The Novium is free and the cathedral asks £7. Verified 2026 prices and opening hours for Fishbourne, Weald & Downland, Pallant House and West Wittering.
The two best things to do in Chichester cost almost nothing. The Novium Museum is free, and it is built over a Roman bath house you walk across on the ground floor. The cathedral asks for a £7 donation and is open six days a week. Add the Roman palace at Fishbourne and a beach at the end of the peninsula and you have a full weekend without much planning.
Every price and opening time below was checked against the venue’s own website on 9 August 2026. Prices change, particularly the ones affected by the summer VAT reduction, so the dates are given where they matter.
In the city
The Novium Museum
Free. Tower Street, PO19 1QH, opposite Chichester Library and a short walk from the cathedral. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, though Sunday opening runs only from 14 June to 13 September 2026. Closed Mondays except bank holidays, when it opens 10am to 4pm.
Three floors covering 500,000 years of the district, purpose-built around the remains of a Roman bath house that sits under the ground floor. There is usually no need to book. A small charge sometimes applies to headline exhibitions on the second floor; general admission does not.
On now: Elmer and Friends: The Colourful World of David McKee, to 13 September 2026, which is the one to take small children to. Also Selling Shippam’s, from 18 July 2026, on the fish-and-meat-paste firm that was a Chichester institution, and Made in Chichester District, from 13 June 2026. The permanent displays include the Racton Man and the North Bersted Man.
Chichester Cathedral
Admission by donation, £7 per person recommended. Open for visiting Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 12.30pm to 2.30pm, with services daily.
Nine centuries of building, a detached bell tower, the Arundel Tomb that Philip Larkin wrote about, a Marc Chagall window and a John Piper tapestry behind the high altar. General guided tours run at 11.30am and 2.30pm most days, take about 45 minutes and cover the ground floor only. Groups of six or more should book ahead.
There is no visitor parking on site. The nearest car park is East Pallant, 0.3 miles away; there are a few free blue badge spaces on the approach from West Street. The Cloisters Kitchen & Garden café is open daily 10am to 4pm, and dogs on leads are welcome in the cathedral and its grounds during visiting hours.
Pallant House Gallery
Adults £17, under 18s free, 18 to 25 year olds £8.50. The adult price includes a £2 donation and the young adult price a £1 donation, both so the gallery can claim Gift Aid on the whole ticket. Concessions are available and Art Fund members pay £8.50.
A Georgian townhouse in the Pallants joined to a modern wing, holding a collection of modern and contemporary British art.
Chichester Festival Theatre
The Festival Theatre and the smaller Minerva sit together in Oaklands Park, a few minutes north of the city walls. Running now: My Fair Lady in the Festival Theatre, 6 July to 5 September 2026, and Atlantis in the Minerva, 18 July to 15 August 2026. Backstage tours run through the season, from 14 February to 17 October 2026.
Chichester Ship Canal
Scheduled boat trips on the narrowboat Kingfisher from the Canal Centre on Canal Wharf, plus fish and chip cruises, cream tea cruises and charter trips. The canal is also open to canoes, paddleboards and other small unpowered craft, and there is a café at the basin. It is a fifteen-minute walk from the city centre and the flattest walk in the district.
Roman Chichester
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Adults £13.12, children 5 to 17 £6.56, under 5s free for visits up to 1 September 2026 under the government’s summer VAT reduction. From 2 September the prices go back to £15.00 and £7.50. A family ticket for two adults and up to four children is £36.75 now, £42.00 from September. Seniors are £12.25, then £14.00.
Open daily 10am to 5pm from 20 July to 1 September, then daily 10am to 4.30pm to 6 December. Last admission an hour before closing. It is a mile and a half west of Chichester, reachable on foot, by bus, by bike or by train to Fishbourne.
A Roman palace with mosaic floors preserved in the position they were laid, a replanted Roman garden and a film theatre. The museum reckons most visitors spend around two hours. Gladiators! Weekend runs on 22 and 23 August 2026, with combat displays by the re-enactment group Britannia.
Note the domain: the palace is run by the Sussex Archaeological Society at sussexpast.co.uk. The old fishbourneromanpalace.com address no longer belongs to the museum and now redirects to an unrelated commercial site.
Out in the district
Weald & Downland Living Museum, Singleton
Adults £16.90 online, £18.75 on the door. Children 5 to 17 £8.80 online. Those are the summer prices, which run from 30 March to 31 October. Seniors are £15.10 online. Last entry is two hours before closing, and once you are in you can stay as long as you like.
