St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul’s Cathedral Tour

Cathedral tour guides lead visitors around the cathedral floor and crypt four times daily. The tours are available in English only, and last approximately 90 minutes. Tours are available Monday - Saturday at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. Please register for a tour on arrival as spaces are limited.

St Paul’s Cathedral History

The current St. Paul’s Cathedral is actually the fourth to be built on the site - there has been a cathedral bearing St. Paul’s name in this location for more than 1,400 years. The current building was completed in the early 18th century, and quickly became a setting of significant national importance.

The cathedral has hosted numerous historic events, including the state funerals of Lord Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill and the Duke of Wellington, and the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

The building’s rich history, central location and impressive architecture make it a must-see landmark for many visitors to London. There are plenty of wonderful viewpoints in London, but many would argue that the view from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral beats them all!

The Dome & Whispering Gallery

Those with sufficient energy can climb the dome: 257 steps leading up to The Whispering Gallery, famously so named because a whisper against its walls is audible on the opposite side. Climb a further 271 steps to The Golden Gallery and, at 280ft, you will have incredible panoramic views of London.

Exhibition: The Great Restoration of the 1920s

On Christmas Eve 1924 St Paul’s Cathedral was served with a Dangerous Structures notice and was later closed for public safety. Using archive material and objects from the cathedral collections, the exhibition recount the extraordinary and little-known story of how the Cathedral moved and cracked, causing masonry to fall and smash in the nave, testing the limits of the structure and relations with the City of London building authorities.

The display takes you from the problems inherent to the original design, through the emergence of the structural issues, the heated discussion and conflicting advice that arose, the investigations carried out to understand the problems, the challenge of fundraising to save the dome, and the ingenious engineering endeavours that rendered the building safe once more.

Opening Times:

Please note that St. Paul's Cathedral is not open for sightseeing on Sundays.

St. Paul's Cathedral will be reopening for sightseeing visits from Monday 17 May 2021, from Monday to Saturday but with the revised sightseeing opening time of 12pm. Last entry will remain 4pm with sightseeing ending at 4.30pm. This change to opening hours is temporary.

Please click here for opening/closing times and dates.

Dome Galleries:

• In a temporary change, from 17 May to 23 July 2021, access to the Dome Galleries is available only on Saturday visits and for half term weekdays Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2021.

Temporary changes:

• From Monday 5th October, the sightseeing opening will be at 10am rather than 8.30am.
• End of day timings remain the same with last admission at 4pm, last access to Dome Galleries (at present only Stone Gallery is open) at 4.15pm and sightseeing ending at 4.30pm.
• From Monday 5th October, from Monday to Saturday, the first public service will be the 12.30 Eucharist (8am Eucharist will not take place)
• The Morning Prayer at 8.30am will be attended by Ministers only, not the public.

IMPORTANT: Please be aware St Paul’s Cathedral is a working place of worship and is therefore sometimes closed for special services and events.

FREE St Paul’s Tours

Cathedral tour guides lead visitors around the cathedral floor and crypt four times daily. The tours are available in English only, and last approximately 90 minutes. Tours are available Monday - Saturday at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. Please register for a tour on arrival as spaces are limited.

Party size - In line with government guidance, from 17 May visitors should only enter the Cathedral as a party of no more than 6 or as 2 households.

Physical distancing – From arrival, all visitors should maintain one-metre plus distancing from anyone they do not live or share a bubble with. Groups of multiple parties are accepted but each party is asked to enter separately.

Face coverings – Following Government guidelines, face coverings/masks are legally required in places of worship, including the Cathedral shop, unless you have an exemption. 

Cleaning regime – Our staff are regularly cleaning the visitor areas to keep the Cathedral clean and safe for visitors and staff. 

Hand sanitiser – There are hand sanitiser stations on entry to the Cathedral. Visitors are welcome to use their own hand sanitiser as well. 

Card payments – We are only accepting card payments for any spend whilst at the Cathedral. 

Capacity management – To ensure that every visitor and staff member can keep 2 metres (6 feet) apart, we are managing the numbers inside the Cathedral at one time. This includes limits on the number of people who can attend our services. 

Security – The safety and security of our staff remains a priority. We urge visitors not to bring bags, wherever possible. Small bags such as handbags or day packs are permissible (maximum permitted dimensions 45cm x 30cm x 25cm including handles, wheels and pockets) and will be subject to bag searching. There are no cloakroom facilities available. 

Access to Dome Galleries – Within the Dome, the Whispering Gallery remains closed to the public until further notice. The Stone Gallery above is open. Access to the Golden Gallery may be limited as St. Paul's Cathedral works through the challenge of welcoming visitors into the narrow space.

One way system – There is a one way route when climbing the Dome; numbers are limited inside the Dome route at any one time to allow safe 2 metre physical distancing and you may be asked to queue to begin your Dome climb. 

Sightseeing entry timeslots - Sightseeing tickets are assigned a 30 minute entry timeslot to ensure the safe arrival of visitors into the Cathedral. For voucher holders, you will be issued a timeslot on arrival. We always keep capacity reserved for such onsite customer needs. 

Guided tours – the frequency and duration of guided tours and introductory talks may vary at this time.

Multimedia guides – Our included multimedia guides are available to use. Each device is thoroughly cleaned before and after each use. Headphones are available on site, but you are welcome to bring your own (3.5mm jack).