Which seat should you book?

The short answer

Choose the category that matches how much the view matters to you, then arrive early. The booking page says you can pick from three seating categories to tailor the evening to your needs and budget. Nothing else about the concert changes with the seat: the same orchestra plays the same programme. What changes is the distance to the players and, in a church, the view of the soloist. Reviewers also stress the pews, which are wooden, and the early arrival that helps you take the seat you want.

What the seat choice involves

The booking page says you can choose from three seating categories to suit your preferences. The category names and the price of each appear on the choice screen once you pick a date, so open the calendar before you decide. The date, the programme and the start time are the same for every seat, which makes the decision a simple trade between view, comfort and cost. The page also gives the length as 70 minutes and lists wheelchair access, and both apply whichever category you choose.

How ticket sellers name the categories

Descriptions of this concert on other ticket sellers' pages name the three categories VIP, A and B. One describes category A as the area right behind the VIP area, with a better view than category B. A reviewer on the booking page tells readers not to skip the VIP seats. The names and the layout on the choice screen for your date are the ones that count, so use these descriptions only as a guide to the order of the categories, from the front of the church to the back.

Why the view matters in a church

In a church the audience sits in a long room facing one end, in rows of fixed pews. The archive photograph from around 1892 shows the arrangement, with pews filling the floor beneath the organ gallery. Reviewers single out the violin soloist, and one calls the setting small and intimate. A seat nearer the front puts you closer to the soloist and the other players, while a seat further back gives you the same sound at a greater distance. Choose by which of those two you would miss more, and remember that the soloist is the part of the evening reviewers mention most often.

What reviewers say about the seats

The reviews on the booking page are the best evidence on seats, and three points recur. Arrive early: one reviewer says to turn up half an hour or more ahead for good seats at the front. Consider the premium seats: the same reviewer says not to skip the VIP. Prepare for the pews: several reviewers call the seats or benches uncomfortable, and the page's own review summary suggests cushions for the hard pews. Decide by your own priorities.

The pews

Church pews are wooden benches, and reviewers on the booking page say so more than once. Several describe them as uncomfortable, and the booking page's review summary suggests cushions. A reviewer who read the reviews first took small blow-up cushions and found them useful. A thin cushion costs little and weighs almost nothing, and it is the cheapest comfort upgrade available in any category.

Arrive early

One reviewer recommends turning up half an hour or more ahead for good seats at the front. Wikipedia's article on concert etiquette makes the general point that concertgoers try to arrive and take their seats before the music begins, and that late arrivals wait for a break between pieces before an usher seats them. The booking page shows the start time beside each date. Plan to be at Váci utca 47/b well before it, and allow for the evening crowd on the street, which Wikipedia describes as full of visitors.

Choosing by situation

If the view matters most, choose the category closest to the front and arrive early. If budget matters most, a category further back still gives you the same music, played by the same musicians. If comfort matters most, pick whichever category you like and bring a cushion, because every seat is a pew. A reviewer's tip applies to all of them: if the weather is wet, arrange your return taxi in advance, since one visitor waited two hours for a cab after a rainy concert.

• View first: the front category and an early arrival
• Budget first: a back category and a cushion
• Comfort first: any category, a cushion and a layer you can keep on

Access

Wheelchair access is listed for this concert. If you or a companion need step-free entry, read the access details before you choose a category, and carry your confirmation with you. The church is a historic building, so it is sensible to confirm any particular need directly with the activity provider before you travel, and to allow extra time on the day to find the doorway on Váci utca. The guide to finding the church describes the street and the approach, and mentions the clock tower that marks the building from a distance.

Who this isn't for

The top category is not for everyone. A listener who cares about the sound more than the view may be as happy further back, because the music is identical in every category. If you need a numbered seat beside one particular person, read the choice screen for your date closely before you pay, since the church seats its audience in pews. And if you cannot sit on wood for an hour, no category will change that, and a different kind of evening may suit you better. A concert hall with cushioned, backed chairs is a better match for a listener who needs a back rest.

Booking steps

Open the booking page, pick a date and read the programme and the time beside it. Compare the three categories on the choice screen, choose one and add any cushion or taxi plans to your list, then check the arrival time you want against the start time shown. A day's notice earns a full refund, and a booking can be made now and paid for later. No price appears in this guide because the live figure for your date and currency is on the booking page. The advice here applies to all three programmes that share the page. Save your confirmation on your phone, since it repeats the programme and the start time.