Christmas Evensong at Westminster Abbey

I almost always go to Evensong at the Abbey when I visit London. You will probably only see the section inside the West door, not the entire Abbey I noticed on the web it describes that service being in the Quire (Choir) area, but there was a screen between where I usually sit and the actual choir area. Maybe I could have gone around the screen, I never thought to do that. Because the crowds are larger I am sure at the holiday they may require more sitting area and thus you may be able to see more of the Abbey. Nevertheless, I recommend you go to Evensong even if you are not able to view the entirety of this magnificent building.

Given that this situation was entirely predictable London Walks should not be taking bookings for dates outwith the Abbey's own booking windows (at any time).

There were always going to be multiple services on the 23rd December, especially given the strange timing of Christmas this year where Christmas Eve is also on a Sunday.

St Paul's Cathedral is not ticketed for anything but their carol services on the 23rd and 24th. So Midnight Mass and all the Christmas Day services at St Paul's are unticketed events, as worship services should be.

The fact that Evensong is unticketed says that they are not expecting huge numbers Nor would I expect it to be crowded out- I would have thought most people would be having their lunch, then either a snooze or a walk after the morning services. I know at my local cathedral when I went on Christmas Day once that Evensong was a relatively small affair (after the busyness of the morning), and then Compline in mid evening was quite an intimate affair.

The fact that Evensong is unticketed says that they are not expecting huge numbers

Normally I would draw this conclusion also, but my 3 friends just attended the unticketed Advent Carol evensong on Sunday. They arrived 30 min early to a line already in place and noted that some people who came later than they did were seated in an area where they could hear but not see directly. I would now draw the conclusion that you might want to be early. It’s a risk I would be willing to take……

I've attended the Christmas Day Sung Eucharist (ie the second morning service) at Westminster Abbey several times and it's generally been fairly quiet - we've normally arrived 30 minutes before and been seated in a good spot. I would imagine Evensong would be similar. People tend to attend their local parish churches on Christmas Day.

Another suggestion for Evensong is St Brides.

If the Abbey is a must I’d say 45 minutes in advance but merely speculation.

You might also check to see if St Bartholomew The Great is offering evensong on the 23rd. Gorgeous church.

Thank you all for the responses, they've been very helpful! It sounds like Christmas Day evensong could be an option for us. Westminster Abbey is not far from where we're staying, so with no car/no public transit that day, it's a good, walkable option.

So do you have feedback on how busy evensong was at the Abbey today, please?

Unfortunately, one of us wasn't feeling well today so we ended up staying close to home. Transport wise, it would have been easy enough to get there via Santander bikes as they were in plentiful supply all around us in Pimlico (a couple of us did go for a short ride just to get out and about today - lots of cars, bikes and pedestrians on the roads). I'm sorry I couldn't contribute to the collective knowledge on this one...