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Highgate Cemetery

Tickets including entrance to both sides of Highgate Cemetery

With its sinuous paths winding up a steep wooded hill and ivy-clad monuments, Highgate Cemetery West is a secluded funerary landscape at its most evocative. It is home to the most impressive architectural features of Highgate Cemetery — the Chapel, Colonnade, Egyptian Avenue, Circle of Lebanon, Terrace Catacombs and the mausoleum of Julius Beer. If you've not been before, you really need to get the full Highgate Cemetery ticket!

Highgate Cemetery entrance tickets

An exciting opportunity to see the splendours of Highgate Cemetery on your own. The price includes entrance to both sides

Events

No events are scheduled. Please subscribe to our mailing list if you would like to be notified of new events.

Highgate Cemetery Highlights guided tour

Experience the captivating atmosphere of the West side by taking a tour with one of our knowledgeable volunteer guides. Dates are added four weeks in advance.


Group visits

Groups may book to visit Highgate Cemetery on Mondays to Fridays

Egyptian Avenue

One of the most stunning sights of the Cemetery, a bit of ancient Egypt has found its way to north London

Circle of Lebanon

An ancient cedar tree was here long before the cemetery, and a circle of tombs was built around it. Unfortunately it succumbed to fungus, but a new one has been planted!


Terrace Catacombs

From the terrace at the top of the Cemetery there were views across London. But visitors were standing on the roof of the catacombs beneath...

Mausoleum of Julius Beer

The finest monument in the Cemetery, evidence of the grief occasioned by the loss of a daughter

Highgate Cemetery entrance tickets

THE WHOLE CEMETERY, both East and West sides

This is a working cemetery. Please keep things tranquil and respectful by observing the following rules. Please walk quietly and

* leave your dog at home
* don’t run or jog or do any strenuous exercise
* park your cycle or scooter outside
* don’t leave the paths or touch any monument.

Timed tickets help us keep things tranquil. You can arrive 15 minutes before or up to 30 minutes after your booked time to avoid the queues. We lock the gates at 5pm each day from March to October, and at 4pm from November to February. Last entry to the West side is 1 hour before closing. Last entry to the East side is 3o minutes before closing. 

You don't need to buy a separate Highgate Cemetery East ticket as it is included in the price. 

*Please note: The catacombs may only be visited on a guided tour.

Tickets are not refundable.

Highgate Cemetery Highlights guided tour

The Highlights Tour features the captivating landscape of the West side of Highgate Cemetery. The ticket includes entrance to both sides all day on the day of your tour. 

Our wonderful volunteer guides bring the Cemetery alive with fascinating stories of its history and occupants. The tour lasts around 70 minutes and is in English. Tours take place even if it’s raining. Paths are steep and sometimes muddy so please do wear appropriate footwear. 

Strong winds or icy conditions may require us to cancel the tour for safety reasons. If we are forced to cancel you will receive a full refund.

Tickets 
The ticket price includes entrance to both sides of Highgate Cemetery on the day of your tour. Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable. 

Note: Tour content varies. If you are interested in a particular grave, please ask before buying your ticket.

Tours are limited to 18 people. Larger parties will need to split themselves in smaller groups to book. 

Group visits

Information about booking a group visit will be here soon! 

Egyptian Avenue

The main path suddenly opens out in front of the Egyptian gateway, flanked by a pair of massive obelisks. 

When the Cemetery was founded, interest in ancient Egypt was still very strong, encouraged by Napoleon's campaigns. 

The association of the Egyptian style of architecture with the memorialization of the dead was a natural one. 

An avenue, lined with tombs, leads up to the Circle of Lebanon

Circle of Lebanon

At the heart of the Circle of Lebanon was a massive ancient cedar tree which long predated the Cemetery. It was part of the grounds of Ashurst House, sold in 1830 and demolished to provide a site for the present St Michael's Church. 

The cemetery designers kept the great cedar as a key feature in the landscape. It was like a huge bonsai, its base surrounded by a circle of tombs.

On the inside face the tombs are in the Egyptian style and belong to the 1830s; the tombs on the outer face are later, and mostly in the classical style. 

In August 2019 significant decay was found in the tree, which was declared to be at a high risk of catastrophic collapse. Unfortunately it was necessary to remove it competely and it has been replaced with a new one, but it will be many years before this looks as spectacular as the original.

Terrace Catacombs

Only open for visitors on guided tours

The Terrace Catacombs take the position of the terrace of the gardens of Ashurst House, demolished in 1830. From here there were splendid views of London, now mostly obscured by trees. 

These brick catacombs with a cast-iron traceried terrace balustrade were part of the original buildings of the cemetery in 1838-9. 

Inside, there is a brick-vaulted gallery more than 80 yards long, lit by oculi set in the terrace. It is lined with separate recesses, each large enough to take a single coffin end on, from floor to ceiling down both sides of length, 825 in all.

The catacombs could be used as a permanent resting place or temporarily whilst a plot was chosen. Fans of construction history get excited because the terrace is thought to be the earliest surviving asphalted building in England. 

Mausoleum of Julius Beer

Testament to a father's love for his lost daughter, the mausoleum is a splendid work of art.  Said to be based on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it dominates the top of the Cemetery. 

Inside (not visited on the tour), Beer's daughter Ada is shown being lifted heavenwards by an angel in a very touching sculpture by H. H. Armstead. 

Have a look at our 360 degree tour!
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