London, England: St. Paul's Church

St. Paul's Church has been the parish church for Covent Gardens for a long time. Yet, that distinction takes a back seat to its other status. Valuable clue: It's known as the Actors' Church.

The relationship between stage and church becomes apparent when walking around the church itself to get to the back yard. There are a couple of actual spots for theater productions on the relatively small grounds, which as you can see in the picture are nicely done.

Plays have been sponsored here for more than 300 years. The first public performance of Pygmalion, later turned into My Fair Lady, was here. W.S. Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) was baptized here. The composer of Rule Britannia, Thomas Arne, is buried here. The place even has its own theater company and orchestra.

That's a lot of history in a small spot. But that's London.

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