All that's left of one of Britain's most magnificent medieval buildings are ruined fragments of wall and arch, and a single towering gable, but you can still appreciate the scale and majesty of the edifice from these scant remains. There's also a museum with a collection of superb 17th- and 18th-century grave slabs, 9th- and 10th-century Celtic crosses, and the late-8th-century St Andrews Sarcophagus, Europe's finest example of early medieval stone carving.
Founded in 1160 and consecrated in 1318, the cathedral stood as the focus of this important pilgrimage centre until 1559, when it was pillaged during the Reformation. The bones of St Andrew himself lie beneath the altar; until the cathedral was built, they had been enshrined in the nearby Church of St Regulus (or Rule). All that remains of this church is St Rule's Tower, worth the claustrophobic climb for the view across St Andrews. The admission fee only applies for the museum and tower; you can wander freely around the atmospheric ruins.
