Tourists!

Which cathedral was that, Mrsmopp? In most of the cathedrals I have known there are guides to tell people to do just that. They are also expected not to walk around if there is a service on.

I'm in France. It would almost certainly be different in the UK, surely?

Our cathedral has guides and at every service the verger diverts visitors from which ever chapel a service is taking place

To be honest these sort of moronic tourists tend to put me off going into religious buildings these days. When we were in Florence several years ago the Doumo was packed with people who had no idea what they were supposed to be looking at, and the buzz of conversation made it sound like a gi-normous bee hive. I was so hacked off that the next year when we were in Venice I decined to go in St Marks. Cutting off my nose to spite my face, I know.

It was the same in the Great Mosque in Cordoba. I know when I'm on holiday I'm a tourist just like the rest, but a little respect might not go amiss. And I'm sorry, but the worst are the Japanese in my experieince. We were once having a gentle stroll around El Greco's small house in Toledo, a little gem packed with his paintings and some original furniture ... no one else around, really appreciating the architecture and the history when a coach load of the 'afore-mentioned' drew up outside, a crocodile of camera clicking humanity snaked through the house, pausing only to take photos and then leapt back on their coach. It felt as if a swarm of bees had just flown in and out... did they even know who's house it had been?

Sorry, forgot to say - not unreasonable , in fact I admire you for not approaching them yourself , I think I would have , most unchristian I know

My memory of the Sistine Chapel is of the tourists, who had been told 'no talking', abiding by the rule while the locals kicked up quite a conversational buzz, including bishops and other hangers-on...

I was hoping someone else would do something. If I had been at the end of the pew I would have approached them, but, being in the middle, I didn't feel I could disturb everyone else in the line during the service. They would have had to stand to let me pass -it would have resembled a late arrival in a cinema audience and annoyed everyone behind me too.
In days when cameras had film, people took far fewer photos. We would go for two weeks holiday with one 36 exposure film in the the camera. Nowadays people don't have these limits, and they take hundreds everywhere they go. It's getting ridiculous. Posing by landmarks taking selfies and not even looking at the landmark/view itself. The world is going mad.

Incredible- and really somebody should have intervened from the Congregation- or the Priest or vergers, should have stopped the sermon and told them to leave or respect the service. Usually cathedrals are closed to tourists during the duration of a service- with big notices and even volunteers to ensure this.

Perhaps they were tourists from a totally different culture- who did not realise who insensitive and disrespectful their behaviour was?

One of my students, aged 12 and from a 'challenged' background, once blew out all the candles in the small fisherman's church in Honfleur- I was on the other side and was too late to stop her. I was mortified- I got another member of staff to take the children out and waited by the door for the few old ladies who were praying there to come out so I could explain her 'background' and apologize profusely.

Last year in Stratford, looking round Shakespeare's parish church where he is buried , a service began. We quietly moved to the back to the shop. The church was invaded by a large and loud crowd of young people accompanied by 3 adults - clearly supervising but doing nothing go control the noise or the inappropriate behaviour.
I approached one of the adults, asked where they'd come from and was told Russia. I explained that in churches, particularly when a service was in progress that this behaviour was unacceptable. He duly apologised in excellent english, but then shrugged his shoulders and said there was nothing he could do about it. I suggested that the next trip should be supervised by adults who could control young people and that such situations should be explained to them before entering churches.

You have to part with money to get into a cathedral in the UK. Unless you are attending the service of course.

The women behaved diabolically. Hope they weren't british. I doubt it.

Some people can't tell the difference between a cathedral or a church and a theme park.

At Hereford Cathedral there is a notice outside when services are on and a request for silence and respect. There are vergers around who would stop any unsuitable activity.

jingl I have never been asked for money to enter Durham Cathedral, one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe and a place where we frequently took visitors. Voluntary donations are another matter and I made those gladly, although no one watched whether I did or how much I gave. I am fairly sure that I have visited other English cathedrals without paying an entrance fee. Given the high cost of the upkeep of these historic buildings, perhaps entry fees are the way forward as voluntary donations apparently average about a paltry two quid and lots of visitors don't even give that.

I don`t know about all cathedrals, but we paid to go into Canterbury Cathedral, and I know that there is a charge at Lincoln. There was a small service in one tiny corner of Canterbury Cathedral, we kept away, but stood a respectful distance away to watch and listen.

Exeter charges. And St Pauls.

Just read this on a BBC website.

"Durham Cathedral does not charge for entry but asks visitors to make a £5 donation towards running costs of £60,000 a week. But despite the request, on average visitors donate 32p each."

Ooh absent! Hope you did better than that!

Ely Cathedral has been charging since the late seventies.

Tourists need to be gently reminded how to behave especially if they are in a foreign country. I was in Bournemouth recently and trying to board a bus mid evening. Along came a group of about 30 young Spanish students pushing to the front oblivious of the queue. I put on my teacher hat and gently put my arm across the entrance to the bus preventing them from entering until their turn. They realised their mistake as one of the first things they learn about British culture is that we like to queue .They were just unthinking.

Certainly did, jingl, and filled in the form (each time) so that they could claim back the tax I had paid on the amount, which would also have been rather more than 32p.

greenfinch - yes so right when will they learn to 'queue' that peculiarly British thing to do but it does make everything fair.
I love going into churches (sadly lots of the little historic rural churches are locked although there is usually a key available somehwere) and cathedrals when one can appreciate the architecture and ambience as it was intended.
I suspect charging for entry is confined to the large 'touristy' cathedrals and churchs - out here in the sticks I know both Hereford and Worcester cathedral only ask for voluntary donations which I always give to.
I do feel that the constant photo taking is intrusive and wonder how many of the thousands of photos taken and stored digitally will be treasured as the few (36 exposure) hard copies taken years ago on family holidays and stored in a photo album.

I am a frequent visitor to the cathedral in Durham and it is one of three I believe which don't charge. People get quite stroppy that they can't take photos.
Just before evensong on Sunday I had taken a visitor from Australia there and a japanese couple were busy taking photos . They had already been asked by a bedesman not to take photos. I quite agree with Mollie how many photos are stored and never viewed. The photos your brain takes are generally better quality