5D/4N Backpacking London Without A Tour – Free & Easy (Part 5) : A Picnic at St. Paul’s Cathedral (Opening Hours, Admission Tickets & Security Measures)

The St. Paul’s Cathedral in the city of London is a magnificent Baroque church designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1673. It is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights in London, United Kingdom. The iconic Cathedral is accessible via public transport, namely the London Underground. 😀

Getting to St. Paul’s Cathedral via the London Underground

In the hip and happening district of Shoreditch, East London, my sister and I walked from The Dictionary Hostel to the nearest London Underground station in the area – Old Street Station. The journey took us about 10 minutes. The nearest London Underground station to St. Paul’s Cathedral is St. Paul’s Station – our destination.

For your info, travelling via public transport in London, UK is much convenient and also cheaper when using a Visitor Oyster card. I wrote and shared a blog post on that topic several weeks ago. To know the benefits of having a Visitor Oyster card and how you can purchase it, click here.

From the Old Street Station, we took the Northern Line train heading towards Morden. We then disembarked at Bank Station to change trains to get to St. Paul’s Station. There, we boarded the Central Line train heading towards Ealing Broadway. Finally, we got off at the first station which is St. Paul’s Station and made our way towards St. Paul’s Cathedral on foot. 😉

The Cathedral’s Opening Hours & Admission Charges

The St. Paul’s Cathedral is a working church with hourly prayer and daily services. The Cathedral is open to the public for sightseeing: Monday to Saturday from 8.30am – 4.30pm. The galleries open at 9.30am and the last admission to the Cathedral is at 4pm. The Cathedral’s admission charges are as follows:

Although an admission charge is made to visit the Cathedral during the day, there is no admission charge for those that wish to use St. Dunstan’s Chapel for prayer or for those who wish to worship with any of the Cathedral’s services. 🙂 For more information, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral’s official website here.

Of Strict Photography, Security & A Lovely Sushi Bento Picnic at St. Paul’s Cathedral

For your info, filming and photography is not allowed inside St. Paul’s Cathedral, but is permitted on the external galleries, without tripods, and on a non-commercial basis. Unfortunately, the Cathedral was having an event on the day my sister and I visited the Cathedral, so we did not manage to enter it. 🙁 It was such a waste for we wanted to see and admire the awe-inspiring interior décor of the Cathedral.

Nevertheless, we spent our time exploring the surroundings of the beautiful Cathedral, took some photographs and even managed to have a lovely sushi bento picnic in the Cathedral’s compound. Our fresh sushi bento set meal (sold at £7 each) was bought at a nearby Japanese café on Panyer Alley. We also got to play with the chubbiest squirrels we have ever laid our eyes on! Those adorable creatures were not afraid of humans at all. 😀

For security reasons, no large bags, rucksacks or suitcases may be brought into St. Paul’s Cathedral. Visitors and worshippers to the Cathedral may not bring any item larger than an aeroplane’s cabin hand luggage into the services, events or visits at any time of the day.

Up next: A visit to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge