The City of London: St Paul's, the Bank junction, Guildhall and the Temple

St Paul's Cathedral stands on Ludgate Hill at St Paul's Churchyard, EC4M 8AD. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1079157, on 4 January 1950, and the National Heritage List entry is titled 'Cathedral Church of St Paul' rather than St Paul's Cathedral. Doors open at 8.30am on Monday to Saturday on most days, last entry for sightseeing is usually at 4pm, and sightseeing ends 30 minutes after the last entry time. The cathedral states that tickets are 'priced at £27 per adult and £10.50 per child with discounts for families, groups and concessions and free tickets for those with a disability'. On Sundays between 15 March and 25 October 2026 the three Dome Galleries open, but the cathedral floor is not open for general sightseeing.

The churchyard is a cluster of separate list entries. At least five items around the cathedral carry their own designation on the National Heritage List, among them the Chapter House at Grade II*, NHLE 1358896, the statue of Queen Anne in the forecourt at Grade II, NHLE 1079158, and the churchyard railings at Grade I, NHLE 1194622. A name search for St Paul in the list returns the choir school, four lamp posts and telephone kiosks but never the cathedral itself, which is entered as 'Cathedral Church of St Paul', so the number to hold on to is 1079157.

The Central Criminal Court, known by the name of its street as the Old Bailey, is at Old Bailey, EC4M 7EH. It is listed Grade II*, NHLE 1359218, on 28 February 1970, and the list entry names it 'CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT'. HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes the court as open 8am to 7pm with public access from 9.30am to 3.30pm, and the counter open 10am to 5pm. It is a working Crown Court rather than a museum, and a visit means sitting in a public gallery while a trial goes on.

St Mary-le-Bow stands on Cheapside, the medieval market street running from St Paul's towards the Bank junction, at EC2V 6AU. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1064696, on 4 January 1950, under the list entry name 'CHURCH OF ST MARY LE BOW'. It is a working parish church and its bells are the ones traditionally said to define a Cockney, who must be born within earshot of Bow Bells. No source states its opening hours, so none are given here.

The Bank of England Museum is entered from Bartholomew Lane, EC2R 8AH, and not from the Threadneedle Street front. Admission is free. It opens Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, and it closes at weekends and on bank holidays, which is unusual for a London museum. Museum Lates run every third Thursday of the month until 8pm, with last entry at 7.30pm and booking recommended. The Bank of England building itself is listed Grade I, NHLE 1079134, on 4 January 1950, and the Bank's war memorial carries its own Grade II entry, NHLE 1441311. The Royal Exchange, Grade I, NHLE 1064713, also listed on 4 January 1950, stands at the same junction; it no longer works as an exchange and its courtyard is now shops and restaurants.

Leadenhall Market runs off Gracechurch Street at EC3V 1LT. It is listed Grade II*, NHLE 1286182, on 5 June 1972, under the entry name 'LEADENHALL MARKET WITH SUBSIDIARY NUMBERING'. The operator states there has been a market on the site since the 14th century and describes 'The Victorian-built arches of today's market'. The public areas remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while opening hours for the shops, bars and restaurants inside vary, and the operator recommends checking directly with individual retailers before visiting.

The Lloyd's building is at 1 Lime Street, EC3M 7DX. Richard Rogers's inside-out design puts the lifts, stairs and ducts on the outside. It was completed on 18 November 1986 and listed Grade I, NHLE 1405493, on 19 December 2011, twenty-five years after it was finished. There is no public admission: it is an operating insurance market, and it is looked at from the street. An older and different Lloyd's building carries a separate Grade II entry, NHLE 1359206, from 1972, and the two must not be confused.

