Saint Paul's Cathedral

I have always been a little creeped out by churches as tourist attractions.  They are sacred places, after all, and I’m uncomfortable barging into someone else’s house of worship – even more so when there’s an entry fee.  Also, since you are usually not allowed to take pictures inside a church, it makes for a text-heavy blog posting.  That said, there is no church in the US that even comes close to the majesty of St. Paul’s.  I’ll have to go back for a tour, but here are my first impressions. 

St Paul’s remains one of the dominant and iconic features of the London skyline, and I think if anyone dared proposing to build a skyscraper between St Paul’s and the Thames they would be harmed, along with their family.  Of course the dome is the star attraction, although architects are quick to point out that it is not a single dome, but in fact three nested domes, the middle one being cone-shaped.  Up 259 steps (a little more navigable than those in The Monument) gets you to the Whispering Gallery, an interior gallery with a good view of the apse (or maybe it’s the nave), and the fun feature that if someone stands directly opposite you in the dome gallery, you can hear them speaking even in a whisper.  Up another 119 steps, these a little more treacherous, and you reach the Stone Gallery, which is outdoors.  It’s a wide deck, with a high stone railing, offering magnificent views of the city. 
Looking south-west, you can see the London Eye

 To the east, the top of The Monument sticks its golden flame up from the surrounding buildings.

Another 152 steps (that’s a total of 528)  take you up to the Golden Gallery, another, much smaller outdoor deck.  I am not afraid of heights, but these steps, largely iron spiral staircases and gangways, were truly nerve-wracking, and would never pass a safety inspection in the US.  The final flight of steps take you through a passage no more than three feet wide and five feet high (felt like one of those mysterious passages in the pyramids).  Once on the Golden Gallery, your footroom is at most three feet wide, and in some places just six inches, and the stone railing barely comes up to your waist.  The wind is such that you need to lean against the wall to brace yourself, and any pictures you try to take betray the shakiness of your hands due to the wind (and the after-effects of those stairs).  Kudos to the guy in front of me going down, who did the whole trip carrying a small child.


Notice the same view of the south-west, how much higher you are relative to the Stone Gallery.

  To the east, construction proceeds on The Shard, which, when finished, will be the tallest building in the country.

 Looking south to the Millennium footbridge and, across the Thames, the Tate Modern (an art museum built in an old power station).

 In the distance, Tower Bridge crosses the Thames, and to it's left, the distinctive gold-topped white shaft of The Monument.

  Great zoom feature on my camera

At ground level, the church is full of statues, mostly of people I have never heard of.  Curiously, most are not of religious figures (saints, martyrs).  Really, statues everywhere.  Below the main floor is the Crypt, where many famous (dead) people are buried, including Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, in two of the largest burial monuments I have ever seen.  There is a bust of Churchill in the crypt, though he is not buried here.  There’s also a cafe and gift shop. 

In the gardens around the church are some interesting sculptures, include one of St Thomas Becket, though he was not killed at St. Paul's, he was killed at Canterbury Cathedral.

TOURIST WARNING:  Do NOT visit St. Paul’s and The Monument one right after the other, as I did.  That’s about 1,700 steps up and down.