Short answer: Exeter Cathedral has the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in England and that is the thing to look up at. There is an admission charge to go inside, guided tours are available, and evensong at 5.30pm is a way to experience the building. The green outside is free and always open.
Exeter has the longest uninterrupted stretch of vaulted ceiling in England, running the length of the nave. It is the reason to come and the thing people forget to actually look at, because the instinct in a cathedral is to look ahead rather than up. Walk in, stop, and look up before anything else.
There is an admission charge to go inside, which surprises people who assume cathedrals are free. It is worth knowing before you arrive rather than discovering it at the desk with a family in tow. The green outside is free, open, and one of the best places in the city to sit.
Tours are available and are the way to understand what you are looking at — the building has been altered over centuries and the joins tell the story. If you would rather have the history free, the Red Coat guided tours cover the cathedral and the city around it at no cost, though they do not take you inside on the ticket.
Evensong is at 5.30pm. It is the alternative way in: you hear the building used for what it was built for, and the acoustics under that ceiling are the whole argument. Check the day before travelling, as services vary.
The cathedral sits in the middle of the city, so it slots into a day that also takes in the Quay and the river. The practical order is cathedral and centre first while you are fresh, then downhill to the Quay — Exeter is built on a hill and doing it the other way round means climbing back up at the end.
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