St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York | Free-City-Guides.com

St Patrick’s Cathedral is a beautiful historic place of worship located amongst designer stores and skyscrapers in New York. It’s the largest Gothic cathedral in the United States and covers an entire New York city block. Construction started in 1858 and took 20 years because of delays during the American Civil War. What you see today is a masterpiece of Gothic design, packed with stained glass and impressive vaulted ceilings.

We found it to be a really relaxing and peaceful place to be. We’d recommend taking a seat in a pew for a while and looking around before you start to explore. There’s so much to see here but for us, the stunning ceilings keep drawing the eye and you’re best looking at them when you’re sitting down. Around the altar is a huge wooden screen with a walkway behind. This gives access to the smaller chapels and occasional art works. Don’t miss the stunning mosaics!

In total, there are 12 chapels in the side aisles of the cathedral, each with their own decorations and design. You can learn more about the chapels by taking a Audio Guide Tour. In the northern side-aisle, look out for the dark wood baptistry, which sits on a big chunk of marble. We were also fascinated by the huge Gothic pulpit. This was added in 1885 and is octagonal in shape. It’s 14 feet tall (that’s just over 4m) and weighs around 16 tonnes.

St Patrick’s cathedral is free to enter and enjoy. It’s open from 6.45am to 8.45pm daily. When you’ve finished your visit, don’t miss the highlights of the Rockefeller Center over the road.