Christopher Wren's domed cathedral on Ludgate Hill, built after the Great Fire and still a working church with daily services
There has been a cathedral dedicated to St Paul on Ludgate Hill, the highest ground in the City of London, since AD 604. The medieval one was wrecked in the Great Fire of 1666, and Christopher Wren designed the replacement, finished in 1710. At 111 m to the top it was the tallest building in London until 1963. Wren set the dome on eight piers instead of the usual four, and walking in underneath it you get a sense of huge, calm space.
Stairs inside climb to the Whispering Gallery, which runs round the base of the dome: whisper close to the wall and someone on the far side can hear you. Higher still, two outdoor galleries look out over the City. The crypt runs under the entire building, which is unusual for a cathedral, and holds the tombs of Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. Wren is buried down there too, under a Latin line telling visitors that if they want his monument, they should look around them.
Churchill’s funeral was held here in 1965, and Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer here in 1981. Sightseeing is ticketed from Monday to Saturday, while services and private prayer are free. St Paul’s Underground station is a couple of minutes’ walk away, and City Thameslink and Blackfriars stations are both within half a kilometre. The Tower of London is under 2 km to the east.
