Whispering Gallery
At 257 steps, the circular walkway inside the dome lets a whisper travel around the curved wall.
St Paul's Cathedral · London
Visit St Paul's Cathedral
Plan your visit with today's opening hours, ticket options and practical guidance for exploring the cathedral, crypt and dome.
Plan your visit
Visitor information
Today at St Paul's
Check today's sightseeing status, last-entry times and Sunday arrangements before you travel.
Today
Checking hours…
The cut-offs
Last sightseeing entry is 16:00; last entry to the Dome Galleries is 16:15 — arrive after mid-afternoon and the climb may already be closed. Wednesdays usually open at 8:30 unless a service or event changes the day's schedule.
The Sunday rule
Sundays are normally given over to worship, with no general sightseeing entry — but services (including Evensong) are open to all and free to attend. From mid-March to late October, seasonal “Dome Sundays” also open the galleries for a short afternoon window; check current dates before planning around this.
Plan your day
Essential visitor information
Getting here
St Paul's station (Central line) is 270 metres from the west entrance — about a three-minute walk. Bank, Mansion House and Blackfriars are all under ten minutes.
How to get thereWhen to come
The calmest hour is the first after opening, usually 8:30. Weekends and school holidays are busiest, late morning through mid-afternoon.
Best time to visitFree Evensong
You can attend Evensong most evenings without a sightseeing ticket — the finest way to hear the cathedral choir, free of charge.
Evensong at St Paul'sAbout the cathedral
Discover St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's has stood on Ludgate Hill in one form or another since 604, but the building you visit today is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece, raised between 1675 and 1710 after the Great Fire of London destroyed its medieval predecessor. Its triple-shell dome — one of the largest cathedral domes in the world — defined London's skyline for three centuries, and its survival through the Blitz made it a national symbol. Inside you'll find gilded mosaics, the Whispering Gallery's famous acoustics, and a vast crypt holding the tombs of Nelson, Wellington and Wren himself, whose memorial reads: “If you seek his monument, look around you.”
- Founded
- 604
- Rebuilt by Wren
- 1675–1710
- Height to the cross
- 111 m
Inside
What you'll see once you're through the doors
Four of the things visitors remember longest.
The Crypt
One of Europe's largest cathedral crypts, holding the tombs of Nelson, Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren.
Quire and High Altar
Gilded mosaics, carved choir stalls by Grinling Gibbons and the ceremonial heart of the cathedral.
The Light of the World
Holman Hunt's famous altarpiece in the north aisle chapel, showing Christ knocking at a door.
The ascent
Climbing the dome: three galleries, 528 steps
528 steps rise from the cathedral floor through the Whispering Gallery and Stone Gallery to the Golden Gallery, with the widest open view over the City of London.
- Steps
- 528
- Top gallery height
- 85 m
- Galleries
- Three
Before you arrive
Common questions
The answers visitors ask for most often before they arrive.
Before you go
Plan your visit to St Paul's
Book ahead for the dome climb, then check the day's sightseeing hours before you travel.