St Paul’s Cathedral

Time Out says

Wed Aug 15 2012

The passing of three centuries has done nothing to diminish the magnificence of St Paul's Cathedral, Christopher Wren's masterpiece and London's most famous cathedral. In the last decade, a £40m restoration project has painstakingly removed most of the Victorian grime from the walls and the extravagant main façade looks as brilliant today as it must have when the first stones were placed in 1708. The vast open space of the interior contains memorials to national heroes such as Wellington and Lawrence of Arabia, poets John Donne and William Blake, and scientist Alexander Fleming; there are also select pieces of contemporary art and fabulous decorative touches. But the highlights of the place are above you in - and on - the dome: within it is the Whispering Gallery, with its famously good acoustics, and on top is the Golden Gallery, providing giddying views. As well as tours of the main cathedral and self-guided audio tours, you can book to join special tours of the Triforium – which take in the library, where you can see Wren's original 'Great Model', built to sell his architectural vision to the City commissioners.