These concerts are a treasure. Such a treasure that I kick myself all the time for not knowing about them earlier, and I try to drag every visitor I can to go see them. Now, St Pauls and the other major cathedrals all cost an arm and a leg (to the tune of £12 each!) to visit, and thus get skipped by anyone who hasn't set themselves a generous spending allowance!
But wouldn't it be nice to see the cathedral in all its glory, sitting under it's magnificent dome? Wouldn't it be great to admire the acoustics as the huge, newly restored pipe organ churns out fantastic music, music so powerful that you sit there and shiver and the air shakes around you? And wouldn't it be nice it if it was free, and the best way to get into the cathedral without feigning religious belief?
Yes, there is a way! These fabulous concerts take place every Sunday afternoon, almost without interruption throughout the year. Around major holidays (Christmas, Easter) I'd take a look at the St Pauls website to make sure they are on: http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Worship-Music/Music-Programme. I notice the site hasnt been updated with 2010 yet, but hopefully they will put up the new schedule soon. The music varies week to week and there are many guest organists, so its worth repeat visits.
Its worth mentioning that no site-seeing is allowed in St Paul's on Sundays, so walking around to every corner with your camera wont be possible. For this, you'll need to cough up the admission charge during the week. The staff do politely shoo everyone out at the end of the concert, but they are generally unpushy so you get a fair few glances at the architecture. But after sitting under the dome, listening to the organ play in all its glory, who cares? You've already seen the best there is to see.
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