St. Giles-without-Cripplegate is one of the City churches that survived London by refusing to disappear. A church has stood here since the 11th century, though the building has been repaired and rebuilt after repeated damage, most recently after the Second World War.
It now sits within the Barbican estate, which makes the contrast part of the visit: medieval church fabric, postwar reconstruction, and brutalist concrete all in one tight frame. It is a good stop on a London Wall walk or a quiet detour from the Museum of London area.