London Sightseeing/St. Paul's cathedral

The very small, and free, (donations welcome) underground museum at St Bride's Church is a 7 minute walk from St Paul's. The crypt at St. Bride's Church was found after bombings during the London Blitz destroyed the church.

https://lookup.london/st-brides-crypt-museum-fleet-street/

This is a great area for just walking around and seeing some of London’s less well-known sights, One stop on the tube to Bank station and a short walk will take you to the Mithraeum Museum containing material from many of the Roman sites in this, one of the oldest areas of the city. There also are some interesting churches in the area many designed by Christopher Wren after the fire. Close to St. Paul’s are the ruins of Christchurch Greyfrier’s church. The original church dating from the 1200’s was destroyed in the Great Fire and rebuilt to a design of Wren. The church, except for the walls and steeple was destroyed during the Blitz in 1940. It was decided not to rebuild but to leave the remains in situ and create a public garden. Look at Google maps or Google earth and see what appeals.

One excellent site a short walk away is Guildhall in Gresham Street. It’s the ceremonial headquarters of the City of London and has an excellent small art gallery that is one of the least-known in London, it seems. It’s free.

https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/attractions-museums-entertainment/guildhall-art-gallery/visit-guildhall-art-gallery

But also in the basement you can see the remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre - just there, right in the middle of the city. There’s not a huge amount left but the display is very effective, and I found it really moving to feel that history. It’s also free: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/attractions-museums-entertainment/londons-roman-amphitheatre

Then once you’re back out into the courtyard of Guildhall, you’ll see in the pavement that they’ve marked the full extent of the amphitheatre.

I also recommend the Mithraeum mentioned above. It’s free, but you do need to book. I’d say it’s walking distance from St Paul’s. The whole City of London (the small historic financial district that St Paul’s lies on the western edge of) is packed with old churches, all of interest.

Oh, one more big one - but it does depend when you’ll be here.

London Museum at the old Smithfield Market opens in 2026: https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/smithfield/

The old Museum of London at the Barbican always made a very good double with St Paul’s and I’ve really missed it. Can’t wait for the new one to open.

What is it you're wanting to do that morning? Fill time before going somewhere in the afternoon? There are many things to do in the area so it might help to know what puzzle pieces you are working on so suggestions fit your plans. Depending on the day of the week it may or may not be less crowded at 8:30 (assuming you want fewer people for "photography purposes"). I think you can email them and ask if you can come and go but I am guessing not - it's a busy place.

FWIW, I did a nice walk in that area in the morning, from the Tower of London to St. Pauls. Along the way is St Dunstan in the East Church garden. Not a big deal site but it's very beautiful and is the ruins of a Wren church. A good place to sit and cool your feet for a moment.

Thanks for the ideas, so far.

@CL, basically, I'm trying to get an itinerary set, up with a bunch of pieces. I usually do not make a hour by hour itinerary for my trips as I like to keep things fluid. That said, I'm working with quite a few places that seem to be best first thing in the morning and also places that are closed several days and then, places like Hampton Court and Windsor where certain parts, like chapels, are closed on certain days. There is so much we are interested in, that we will just have to see another time. My objective with this question is to perhaps get suggestions for museums or other places we can get to quickly on the tube to spend a few hours. I can't imagine being at St. Paul's more than three hours? But, it sounds like tour times aren't available until day of. This is what I have so far in my itinerary:

Thursday--9:30, Westminster Abbey, Birdcage walk, walk around Buckingham palace, London Walks, The Blitz, and National Archives open late, go for MI5 exhibit
Friday--8:30, St Paul's, OPEN block of time, 6:39, London Walks, Along the Thames, Pub
Saturday, Windsor Castle
Sunday, Bletchley
Monday, Towerof London, first morning time, 7:30 Mincemeat at Fortune Theatre
Tuesday, Churchill War Rooms
Wednesday, Hampton Court, Possibly, London Walks, Hidden Pubs

There are a lot of museums we wanted to get to, we will for sure, get to the Imperial War Museum. Beyond that if we can, we'd like to get to the British Library, V & A, Tate Modern for the view. We may try to take advantage of some of the museums’ late hours. My point with this post, maybe someone familiar with London, knows that with the tube, its a quick ride with no changes to a museum we are interested in. We'd also like to do some walking along the Thames and in other areas. We had really hoped to get to Wimbledon, but it doesn't look like that will happen.

Just to make things more fun, it looks like our first few days may be affected by a tube strike

By the Bank tube station is the Bank of England Museum. It’s less than a mile from the cathedral.

