ST. PAULS CATHEDRAL QUESTION
 

I plan to do the Tower of London from 9 to 1 PM, go to St. Pauls - the primary interest being to climb up the dome and then return back to Tower Bridge to see the lifting of the Tower Bridge which is scheduled for 5.30 PM on that day. Is this schedule feasible - are these places withing walking distance? And is it possible to do St. Pauls alone, ie, without a guided tour - I mean, are there sign boards there guiding people where to go etc ; AND lastly is it possible to climb up the dome / see the cathedral in about 2 hours to come back to Tower Bridge (for a normal healthy 30 yr old male !!)

Hi sv. Yes, your plan is doable. You can walk from the Tower to St. Paul's in about 25 minutes. The cathedral has hand-held audio guides which are fine. Two hours will be sufficient for a good look around, including the crypt and climbing the dome, but you could easily spend a whole afternoon there... if you find yourself running late at the Tower, an alternative suggestion is to go up the Monument, another Wren structure with a great view over London, built to commemorate the Great Fire in 1666. It's quite close to the Tower, is the tallest free-standing column in the world, and the view from the top has the added bonus of including St Paul's in it... and costs about £1.50 (quite a bit cheaper than St. Paul's). If you opt for this, do read the wonderful translation of the Latin inscriptions on three sides of the column... spine-tingling.

Hi sv,

According to www.mappy.com, it is about 2 km from St Paul's to The Tower.

((I))

IIRC, St Paul's opens an hour before the tower. Why not go there first?

Keith

I thought both open at 9; and since the lines are said to be much longer in the Tower, I'd kept St.Pauls for afternoon.

You can take the number 15 bus between the Tower and St Paul's. You won't see anything much of the bridge rising if you go to one end of Tower Bridge, so I'd suggest taking the number 17 from St Paul's to London Bridge. You can see it from there, or if there's time, walk along the south bank past HM Belfast and get the best view from beside City Hall.

Going to the Tower first as you planned is good, since it will be much more crowded than St Paul's.

And PatrickLondon is right - the view of the lift will not be good from the bridge itself. Either on the southbank near the HMS Belfast, or down river a bit in front of the Design Museum, or from the Tower Bridge Wharf just beyond St Katharine's Dock would give better views.

But just another option you could consider: Getting to the Tower between 10:00 and about 1:30 isn't a very good idea due to the crowds. But later in the day the crowds tend to thin out a bit. So you could go to St Paul's early, then do something else until about 2:00. Maybe walk across the Millenium Bridge and along the south bank. See the Tate, Globe, etc. Then go to the Tower around 2:00-2:30 and then find a good place to watch the bridge lift.

Just checked. It only a half hour difference. St. Paul's opens at 8:30 AM>

Keith