Historic buildings rescued from across the South East and rebuilt in a valley on the edge of the South Downs, alongside exhibitions, a summer theatre season and a building conservation course programme that runs up to MSc level. Allow most of a day. Kennel Hill Road through the Goodwood Estate is closed from 3 to 22 August 2026, so check your route before driving and follow the signed diversion.
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
Gamecock Terrace, Tangmere, PO20 2ES. Open every day from 14 February to 29 November 2026, 10am to 5pm from March to October and 10am to 4pm in February and November. Last admission an hour before closing.
The museum sits on the site of the former RAF Tangmere, four miles east of the city. It holds aircraft, cockpit sections and flight simulators including a Lightning and a Hunter, the Neville Duke Hall, and the Cockpit Cafe. The shop closes half an hour before the museum does.
Goodwood
The estate north of the city runs a racecourse, a motor circuit and an aerodrome across the same stretch of downland. The Goodwood Revival, the historic motorsport meeting where the whole crowd dresses in period, runs on 18 to 20 September 2026. The Qatar Goodwood Festival is the racecourse’s flat racing highlight in summer.
West Wittering beach
The best beach in the district, and the most expensive to park at. The car park is run privately by the West Wittering Estate and opens at 6.30am.
| When you arrive | Pre-booked | Pay on arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday, from 6.30am | £10.80 | £14.60 |
| Monday to Friday, after 3pm | £10.80 | £8.65 |
| Weekends and bank holidays, from 6.30am | £12.15 | £16.25 |
| Weekends and bank holidays, after 3pm | £12.15 | £9.75 |
Pre-booking saves 25% on the all-day rate, and on a busy August Saturday it is the difference between getting in and being turned away. The one exception is the late afternoon: if you turn up after 3pm and pay on arrival, it is cheaper than pre-booking.
The beach is dog free from May to September, with dog-friendly areas marked on the estate map. Lifeguards patrol at weekends in season and ask you to swim between the red and yellow flags. If the estate car park is full or you would rather pay less, Chichester District Council runs a Marine Drive car park in West Wittering at £7.00 for ten hours from April to October, and there are council car parks at Bracklesham Lane and Selsey East Beach further along the coast.
A free day in Chichester
If you want the city for nothing, this works. Start at The Novium, which is free and takes about an hour. Walk five minutes to the cathedral, where the donation is voluntary. Follow the city walls round, then pick up the towpath at the canal basin and walk down the ship canal towards the harbour. The only unavoidable cost is parking, and Florence Road car park (PO19 7PY) is free for up to three hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chichester Cathedral free to enter?
Yes, admission is by donation. The cathedral recommends £7 per person and receives no automatic funding from the government or the Church of England. It is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Is there a free museum in Chichester?
The Novium Museum on Tower Street has free general admission, including the Roman bath house remains under the ground floor. Some headline exhibitions on the second floor carry a small charge.
How much is Fishbourne Roman Palace?
£13.12 for an adult and £6.56 for a child aged 5 to 17 for visits up to 1 September 2026, under the summer VAT reduction. From 2 September the prices return to £15.00 and £7.50. Under 5s are free.
Do I need to book West Wittering beach car park?
Not strictly, but you should. Pre-booking is 25% cheaper than paying on arrival and secures a space on busy days. The exception is arriving after 3pm, when the pay-on-arrival rate drops below the pre-booked one. The beach is dog free from May to September.
What is on at Chichester Festival Theatre?
My Fair Lady runs in the Festival Theatre to 5 September 2026, and Atlantis in the Minerva to 15 August 2026. Backstage tours run to 17 October 2026.
When is the Goodwood Revival?
18 to 20 September 2026, at the Goodwood Motor Circuit north of Chichester.
Sources
- The Novium Museum for opening hours, free admission and current exhibitions.
- Chichester Cathedral for visiting hours, the recommended donation, tours and access.
- Pallant House Gallery for admission prices.
- Chichester Festival Theatre for the current programme.
- Fishbourne Roman Palace, Sussex Archaeological Society for prices, opening times and events.
- Weald & Downland Living Museum for ticket prices and the Kennel Hill Road closure.
- Tangmere Military Aviation Museum for the 2026 season dates and opening hours.
- Goodwood Revival for the 2026 dates.
- West Wittering Estate for beach car park prices and the dog policy.
- Chichester District Council car parks for council car park charges at West Wittering, Bracklesham and Selsey.
- Chichester Ship Canal for boat trips and the Canal Centre.
Opening times and prices change, and several of the figures above move on 1 September and 1 November. Confirm with the venue before you travel. Checked on 9 August 2026.
More Chichester local information: house prices, trains to London, roadworks and travel and planning news.
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