Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After another set of stairs, you're at the Stone Gallery, with views of London. If
you're exhausted, claustrophobic, or wary of heights, this middle level might be high
enough. (The top level has very little standing room for tourists.)
Finally a long, tight, metal staircase takes you to the very top of the cupola, the Golden
Gallery. (Just before the final dozen stairs to the top, there's a tiny window at your feet
that allows you to peek directly down—350 feet—to the church floor.) Once at the top,
you emerge to stunning unobstructed views of the city. Looking west, you'll see the Lon-
don Eye and Big Ben. To the south, across the Thames, is the rectangular smokestack of
the Tate Modern, with Shakespeare's Globe nestled nearby. To the east sprouts a glassy
garden of new skyscrapers, including the 600-foot-tall, black-topped Tower 42 and the
bullet-shaped 30 St. Mary Axe building (nicknamed “The Gherkin”). Looking farther into
the distance, you'll see London's future—the teeming, fast-growing expanse of the East
End and the Docklands. The cluster of skyscrapers marks Canary Wharf. Just north of that
was the site of the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Descend the dome to church level, then follow signs directing you downstairs to the...
Crypt
Many famous people are buried here. Start by locating the central tomb of
Horatio Nelson,
who wore down Napoleon. It's a big coffin-on-a-pedestal in a round alcove at the center of