You have a lot on your agenda! I was just in London and most things are about a 20 minute tube ride, even with changes (strike situation aside). I can't remember where your hotel is, but maybe push St. Paul's back toward the lunch hour and then you'll be situated to get to Blackfriar's tube station for your London Walk. I can't imagine spending 3 hours in St. Paul's even if you do climb the dome, but that is just me.

Of all the things you listed in your follow up, the Tate Modern is a 13 minute walk from St. Pauls. You could go to St. Pauls, walk to Tate Modern, find some lunch, meet your 2 p.m. walking tour. Depending on where that ends, you could hop over to V&A for late Friday opening. That would be a very long, full day.

I love to visit St. Paul's Church (not cathedral), which is commonly called The Actors' Church. The connection between the theatres in the area and the church goes back to the 1600's. It's really a beautiful yet simple looking church designed by Inigo Jones. There are lots of memorials there for many well-known actors, and it also contains the ashes of Ellen Terry and Dame Edith Evans. It has a beautiful garden outside and is a very peaceful place to sit amidst the bustle of Covent Garden.

The one day I wouldn't try to get to Bletchley Park is Sunday. It will be more crowded but they handle crowds well.

The kink is in getting there (and back) because the Sunday train timetables between Bletchley and London Euston (and this is mirrored elsewhere on Sundays) are at their thinnest, with fewest trains and especially in the first half of the day, those trains that do run will stop at all or the vast majority of stations along the way. During the week it is easy to get a train which is first stop Leighton Buzzard, then Bletchley is the second stop. On a Sunday you will often find a train stopping at Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard, and Bletchley is as much as the 11th stop. All those extra stops mean extra time, making the train very much slower.

Saturday is better, if you don't mind football fans who can be boisterous and loud, and more trains after the first few will call at fewer stops.

Really the best choice for Bletchley Park is often mid-day, mid-week.

At St Paul's Cathedral if you don't take a tour be sure to see the American Chapel which is situated behind the high altar. Read the history on line. It is most impressive and for us a highlight of the Cathedral. It was built in a part of the church that was damaged during the blitz, paid for by British citizens and dedicated to the 28,000 Americans who were killed during WWII while based in the UK.

@Gail, good tip, thanks!

@Nigel, well, I both appreciate and I'm discouraged by your comment. So now I'm thinking I'll do Bletchley on Saturday, Windsor on Monday and tower of London on friday?? I've been looking at train tickets again. Am I correct that there is no price difference if I purchase the return separately and I don't have to purchase the return in advance?

I'm giving some thought to doing the Tower of London at opening and then St. Paul's after?? My only concern, is if I do the Tower on Friday, September 12, if the tube isn't running, it would be a long walk from our hotel.

an Advance Single may save £4 but would lock you in. Off-Peak Day Return (or two Off-Peak Singles) Euston - Bletchley is £23.20, not a bad price and complete flexibility on a Saturday. The full priced Anytime is £51 which is much more.

Something I really enjoyed seeing that is fairly close to St Paul's was the Queenhithe Mosaic, it's 30 metres long and located along an Anglo-Saxon era dock--pretty much directly across the Thames from the Globe Theatre. It tells the story of London from ancient times to present and it's just so charming and fabulously detailed, it is well-worth an effort to find it...I tried in 2023 but got turned around and it started raining and I gave up, but was successful in 2024.
https://livinglondonhistory.com/queenhithe-an-anglo-saxon-dock-and-a-wonderful-mosaic/

Jules, just wanted to add that my husband loved the MI5 exhibit at the National Archives. And it dovetailed well with the London Walk he took a few days later – London's Spymasters, which he said was fantastic. Unfortunately that walk isn't held very often and looks like it won't fall within your dates.

If you're into that kind of thing, the Hunterian Museum by Lincoln's Inn Fields is a 20-minute walk from St Paul's. Lots of interesting medical-related exhibits, from modern surgery to all sorts of sometimes grisly specimens. Oh, I see it will be closed during your visit. Keeping it here in case it interests someone else!

@Laura, good to hear that the MI5 is worthwhile! We are disappointed that we are not able to see everything we are interested in. So, when choices had to be made we decided to prioritize temporary exhibits, and places very uniquely English.

@Christa, sounds quite interesting, thank you.

You'll be near the Tate Modern, there's a long recent thread about it. Walking over and back on the bridge is worth it, I thought the art in the museum was medium but it's an interesting space and there's a balcony where you can get a great city shot (including St Pauls of course)