Alexandra Palace: snooker visitor guide

The venue

Alexandra Palace sits above Wood Green and Muswell Hill in north London. The Masters uses a temporary snooker arena in the West Hall, reached through Palm Court. Do not follow the separate Theatre’s seating plan or East Court entrance instructions.

The venue describes an audience of over 2,000 for the Masters. That is a published audience figure, not an exact 2027 saleable capacity. The much larger Great Hall concert capacity is not the snooker capacity.

The Masters has been here since 2012. Its next edition is 10–17 January 2027; the park, ice rink and cafés give you things to do around a session.

Which visit suits you?

Where to sit

The Masters uses one table throughout, with red, blue and yellow seating banks around it; there is no Crucible-style partition or second table to choose. The event guide gives the match lengths, session timetable and full arena explanation.

The price sheet labels Standard B as A–J and Standard C as K–Q. The newer plan gives different row boundaries by bank, so confirm the exact seat and band in the booking basket; a row letter alone is not enough.

Price ranges and plan checked 5 October 2026. [UNVERIFIED: exact big-screen sightlines by seat.] The plan locates wheelchair seating in brown; use the access guide before booking.

Tickets

These are per-person session minima, not live stock. Add 10% booking fee plus £2.10 restoration levy per ticket; the £35 minimum totals £40.60. A £1 charity donation is already included.

You book a reserved seat for the named session. Before the final, a session normally contains one whole match; the final has separate afternoon and evening tickets, with an all-day offer also published. See all 96 published prices, including eight all-day offers. Buy through WST’s official ticket links.

Trip-cost calculator

Choose a session, then a seat category. Tickets add the published 10% booking fee and £2.10 restoration levy per ticket. The £1 charity donation is already in the listed price. Accommodation is nights × rooms × room price; travel and food are whole-party totals. This calculator covers a single session, not the separate all-day offers.

Getting there

Alexandra Palace station: allow 15–20 minutes uphill through the park to Palm Court. Great Northern serves it from Moorgate and King’s Cross, with some services requiring a change. The station is at the foot of the hill, not inside the Palace.

Wood Green Tube: Piccadilly line; allow 25–30 minutes uphill on foot. The W3 serves the station area, Alexandra Palace Ice Rink and Palm Court, and continues towards Finsbury Park. It avoids the park climb; allow for waiting and event traffic. Walks are estimates from the venue’s map, not audited accessible routes.

Parking: Yes. General tariff: first 30 minutes free, then £2.20 per hour. Paddocks has a separate £5-per-hour evening rate, 5.30pm–midnight; its daytime rate is inconsistently printed as £2/£2.20, so check signs. Payment is cashless, on site or within 24 hours of leaving. Blue Badge holders scan their badge at a machine for free parking.

Car parks operate first come, first served and event opening hours can differ. Grove’s ordinary closing is 7pm, East Court’s 12.30am. Confirm the Masters parking area and exit time; do not leave a car in a daytime-only area for an evening session.

After 7pm play: do not book around a fixed finish. Use Great Northern’s timetable and TfL’s journey planner for your actual return date, including the station walk. Piccadilly Night Tube normally runs Friday and Saturday nights, not Sunday’s final. [UNVERIFIED: last return trains and W3 departures for 10–17 January 2027.] Future date-specific services were not established from the current pages.

Accessibility

The hill matters as much as the building. The venue recommends Finsbury Park for step-free rail/Tube arrival, followed by the W3. Brown spaces on the 2027 snooker plan mark wheelchair seating; confirm the route and companion position with Visitor Services.

The Palace offers free companion tickets, accessible toilets in West Hall, sensory support and a Changing Places room reached with staff assistance. Read the full Alexandra Palace accessibility guide for booking, parking, entrances and leaving.

On the day

1. 11.30am: published doors. The 2027 event listing gives this opening time. Have your downloaded ticket ready for checks at Palm Court. [UNVERIFIED: separate evening entry and arena-door times.] Check your session email.
2. 1pm or 7pm: play. Arrive at your reserved seat early; WST can reallocate seats empty five minutes before the start. Admission during play is at a suitable break.
3. After four frames: the usual interval. Its clock time depends on frame length. Take the steward’s instructions for returning.
4. Finish: allow 3–4 hours as an estimate. A best-of-11 match can end sooner or run later. A 7pm session may leave you travelling at 10–11pm or beyond; the final evening has no fixed finishing time.

Payments: the Palace is cashless; bank cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted. Clothes: WST requests smart dress and no sportswear or team shirts. Bring a warm outer layer for the January hill and queues.

Bags: searches apply. [UNVERIFIED: Masters-specific 2027 bag dimensions and general cloakroom availability.] The venue’s 30 × 20 × 10cm rule is explicitly for live music, so it is not presented here as a snooker rule. Ask Visitor Services; the 147 Club package specifically includes a cloakroom.

Food and drink: WST permits only purchases made on the premises. Agree medical exceptions with Visitor Services. Phones: switch them off or silence every alert; do not use them during play. WST’s published terms prohibit phones and unauthorised recording in the arena. Use your ticket before taking your seat. These current rules were checked 5 October 2026.

Families and groups

The 2027 event welcomes all ages. Under-16s must come with an adult over 21. The price sheet has no child band; do not assume free entry or a discount for a child. Ask about babies, buggies and any seat requirement before paying.

For a child who can sit quietly, 12 January at 1pm avoids a late journey and starts at £35 before fees. Before the final, the session is one best-of-11 match, so the length depends on the score and frames.

Groups: ask ticketing@wst.tv about adjacent seats and the basket total. No Masters group discount is published in the checked sheet. The Palace’s theatre group policies do not establish one for this event.

Where to stay

No hotel prices are quoted. Walk and journey ranges are planning estimates from published addresses and routes, not timed or step-free audits. A room in King’s Cross still needs an evening return journey from the Palace.

Before, between and after snooker

Ordinary opening patterns checked 5 October 2026. Event hours can differ. The distances above are estimates; none promises a quiet pub during the Masters.

Things to do around north London

Help on the day

Emergency: call 999 for an immediate threat to life and give Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY; West Hall, Palm Court entrance. Alert a steward so the venue can guide responders.

Inside: a steward, security officer or Visitor Services can call the event medical team. Tell them about a seat-view problem while you are there, as WST’s terms request.

Venue enquiries: 020 8365 4343 · visitor.services@alexandrapalace.com. Access: access@alexandrapalace.com; the access page also lists 020 8365 2121, Monday–Friday 9am–5pm. WST tickets: ticketing@wst.tv. Email cannot replace urgent on-site help.

A little history

1. 1873: the first Palace opened, then burned down 16 days later.
2. 1875: the rebuilt Palace opened to the public.
3. 1936: the BBC began its regular public television service here on 2 November.
4. 2012: the Masters moved to Alexandra Palace. Neil Robertson won its first edition here.
5. 2024: Ronnie O’Sullivan won a record eighth Masters title.
6. 2026: Kyren Wilson beat John Higgins 10–6 to win his first Masters.

Events here

The Palace also hosts concerts, theatre, skating and darts. These use different spaces and admission rules; the guide above is for the Masters.

FAQs

More Alexandra Palace guides

Checked on 5 October 2026. Prices, dates and arrangements may change; check official sellers before paying. This is an independent guide, unconnected with Alexandra Palace, World Snooker Tour or the WPBSA. Hotel links may earn us commission without an extra charge to you; current hotel links remain ordinary while CJ setup is pending. How we check our facts.