St Patrick's Cathedral

The largest Gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the country, this is the seat of the Archbishop of New York, the staunchly conservative Timothy Dolan, and the place that’s been largely recognized as the center of Catholic life in the United States – drawing a steady stream of both revelers and protesters alike. Built at a cost of nearly $2 million during the Civil War, the church did not originally include the two front spires; those were added in 1888. Although it seats a modest 2400 worshippers, most of New York’s 2.2 million faithful will have been inside at one time or another. Though it may seem like each and every one is there when you show up, muddle through to see some of the exquisite details inside.

After you enter, walk by the eight small shrines along the side of the cathedral, past the shrine to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the main altar, to the quiet Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. From here, you can see the stunning stained-glass Rose Window above the 7000-pipe church organ. A basement crypt behind the altar contains the coffins of every New York cardinal and the remains of Pierre Touissant, a champion of the poor and the first black American up for sainthood (he emigrated from Haiti).

Know that St Patrick’s is not a place for truly restful, spiritual contemplation because of the constant buzz from loud, videorecording and generally disrespectful visitors. Also, while frequent masses take place on the weekend, with New York’s archbishop presiding over the Sunday service at 10:15am (which also includes music from the church choir), casual visitors are allowed in only between services (which are also held at 7am, 8am, 9am, noon, 1pm, 5:30pm and, in Spanish, at 4pm) – so dress up and plan on staying for the long haul if you’re interested.