St Martin in the Fields

It’s a beautiful church for services but also have a beautiful crypt below with its café and restaurant, brass rubbing centre, art gallery, gift shop, Christmas shop during Christmas period, box office for concerts in the church, and an exhibition area. Something for everyone!

This church has extremely simple looking interiors — compared to the grandeur of other gothic and Renaissance churches in London.
But what it has is an amazing pipe organ and acoustics.
So this is not a church where you walk in to admire it’s beauty, but this is a church where you should visit during choral evensong to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of its church.

The free afternoon concert was great and so was the Crypt café below for substantial and tasty food at great prices.

I attended their lunchtime concert and was wowed by the wonderful acoustics, beautiful surroundings and impressive musicianship. Check their offerings of free concerts, it’s an unforgettable experience.

This is an absolutely gorgeous little chapel on the edge of Trafalgar Square. Check their schedule and try to catch a free lunchtime concert here! They bring in world class musicians to perform. We saw a cellist and pianist from the royal academy and they were fantastic. The acoustics are really good and it is a nice change of pace from running around doing touristy things. If you enjoy classical music DON’T MISS IT!

Lifelong dream realized! I’ve always listened to recordings of the Academy of St. Martin-​in-​the-​Fields, and dreamed of someday visiting such a famous venue (and I even knew that it was no longer located in actual fields!). I managed to get a same-​day upstairs-​balcony ticket to a concert featuring the piece of music with which I first fell in love, at the age of eleven: Bach’s double violin concerto. It still thrilled me to hear it, and experiencing it live in such a beautiful and historic venue felt pretty special. Sitting up in the dark wood choir lift-​type seating felt pretty cool, too.
I returned for a weekend concert (Vivaldi) with a friend and sat in the regular pews, and enjoyed it immensely as well.

I am a huge fan of St. Martin-​in-​the-​Fields lunchtime concerts. They are free for all, with a suggested donation. They take place very Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:00 pm in an amazing location just by Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. If you are a tourist or a local I definitely recommend making a point to check out one of the concerts. We were lucky to see a cello and piano duet, which was absolutely fabulous. They played three pieces that lasted about an hour. It was a nice change from the fast paced activity around London. Just sit back, relax and enjoy very talented musicians. We got there plenty early, but if you get there 10 or so minutes before you should be ok. If you get there earlier you could get a better view though. Not much more to add but make it happen and check out a free concert!

My friends and I discovered this place by accident. We had just left National Gallery and saw the pretty church across the street (if you exit National Gallery, it is to your left).
A lot of people were just sitting on the steps enjoying their lunch or seeking shade since it was a nice hot day in London. I went inside to take a peek and was amazed by the beautiful architecture of the church. The high ceilings, the details in the ceiling designs, the awesome looking church pipe organ, the weird looking windows. Everything was beautiful to look at. I did not spend much time exploring the rest of the church since we had a tight schedule but I would definitely want to come back and check out the food that the other Unilocalers are talking about.

We’ve been to the café in the crypt in previous trips and this time we went twice. Being in the middle of London it remains somewhat hidden in that it appeared that there were far more locals than tourists. The café is a buffet offering hot and cold meals, desserts, and hot and cold drinks. The menu varies perhaps daily. The atmosphere is very calm. Although this is a little more expensive than something on the street, it is nice to have a calm, cool, place, away from the tourist hustle.
Getting to the crypt is either from the staircase on the side of the church or from within the church.
In addition, the church itself is lovely. There are occasional organ concerts, which are worth the effort.

I went for a concert (Vivaldi) — it was a lovely experience, I would like to go again!

They have free noon time concerts — check their website. It was pretty crowded the week that we went and we got there 15 minutes ahead of time and were not able to get an ideal seat. I’d suggest 30 minutes if you really want a good view! Just check the times online, no need to buy tickets, and just walk right on in (for tourists: it’s right in the church, not in the crypt entrance, although you can get in through there).

Catch a classical concert or choral work in this incredible venue. SIMPLY BREATHTAKING!!!

Eine Oase der Stille im hektischen London, direkt am Trafalgar Square. Von außen etwas unscheinbar, doch innen sehr prächtig gestaltet. Hier gibt es täglich Andachten, zu denen regelmäßig auch Schüler des weltberühmten Chores singen. Unten gibt es ein Restaurant mit einer guten Auswahl an günstigen Speisen zur Mittagszeit.

Awesome acoustics for a concert! Can’t remember the string ensemble that I saw (a couple of years ago), but they carried my rapt attention for the two hours. Wanted to close my eyes to take it all in, but kept getting distracted by the interesting architecture in the hall. My only complaint (says the old man) was the benches /​pews. Fortunately, my eyes and ears were sufficiently engaged to overcome my glutes.

