St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, on the outside looking up

By PhilaTravelGirlLondon, London Sightseeing, Travel
St. Paul's Cathedral

Crossing the pond to London has become a yearly trek as part of my job (great perk, right?).  There is, of course, a downside to the trek (cue tiny violins) – my agenda rarely gives me time to explore the city.  Over the years,  I’ve taken advantage of the free stopover that British Airways allows in London for a few days of vacation on my award tickets. When you are a daily commuter on the Central Line as I am for work, you only see the outside of St. Paul’s each day as I enter/exit the tube station. However, visiting as a tourist is a whole different experience (no expense account) and allows me the freedom to explore.  In the next few months, I am going to London for both work and vacation – two over the pond trips.  One item I’d like to finally check off my list (as a tourist) is visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral (it only took eight years to finally ride the London Eye). I want to go inside this iconic building, climb the stairs to the top lookout and marvel at the architecture.  Until I get to do that this summer, here are some of the views of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the outside looking up that I’ve taken over the years.

St. Paul's Cathedral London

St. Paul's Cathedral London

In the last few years, the City of London has undergone many changes, one of which is the welcome addition of New Change Mall on Cheapside. New Change is a multi-level shopping and eating lunchtime destination.  One of my favorite restaurants is Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa.  The interior decor is contemporary wood and glass with amazing views of St. Paul’s.  So while you enjoy the very tasty burger (yes, all of my colleagues swear by the burger) a filet or other yummy dish this can be your view.

St. Paul's Cathedral view from Barbecoa restaurant London
My lunchtime view from Barbecoa restaurant – perfect table for great views!

From the St. Paul’s tube stop, you can walk through the gardens of the cathedral to the front entrance or walk via Paternoster Square, home to many small cafes, restaurants and shops filled with tourists, schoolchildren and office workers.

St. Paul's Cathedral Garden
Walking the garden path, I forget I’m in the busy city of London

 

Looking up at the various parts of the cathedral you really can’t make out all of the intricate details, thankfully with a good telephoto lens, I was able to see what I was missing – simply stunning.

St. Paul's Cathedral
I love the details of St. Paul’s Cathedral
The clock at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
The clock at St. Paul’s

Have you visited St. Paul’s Cathedral in London?  Did you climb to the top? What did you love and any tips for my upcoming visit?

St. Paul's Cathedral at night
The view at night is solemn and powerful

 

3 thoughts on “St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, on the outside looking up”

  1. I have been to St Paul’s both on a tour and also during a choir sing and both times I’ve had an amazing experience. While a lot of people think there’s not much to see in the neighbourhood, “The City” has tons of neat historic stories to discover. Every time I’m in London I try to do a different walking tour of the area – London Walks are my favourite. There’s some good ghost stories too!

  2. I live in the City so St Paul’s is just a few minutes walk from my home. Although I’ve lived in this area now for about 4 or 5 years I’ve never been to the top of St Paul’s (I’m not sure why!).

    A few things I would recommend though, if you haven’t already done them are:
    1. Go to the 6th floor of One New Change , using the glass lifts in the centre. From the roof top you are pretty much at eye-level with the dome of St Paul’s and get a lovely view – mostly south and west (because of the shape of the building).
    2. Apart from when you want to go to the top, I’d recommend going inside St Paul’s Cathedral when there’s a sung service on. I did this by accident one day and it was beautiful. You can’t take photos during services but it’s really nice just to sit and take in the atmosphere, if nothing else.
    3. Visit the cafe or the restaurant in the crypt of St Paul’s. The cafe is a little noisy when busy but does nice tea and cakes. The restaurant (which is to the left as your enter the crypt) is more formal. I’ve only eaten there once but it was a delicious Sunday roast.

    Also, talking of crypts/cafes, I’d also recommend visiting the ‘Cafe Below’ which is in the crypt of St Mary le Bow church on Cheapside. It used to do evening meals but now is just open for breakfast and lunch on week days.

    If you want any other tips for things to do in the square mile, feel free to get in touch – and have fun!

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