The London Mithraeum is at 12 Walbrook, EC4N 8AA, below modern ground level, reached by descending from the street-level entrance. The Roman temple was found on the Walbrook in 1954, moved away from its original site, and later returned to a position close to where it was excavated, beneath the Bloomberg building. It is listed Grade II, NHLE 1391846, on 25 January 2007, under the entry name 'TEMPLE OF MITHRAS'. Admission is free, and the operator states that 'Pre-booked tickets are not required but to guarantee entry, we encourage visitors to book a free ticket in advance'. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 to 18.00, Sunday 12.00 to 17.00, Wednesday during term time 12.30 to 18.00 and the first Thursday of the month 10.00 to 20.00, closed Mondays and on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Visits are self-guided and take approximately one hour.

The Monument stands on Fish Street Hill, EC3R 8AH. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1193901, on 4 January 1950. The operator describes it as a 202ft column designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr Robert Hooke, and there are 311 steps to the viewing platform. It commemorates the Great Fire of London of 1666. Admission is £7.00 for an adult and £3.50 for a child, and it opens daily 09:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 12:30 and 17:30.

St Dunstan-in-the-East Church Garden is on St Dunstan's Hill, EC3R 5AA. The church was bombed in the Second World War and the surviving walls and tower were laid out as a free public garden. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1359173, on 4 January 1950, and the list entry itself records the building as a ruin. The churchyard walls, gates and railings carry a separate Grade II entry, NHLE 1286322. It is not St Dunstan-in-the-West on Fleet Street, which is a different Grade I church, NHLE 1064663. No source states opening hours for the garden, so none are given here.

Guildhall is on Gresham Street, EC2V 7HH, and is the seat of the City of London Corporation, the City's principal authority. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1064675, on 4 January 1950, and the list entry is simply 'GUILDHALL'. There are 219 entries nationally on the National Heritage List whose names contain Guildhall, and only 1064675 is this one. The former Guildhall Library and Museum alongside it is listed Grade II*, NHLE 1064744, and the West Wing Grade II, NHLE 1476841. The Great Hall is open in part and closes for civic events; no source states its opening hours, so none are given here.

Guildhall Art Gallery and London's Roman Amphitheatre share one address, Guildhall Yard, EC2V 5AE, and one visit. The remains of the amphitheatre lie beneath Guildhall Yard and are displayed in the gallery's basement. The Corporation states that admission is free but that visitors are encouraged to book a general admission ticket, and that 'Free introductory tours, conducted by Guildhall Art Gallery's team of City Guides, are available every day, from Tuesday to Sunday, at 12.15pm and 1:15pm and last 30-45 minutes. No booking is required.' The Smartify app is supported, and the Corporation states it 'allows you to discover the stories contained within Guildhall Art Gallery's paintings on your personal device'. The present gallery building is a 1990s replacement and is not on the National Heritage List. No source states its regular weekly hours, so none are given here.

The Barbican Centre and the Barbican Estate are one designation and one address, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS. The estate is listed Grade II, NHLE 1352667, on 5 September 2001, under the entry name 'Barbican', and the single listing covers the estate including the arts centre. The estate landscape is separately on the Register of Parks and Gardens as 'THE BARBICAN', Grade II*, NHLE 1001668, registered on 20 February 2003; that is a registered park and garden rather than a listed building, and the register does carry a grade. The estate was built on ground cleared by wartime bombing and incorporates a surviving stretch of the Roman and medieval London Wall. The Centre opens Monday to Friday 8am to 11pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 11pm and bank holidays 11am to 11pm; the Barbican Art Gallery keeps its own hours, Tuesday and Wednesday 10am to 6pm, Thursday and Friday 10am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed Mondays and bank holidays; the box office ticket desk on Level G opens Monday to Sunday 10am to 7.30pm. The Centre warns that opening times for individual venues, restaurants and galleries may vary depending on the day's events.

The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great is on Cloth Fair, EC1A 7JQ, and opens Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and on Sunday between services. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1180873, on 4 January 1950, as 'CHURCH OF ST BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT', and the parish states that worship has continued on the site for over 900 years. The Tudor gatehouse onto West Smithfield carries a Grade II entry, NHLE 1358892. The neighbouring St Bartholomew's Hospital complex carries its own entries, including the Gatehouse at Grade I, NHLE 1079115, and the Church of St Bartholomew the Less at Grade II, NHLE 1180946.

