Wales's first Cistercian abbey, founded above the River Wye in 1131 — and the ruin that moved Wordsworth to verse.
See ticket optionsOne adult · full access, valid all day on your chosen date
€19
One junior (ages 5–17) or student, with valid ID · full access, valid all day on your chosen date
€13
One senior, aged 65 and over, with valid ID
€17
2 adults + up to 3 children aged 5–17 · full access, valid all day on your chosen date
€61
“Standing under that empty window tracery with nothing but sky behind it is one of those moments that stops you in your tracks — photos really don't prepare you for the scale. Booking the date-specific ticket meant we could just show up when it suited our Wye Valley drive.”
“We combined it with a walk along the river and the kids had a great time running around the open ruins — surprisingly good for a family day out. Ticket arrived within minutes of booking, no fuss at all.”
“Als jemand, der viele europäische Klosterruinen gesehen hat, war das eine der eindrucksvollsten — die Proportionen der Kirche sind einfach überwältigend. Die Buchung war unkompliziert und die Bestätigung kam sofort.”
Audio guide · 5-minute
A short, calm narrative — what this abbey was, why Henry VIII's Dissolution left it roofless, what survives of the great church's window tracery, and why Wordsworth and Turner couldn't stay away. Listen on the drive up the Wye Valley.
Recorded for Tintern Abbey Tickets concierge. Free to download.
Tintern Abbey stands on the Welsh bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, close to the border with England. Founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, it was the first Cistercian abbey in Wales and only the second in Britain, after Waverley. What visitors see today is largely the great church rebuilt between about 1269 and 1301 — a building of soaring proportions whose surviving window tracery is widely regarded as one of the finest achievements of British Gothic architecture. The abbey was surrendered to the Crown in September 1536 during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, and its roof and fittings were stripped soon after, leaving the shell that has stood open to the sky ever since.
That roofless emptiness is what turned Tintern from a stripped monastic ruin into one of the most celebrated images in British art and literature. William Wordsworth's 1798 poem, written after a walking tour of the Wye valley, fixed the abbey and its surrounding landscape in the English literary imagination, while J.M.W. Turner sketched and painted its stonework and shifting light in 1792 and again in 1798 — works now held by the Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum. Together they helped make Tintern one of the founding sites of the Picturesque and Romantic movements, drawing visitors up the Wye by boat from the mid-eighteenth century onward in what became one of Britain's earliest organised tourist trails.
Today Tintern Abbey is cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service, as a Grade I listed scheduled monument — not a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but one of the best-preserved great Cistercian church ruins anywhere in Britain. Cadw's five-year conservation programme on the church's weathered sandstone upper walls means most of the great church is closed and access there is limited, with scaffolding up over much of the structure; the cloister, monastic ranges and riverside grounds remain open. We handle the ticketing so your date-specific admission is confirmed before you arrive — one less thing to plan once you're in the Wye Valley.
Tintern Abbey Tickets is an independent concierge service that helps international visitors reserve and receive their admission ticket in English. We are not the abbey and we are not an official vendor — we obtain a genuine admission ticket on your behalf from the site's ticketing system, and our service fee is included in the price you see. If you prefer to buy directly, Cadw runs its own ticket desk at the abbey and its own online shop.
Plan your visit
Which season, which hour, and why an early morning changes everything — a concierge timing guide to Wales's greatest Cistercian ruin.
Driving up the A466 from the M48, the route 69 bus from Chepstow, rail via Chepstow station, and the five-mile Greenway on foot — every way to reach Tintern Abbey.
Flat grass, a roofless ruin to roam and a river on the doorstep — plus the small steps, the safety notes and the missing café that families should know about first.
No fixed time slot — your ticket is date-specific rather than timed, so it's valid any time during opening hours on the day you choose. Just arrive within opening hours on your selected date.
Your admission is reserved and confirmed before you arrive, so you go straight in with your mobile ticket rather than queuing at the desk. There's no timed entry to coordinate — you choose the day, we handle the booking.
Admission to the abbey site — the cloister, the monastic ranges and the riverside grounds. Most of the great church is closed for Cadw conservation work and access there is limited. One ticket covers the open site for the day.
We send your ticket to your email as a mobile ticket with a QR code once your booking is confirmed. There's nothing to print — show it on your phone at the entrance.
Yes — the abbey has been open to the sky since its roof was stripped after the 1536 Dissolution. The entire visit is outdoors within the ruined walls, so dress for the weather and bring a coat or umbrella if rain is forecast.
The abbey stays open in all but the most severe weather, since it's a roofless ruin with no indoor galleries to shelter in. Bring suitable clothing — a wet-weather visit still shows the tracery and stonework beautifully, and many visitors find the atmosphere even more striking in rain or mist.
Yes. Cadw began a five-year conservation programme in 2023 to repair the weathered sandstone on the church's upper walls. Most of the great church is closed to visitors while it continues, with scaffolding over much of the structure. The cloister, monastic ranges and riverside grounds remain open.
Chepstow is the closest town, about 4 miles away on the A466, with bus route 69 (Chepstow–Monmouth) stopping around 300 metres from the abbey. Cadw signposts drivers from Cardiff via the M4 (junction 23) and M48 (junction 2) to the A466, and from London and the east via the M4 (junction 21) and the M48. We don't publish drive times — check a live routing service before you set out.
Most visitors spend one to two hours across the cloister, the monastic ranges and the riverside grounds. With most of the great church closed for conservation, a focused visit can take less. There's no fixed schedule, so you set the pace.
Yes. The scale of the ruined church, the open grassy ruins to explore and the riverside setting tend to appeal to children, and the site's mainly flat terrain makes it easy to navigate as a family, though there are a few small steps dotted around. It can be windy and exposed, so dress accordingly.
The junior rate covers ages 5 to 17; students with valid ID also qualify. Bring ID or proof of status to the gate.
Visitors aged 65 and over qualify for the senior rate — bring valid ID to the gate.
One family ticket covers 2 adults and up to 3 children aged 5–17, with full access to the whole abbey site — it's the most economical way for a family to visit together rather than buying separate tickets.
Cadw rates the site as 'Accessible terrain (Level 1)' and it is mainly flat, though there are a few small steps around the site and grass and stone surfaces can be slippery when wet. Cadw publishes a detailed access guide for the site — contact the site ahead of your visit if you have specific access needs.
Yes, personal photography is welcome throughout the ruins and grounds — the empty window tracery against the sky is the shot most visitors come for — though most of the great church is closed for conservation, so it is currently photographed from outside the closed area.
The abbey is closed on 24–26 December and 1 January, and runs shorter hours in winter (10am–4pm, 1 November–28 February). We'll flag it if a closure affects the date you've chosen.
William Wordsworth's 1798 poem, written after a walking tour of the Wye valley near the abbey, and J.M.W. Turner's watercolour studies of its stonework from 1792 and 1798 helped establish Tintern as one of the founding sites of the Romantic and Picturesque movements, building on the Wye Tour boat trips that had been running since about 1750.
Because admission is date-specific, please choose your travel date with care when you book. All sales are final once confirmed; the only exception is a full refund if the operator cancels your visit. See our terms for the full policy.
No. We're an independent concierge service for international visitors. We obtain a genuine admission ticket on your behalf and handle the booking in your own language. Our service fee is included in the price shown, and you can always buy directly from Cadw if you prefer.
The price you see is the price you pay — we show it in your local currency where we can and charge exactly that amount, with no surprise fees at checkout. Payment is by card on a secure page.