Big, beautiful, churchy, and older than Trafalgar Square. That’s St. Martin-​in-​the-​Fields. There’s a café, and a decent are to wander (with its crypt) and they do interesting things with the community.
I somehow don’t reckon that any number of Unilocal reviews will do much for it. Or against it.

Intérêt unique pour les concerts mais c’est petit. L’Eglise en elle-​même né présente aucun intérêt. Elle est toute vide et sans décoration.

I’d heard classical music recordings by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields before so while strolling the streets of London and coming across the actual St. Martin in the Fields Church, we just had to check it out.
St. Martin was quite the saint, inspiring a following across Europe and serving as the patron saint of soldiers and horses.
While still an active Anglican church, you don’t have to be steeped in the cloth of religiosity to enjoy the architecture and music hosted in the church itself.
We were lucky enough to visit a few moments before a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto and the Requiem. (yes!)
8 pounds a ticket and we were in the upper, upper area with a blocked view but that hardly mattered as the acoustics were excellent. The seats were actually in pews and the crowd was a surprising mix of young and old. (I’ve never seen young people ‘fist-​bump’ before the start of a classical music performance but that’s exactly what occurred prior to the Requiem, in all seriousness).
In the basement is a crypt that now serves as a café complete with various light snacks, teas and gift shop.
The concert was part of their by candlelight series, starting at 7:30pm. There are also lunchtime concerts for those seeking an afternoon sanctuary from the crowds of Trafalgar Square.
St. Martin, bishop of Tours, made my tour of London all the more exciting.

Very interesting old church. During my last visit, I had the opportunity to watch Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony by Candlelight performed by a 20 piece orchestra in the church. A unique experience. Worthy of a stop in to see the tombs in the crypt and the floor of the church.

My hood of treating and meeting friends… a fusion of music, food and drink in a Crypt.
The benches are hard; the tone is sizzling; the ceiling is ultra-​high… especially when the recorders (English Flute) sing Telemann’s concerto, everything seems all together for Baroque :) The church as a concert hall concept was discovered over 2 years ago together with my college friend following the same piano teacher. It has been a treat for us… our Californian and Boston visitors were also obsessed. Another time on Wednesday nights, jazz bands and the audience rock this 18^th century brick-​vaulted Crypt from the bottom — the café downstairs.
The seating is simple and humble; the coffee is strong and grande; the food is modern and British. House specialties include bread and butter pudding and apple crumble both served with lashings of custard, all self-​serviced. The portions are generous and all freshly, made mostly from local ingredients. It is also one of the best afternoon teas in Central London and for a bargain.
Thanks to Christine C. for the initial introduction.

This beautiful church is located right on Trafalgar Square. To be honest, there are some ugly behemoths on the square but the church is a great antidote to these
It is a live church with services through the day but you can wander inside to look at the lovely architecture inside
However, the church does offer more than this. One of its secret gems is the Café in the Crypt, which serves meals throughout the whole day including a good value afternoon tea. It also hosts jazz evenings on Wednesday evenings
There are concerts in the main church building itself with some free lunchtime concerts as well as evening concerts.
So a versatile venue with many string to its bow

This was another gem I stumbled upon when looking online for things to do while visiting London. It’s a beautiful church that hosts a series of concerts throughout the year. You can check out brochures (I’m sure they have an online schedule, too) and see what’s coming up.
During the day, they have classical concerts for free, open to the public. Arrive early to get a seat and please silence mobile phones! The concert lasted about 30 min. It was a break to sit, rest, and enjoy a taste of culture. If you’re hungry for real sustenance, there’s a cafeteria downstairs, albeit a nice one.

Such a beautiful church
Meandered inside
It, too, is a place of holiness
The music playing
Forget about the chaos outside

in der Adventszeit ein absolutes Must: Carols for shoppers, ein Chorkonzert zum Mitsingen, ca 1 Stunde am Samstagnachmittag, wenn die Füße vom Shoppen platt sind. Im Anschluss kann man auf dem Trafalger Square die Lichter und den Baum bewundern oder noch einen kurzen Blick in die National Gallery werfen.
Auch sehr stimmungsvoll: die Konzerte bei Kerzenschein.

Oh, I simply loved my visit to St. Martin in the Fields Church. While it’s located in a prime location you can find a bit of solace and peace relaxing along the steps outdoors, taking in the interior of the church and underground in the crypt (where the shop and café are located); this is thoroughly a unique place.
You MUST head to the church for one of their (free) lunch-​time and/​or (affordable) evening concerts… it’s simply wonderful, surreal and such a wonderful way to spend an hour or two. I had the pleasure of attending an evening chamber music event and it was sublime!!! All the seats in the house are spectacular; it’s an intimate space. And the cool optical illusion that makes up the glass window at the back of the church is so awesome!