5 Best Churches in London (2026)

St. Paul's Cathedral has stood at the top of Ludgate Hill since the early 1700s, and it remains an active Anglican cathedral as well as one of London's most visited landmarks. Sir Christopher Wren's dome tops a building that hosts daily worship alongside guided tours, an audio guide, and a climb to the Whispering Gallery and beyond. Entry is free for those attending worship, while sightseeing tickets fund the cathedral's upkeep.

Westminster Abbey has hosted coronations and royal ceremonies for close to a thousand years, and it remains a working Anglican church as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbey holds regular services, including Evensong and Choral Eucharist, alongside its role housing the tombs and memorials of monarchs and notable figures. Its choir and organ recital programme runs year-round.

Westminster Cathedral, on Victoria Street, is the Mother Church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. Designed by John Francis Bentley in a distinctive Byzantine style and completed in 1903, it holds Mass throughout the day, seven days a week, and offers daily confession. Its campanile and marble-and-mosaic interior set it apart from London's more common Gothic churches.

St Martin-in-the-Fields sits on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square, an Anglican parish church known equally for its congregation and its packed programme of concerts. The current Georgian building, designed by James Gibbs, was completed in 1726, though a church has stood on the site since at least 1222. Beneath the church, its crypt houses a cafe and social space, and the parish is well known for its outreach work with London's homeless community.

Temple Church, tucked just off Fleet Street, was built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century and is considered one of the earliest Gothic buildings in England. It still serves the legal community today, attached to the Inner and Middle Temple, and its round nave draws visitors interested in Templar history as much as worshippers. The church survived a serious blitz-era fire and has since been carefully restored.