St Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's is pretty amazing to see - it stands out in the architecture and has a great view from Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge. Inside, there is an audio tour to help walk you through the history of the structure - it's worth listening to, so you know what you're looking at.

If you're up for it and in decent shape, take the stairs trip up to the dome and lookout area. It's a long hike up a spiral staircase to get up to the dome area, which is the whisper room. This room is amazing - I had friends on the side of the room whisper a few words and I could hear them on the other side of the dome! The sound just bounces all over the walls there - pretty amazing to hear. From there, you can ascend a very tight and somewhat difficult stone stair climb up to the outdoor lookout area where you'll have a few of much of London.

St Paul's Cathedral is a must for any first time visitor to London, if only to see the place that you've heard so much about. It is afterall the place where Princess Diana was married and built by the infamous Christopher Wren.

That being said, I found Westminster Abbey to be more enjoyable in terms of history. But to be fair, I took a guided verger tour at the Abbey and chose to explore St. Paul's on my own, so I know I didn't get as much out of the visit as I could have. I spent about an hour there in all, and the beautiful gilded alter is quite impressive and worth the admission fee. If only they allowed pictures inside! The chapel dedicated to servicemen who lost their lives in combat is nice, and the crypt underneath has noted dignitaries like Lord Nelson and Florence Nightingale.

There is a bit of a catch: arrive early, and you will beat the crowds, but the galleries won't open until later. Arrive when the galleries are open, and you have to wander through the crowds. So pick your obstacle and plan to tack on the appropriate time if you need to wait your turn with the crowds.