St Paul's Cathedral

Get yourself feeling ridiculously festive with an evening of carols inside Sir Christopher Wren’s architectural masterpiece, aka St Paul’s Cathedral. The legendary London landmark hosts a series of mostly free, unticketed carol concerts each year. Visit over December for a huge range of concerts, including family-friendly services, Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur (one of the greatest organ works of the 20th century), and traditional carols. Things kick off with an advent service on November 29. The big events to look out for are A Celebration of Christmas (Dec 9) and the Christmas Carol Services (Dec 23 and 24. The concerts are always hugely popular, so get down there early and be prepared to queue. Start practising your high notes now. You can find full information here. 

There’s something magical about the way Swedes hold carol services. This traditional Lucia service sees the Ulrika Eleonora Church Choir wear angelic white gowns and process through the church wearing crowns of green leaves on their head and holding candles, before singing carols in a candlelit church led by director of music Fredrik Karlsson, to mark Advent and Christmas. As well as performing at their own church, they’ll also be taking the glowing concert to several other illustrious venues, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral.