]London, UK, Jan 15, 2024]

On my last visit to London, I had walked by St Paul’s cathedral but since I was still a travel newbie, I didn’t go inside. I rectified this mistake on this trip! Entry was included with our London city pass.

St Paul’s cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. He was commissioned to design the church after the Great Fire of London in 1666. There has been a church at this spot since 604 AD. The current building was finished in 1710.

The exterior of the cathedral is incredible. The 365-ft high Baroque dome is set on classical columns capped with a lantern topped by a 6-ft ball and finished with a cross.

Inside, the nave is huge. This is the 4th largest church in Europe, after St Peter’s in Rome and the cathedrals in Seville and Milan.

This is the only cathedral in London with a dome. It’s painted with scenes from the life of St Paul. There are actually 3 domes, each nested inside the other.

Next, we ascended the 528 stairs to the top of the dome. There are 3 dome levels, called galleries. Each level offers something different.

First is the Whispering gallery, 257 steps up from the cathedral floor to the base of the dome. The gallery is a circular walkway that hugs the base of the dome and offers an amazing view of the cathedral floor far below. Christopher Wren did not design it with acoustics in mind, but visitors quickly picked up on a little acoustic quirk, which gave the gallery its name. If you whisper facing the wall, anyone positioned down the walkway, even on the other side, will be able to hear you. The scenes from the life of St Paul, which were painted on the inside of the dome, were much easier to see from up here, and there were plaques explaining them. For some reason, no photos were allowed here.

The Stone gallery is the next level up and is on the outside of the church. There is a large balcony here but you can’t see the dome itself and the views of the city are obstructed by the balcony.

From there, a long, tight metal staircase leads to the top of the cupola.

There are stunning, unobstructed views of the city but the balcony is tiny. Looking west, you see the London Eye and Big Ben. They are part of what used to be the city of Westminster, while St. Paul’s marked the center of London proper.

Finally, we checked out the crypt. We saw the tombs of Lord Nelson (directly below the dome) and the Duke of Wellington.

Westminster Abbey was our next stop. This has been the coronation spot for British monarchs since 1066. Thanks to our city pass, we could show up any time rather than book in advance, and the entry fee was included.

It is also the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many prominent in British history: monarchs, prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior. The inside was really impressive, but I found the many tombs overwhelming. My favorite parts were the nave and the ceiling of the Lady Chapel.

I found the courtyard refreshing after the crowds and tombs inside.

It was early afternoon by then, and we decided to do something close to our hotel to wrap up the day. We went to the Tower of London, where we saw the Crown Jewels – a favorite of mine from 2014. This time, I also checked out the White Tower. It provided accommodation for the king and his representatives, and housed St John’s chapel. Today, it houses the Royal Armories collections.

In the evening, I had dinner with a middle school friend of mine who lives in London. On the way there, I noticed the crescent moon was perfectly positioned over the Shard.

It was a good thing I was paying attention in the underground. A unique feature of the London underground is that the same line can split and go to different places. All of this is, of course, well signed and announced, but you still have to be paying attention.