Day Trip to London - St Paul's Cathedral

One of London's most iconic landmarks, St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in London, England, established in 604 AD.

The current building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710.

Opening times and admission

Open for visiting from 8:30 am to 4 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesdays.

Entry is £26 for adults and £10 for children. Family/group tickets and concessions are also available. For more details, please check their official website for more up-to-date info.

Tickets can be booked online in advance or bought in person on the day (although it might be a bit crowded).

How to get there

From St Pancras International, you can take the Thameslink (2 stops, 6 min) to City Thameslink, then walk for about 5 minutes.

The nearest Underground stations are St Paul's (Central Line), Mansion House (Circle and District lines), Blackfriars (Circle and District lines) and Bank (Central, Northern, Waterloo & City Lines)

Address: St. Paul's Churchyard, City of London, London EC4M 8AD

Until 1963, St Paul's Cathedral (111 meters/364 ft) was the tallest building in London.

If you are planning on going to the Gold Gallery in the dome, please wear comfortable shoes (and clothing) as there are 528 steps to reach it.

There is no cloak room, and you will not be allowed to enter with food or drinks, large backpacks or bags or with pets (except for service animals).

Guided Tours

A 'Highlights Tour', lasting between 20-30 minutes, and a 'Cathedral Floor and Crypt Tour' lasting 60-90 minutes are available, free of charge for ticket holders. They take place between 11 am and 3 pm, Monday to Saturday, and can only be booked on the day, at the Guiding Desk.

St Paul's Cathedral has been on my 'must see in London' list for quite some time now, and for some reason or other, it kept being postponed. After seeing it, I would urge you not to repeat my mistake and go see it as soon as you can. It is honestly wonderful and very much worth seeing.

The Three Dome Galleries

Inside the dome, there are three galleries: the first one, after climbing 257 steps, is The Whispering Gallery, which has extraordinary acoustics; after 119 more steps, you will reach the Stone Gallery, an outside area surrounding the dome, which offers great views of London, and finally, after 152 more steps (528 in total) you will reach the Golden Gallery, which is the highest point of the outer dome, offering even more impressive views of London.

Once you're done exploring the galleries, you can get back to the ground floor to admire the beautiful Cathedral Floor with its extraordinary sculptures.

You can then head over to the Crypt, where you can find the tombs of many important historical figures, including that of Sir Christopher Wren, the cathedral's architect.

On the same level, you will also find miniatures of the previous cathedrals, a few chapels, an exhibition area, as well as a small shop, towards the exit.

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How long does it take to visit St Paul's Cathedral?

I would suggest anything between 2 to 3 hours if you want to visit everything this beautiful place has to offer.

If you're looking for another place to visit nearby, I recommend the Tate Modern, as it is within walking distance.

Have you ever been there? If so, I would love to hear about your visit there, in the comment section below.

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I hope life is treating you well.

Take care.