Roman Theatre of Verulamium for opening days and admission.
• de Havilland Aircraft Museum: visit us for admission, opening hours, parking and access.
• Willows Activity Farm and its ticket portal for the summer multi-ticket and the admissions policy.
• Redbournbury Watermill and Bakery for opening times and the August bakery closures.
• Everyone Active: Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre for facilities and pool access.
• Nomansland Common awarded a prestigious Green Flag for the first time, St Albans City and District Council, 20 July 2026, for the Green Flag list.
• Visit St Albans Markets and Verulamium Park, St Albans City and District Council.

Prices and opening hours change, and small venues change them at short notice. Check with the venue before you travel. Getting here is covered on St Albans trains to London and St Albans roadworks, parking and travel.