St Pauls Cathedral, London

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This cathedral was rebuilt after The Great Fire of London in 1666 and designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the early 1700s. This is one of my favourite cathedrals I ever visited and in 2009 I was glad of the opportunity to explore inside including the nave, the dome, the quire and the crypt where many important people are either buried of remembered including Sir Christopher Wren, Lord Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Florence Nightingale and the painter, JMW Turner.

You pay extra to the visit The Galleries. You begin your ascent, 257 steps up, to The Whispering Gallery where whispers can be heard away at the opposite site of the dome. Another 119 steps up is the Stone Gallery outside where you can get amazing views of the London skyline including the Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Canary Wharf, The Monument and Tower Bridge. The final flight of stairs, totalling 528 steps from the cathedral floors, you reach the Golden Gallery for more panoramic views but higher up.

There is a cathedral shop and refreshments.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the cathedral and this is one of a very few attractions that I can return to.

It cost me 11 GBP (January 2010) to explore the Cathedral including The Galleries.

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St. Paul's Cathedral is located in "The City", London's financial quarter. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren and although he built more than 50 churches, this is his masterpiece. It is built in the shape of the cross and has one of the largest cathedral domes in the world.

It is a really beautiful (and huge) church with several small altars on either side. Beautiful mosaics and stone carvings adorn the inside. I loved the center altar. It was seen around the world during the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

We climbed the 259 steps up to the whispering gallery. The whispering gallery is up in the first dome of the church. You are supposed to be able to sit on one side and whisper to someone on the other side – 107 feet away. We tried and tried but weren’t able to hear each other at all but had fun trying.

Filming and photography is not allowed inside the Cathedral.

Tickets available online to avoid queues.

Hours:

St Paul's Cathedral is open for sightseeing from Monday to Saturday between 8.30am - 4pm.
Last tickets are sold at 4pm and the cathedral closes for sightseeing at 4.30pm.
On Sunday the cathedral is open for worship only and there is no sightseeing.
The galleries are open to sightseers from Monday to Saturday between 9.30am - 4.15pm (last admission). Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult when visiting the galleries.

Admission: Adults £14.50, Seniors £13.50, Students £13.50, Children (6-18yrs) £5.50

Both guided and audio tours are available.

Please note that all visitor information is correct as of this update.

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A song always springs to mind when you see this magnificent Church "Feed the birds" from Mary Poppins. We wandered around the grounds first & were surprised to see roses still blooming in the little garden, when we saw a sign saying "Do not feed the birds" my friend remarked that Mary Poppins was illiterate! Then came the serious stuff of really looking at this place of worship. A Sir Christopher Wren masterpiece & where he was laid to rest. I have heard there is a charge for a tour here, but if you join in the service on a Sunday - it's free - take a seat - sit quietly & marvel at the magic of the interior - please observe the no photography signs & show some respect. We saw one tourist being told of for using a camera - it doesn't matter what nationality you are the signs are in pictures.
Check out the web site if you would like to see St. Paul's interior.

St. Paul's Cathedral
This place is huge! The central dome is impressive and looms over the city as perhaps the most noticeable aspect of its skyline. Go inside and gaze at the interior, but you won't be permitted to take photos inside. This is a postcard that I got in the gift shop.

St. Paul is the city's patron saint and the cathedral is the masterpiece by the famous architect, Christopher Wren, who is buried in the crypt below.

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The Whispering Gallery runs around the interior of the Dome and is 259 steps up from ground-level. It gets its name from a charming quirk in its construction, which makes a whisper against its walls audible on the opposite side.

Designed by Christopher Wren, and completed in 1711, to replace previous building destroyed in the great fire of 1666. Climb the dome, - the stairs take you through the whispering gallery, and on up to the lantern for a fine view.

entrance ticket - BP12.50

Built between 1675 and 1710 this beautiful building (the fourth cathderal to stand on this spot) was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
Famous ceremonies have been held here including, of course, the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana.

I visited St. Paul's as a young child (as all school children used to) and my memory of it is dominated by The Whispering Gallery. If you stand on one side and whisper to the wall, the person on the other side of the gallery can hear you!

The golden ball that sit on top of the dome is actually a room! 10 people can fit into it.

Adult : £14.50. Child (6-18 years) £5.50 or family (2 adults, 2 children) £34.50
8.30am - 4.30pm
on Sundays the cathedral is a place of worship and therefore no sight seeing is possible.

Built between 1675 and 1710, this is where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. It is truly a beautiful place. We took a guided tour and learned so much of the history here. We couldnt take pictures inside the cathedral only outside which really sucks but there is a gift shop where you can purchase books, pictures and other souveniers.
St Pauls Cathedral is located in the main financial center and this was considered the original London. I thought it was a Catholic church but its actually Anglican. The cathedral is open to the public at a charge for non-worshipping visitors and you can climb the 530 steps to the golden gallery where you can see a beautiful view of London. I didnt do this because we didnt have time. We did see a wedding here though and we also went down to the crypt. The cathedral has a crypt holding over 200 memorials.
One of the largest domes in the world 111.3 meters high, weighing 65,000 tons it is supported by eight pillars. The dome is actually a dome within a dome and this is what we see on the outside of the cathedral. Around the Dome there are three Galleries, the Whispering Gallery, The Stone Gallery, and the Golden Gallery, this is the highest point of the outer Dome. This place is impressive and a must see when in London.

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It is definitely worth paying the entrance fee for full admission to St. Paul's Cathedral even at 12.50 gbp per person. Opening times are from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Be sure to give yourself at least an hour to fully enjoy it - I spent almost 2 hours exploring the church and enjoying the heavenly views from the dome.

Start out by enjoying the main church interior. The Nave and North and South Transepts are all very beautiful and worthy of a look. We took a seat on the ground floor under the dome and very quite a while just took everything in. The paintings, architecture, stained glass, everything is beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Once you have taken the main floor in, either make your way up or down. First we went down to take a short tour of the crypt area, where notables like Christopher Wren (the church designer) and the Duke of Wellington rest.

Next we made our way up the winding staircase to the Whispering Gallery. This is definitely a treat as the acoustics let you whisper along the wall and be heard by your partner (or an eavesdropper) a long way away. I then made my way up another set of staircases, I believe to the Golden Gallery, which is the highest you are allowed to get. The views from the outside balcony are stunning - worth both the climb and the price of admission.

St. Paul's Cathedral was one of my highlights of London.