Smithfield Central Market's East building is at West Smithfield, EC1A 9HP, and is listed Grade II*, NHLE 1285241, on 5 June 1972, under the entry name 'East building of Central Market'. It is a wholesale meat market rather than a place to shop: the operator publishes its hours as Monday to Friday midnight to 7am, with Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays closed, and 25 and 26 December and 1 January closed. The separate Smithfield Poultry Market carries a Grade II entry, NHLE 1381209. Five Grade II entries cover the historic telephone kiosks in the Central Markets, and they are not all individual: NHLE 1251741 names a pair of K2 kiosks, NHLE 1262591 a single K2 kiosk, and NHLE 1251822, 1251824 and 1251825 three K6 kiosks. The London Museum states that its permanent galleries in the adjoining Victorian General Market building open on 28 November 2026.

Temple Church is at Temple, EC4Y 7BB, in the precinct governed jointly by the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, the City's two authorities other than the Corporation. It was built by the Knights Templar and its round nave follows the plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is listed Grade I, NHLE 1064646, on 4 January 1950, under the entry name 'TEMPLE CHURCH (ST MARY'S)'. Sightseeing runs Monday to Friday 10:00am to 4:00pm and the church is closed for sightseeing on Saturday and Sunday; Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are given over to Anglican acts of worship, and the church advises checking its calendar, since services and events vary the hours. Admission is stated by the church as '£5.00 | £3.00 | Free to children, Inn members, Inns and Chambers staff and their guests.' The Inner Temple Gatehouse, Grade II*, NHLE 1064693, and the Middle Temple Gatehouse, Grade I, NHLE 1064612, stand on Fleet Street, and Middle Temple Hall carries its own Grade I entry, NHLE 1064609.

Dr Johnson's House is at 17 Gough Square, EC4A 3DE, reached through a network of narrow courts off Fleet Street and easy to walk past. Samuel Johnson compiled his Dictionary of the English Language in the garret. The house is listed Grade I, NHLE 1192738, on 4 January 1950, under the entry name 'DR JOHNSONS HOUSE'. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, and Sunday 12pm to 4pm, with last entry at 3.30pm, and closes on Mondays. Admission is £10.00 for an adult, £9.00 for students with valid student ID and £5 for ages 5 to 16, with under-fives free, and the operator runs a Friday Afternoon Special from 2pm to 5pm at £5 for adults.

Two more Grade I entries in the City cost nothing to look at, and both are on the National Heritage List in their own right: Temple Bar, NHLE 1393844, and Mansion House, NHLE 1064604.

Bank and Monument are one interchange, linked underground. At Bank take the Central line, the Northern line, the Waterloo and City line or the DLR; at Monument take the Circle line or the District line. Liverpool Street carries the Central, Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines, the Elizabeth line, the Weaver line of the London Overground, Greater Anglia and c2c. Moorgate carries the Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan and Northern lines and Great Northern services, all from one station. Farringdon carries the Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines, the Elizabeth line and Thameslink, again from one station.

For St Paul's and Ludgate, take the Central line to St Paul's, or the Circle or District line to Mansion House. City Thameslink is a Thameslink station on the same walk. London Blackfriars carries Southeastern and Thameslink services, and the Circle and District lines call at the same station.

For Bank, Cornhill and Leadenhall, use Bank and Monument, or Cannon Street, where the Circle and District lines and Southeastern trains share one station, or Liverpool Street for the Leadenhall end.

For Guildhall, Smithfield and the Barbican, take the Circle, Hammersmith and City or Metropolitan line to Barbican, or use Moorgate or Farringdon. Barbican station is also the nearest stop to Charterhouse Square, 161 metres away over the boundary in Islington.

For Temple and Fleet Street, take the Circle or District line to Temple, which is the nearest Underground station to the Inns of Court although the station itself lies over the boundary in the City of Westminster. Blackfriars and City Thameslink both serve the Fleet Street end.