Christmas in London

What wonderful memories, especially of your walk in Hyde Park with Bill. Thanks for sharing that, it brought a smile to my face. Sounds like you’re feeling the pull to return at Christmas again. I hope you can make that happen.

I’m headed there next week. Here’s what I have for opening dates of Christmas markets:

Christmas in Trafalgar Square: November 9

Southbank Centre Christmas Market: Nov. 3

Christmas By the River at London Bridge City: Nov. 11 (between london bridge and tower bridge)

Greenwich: Nov. 19

Leicester Square: Nov. 5

Carnaby St. SOHO: “All is Bright” lights Nov. 6

Marylebone Village: Nov. 12

Old Spitalfields: Nov. 12

Kingston: Nov. 13

Leadenhall: Nov. 16

Covent Garden: Nov. 12

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland: Nov. 14

Camden Market: Dec. 6

Mayfair: Nov. 27

Kings Cross: Nov. 29

Borough Market: Dec. 1

Greenwich: Xmas lights turned on Nov. 19th (parade 4pm)

Canterbury: Nov. 12th 10 am

Cambridge: Nov. 13th

Oxford: Nov. 22

Bath: Nov. 27

Edited to add: Buckingham Palace Royal Mews Christmas pop-up shop: Nov 14

Windsor Castle: Nov. 27 (Thanks Allan)

Chelsea’s Duke of York Square: Nov. 13 (Thanks Allan)

Mustlovedogs….

That’s why my London love remains…. Another return trip. When? Who knows but I’m not done exploring London and environs.

Cheers

Thank you for starting such a wonderful thread, Claudia! I hope you make it back soon!

I was in London in mid November 2024 for a week. I was delighted to see the holiday lights in Piccadilly Circus, Fortnum and Mason's holiday windows, Christmas decorations in Covent Garden.

Christmas in London is incredible! The lights! The bling! The slatherings of decoration and color!

The board members here have excellent recommendations. You can pretty much take them to the bank.

I am only here to add that it is WILDLY busy over the holidays, and if you want any space to breathe or see what’s around you, GET TO THE DESTINATION EARLY.

I’d pick one big tourist destination per day, and hit it first thing in the morning, when it opens. This will apply to Harrod’s, Fortnum and Mason, Borough Market, etc. I’d then have lunch, and go somewhere more open air for my second destination of the day. That way you won’t be quite as harried and cramped.

That said - enjoy! It’s amazing here for Christmas!

Later in the afternoon or early evening I'd go on a West End bus (TfL public buses) lights and windows hunt. Sit upstairs and as far to the front as you can get - people will get off and you can move up A bus or a combo the length of Oxford Street, then back and down Regent Street, walk through the Burlington Arcade (be polite to the Beedle), walk around St James's including Pall Mall and St James's Street and the alleys around there for really refined stuff, then back on a bus the length of Piccadilly and along Knightsbridge to Sloane Street. Take in the ethereal lights and decos in Sloane Street, all the way down to Sloane Square (where you can get the tube) or continue west a few streets on Kings Road perhaps as far as Worlds End.

At £1.75 for all the bus you can eat in an hour, maybe 2 or 3 hours - cheap and extremely enjoyable.

My goodness, this thread is giving me a serious case of wanting to make this our next trip after we go next September! I know I couldn’t make it in the month of December, but maybe November 2027!! So many fun ideas!

Headed there in early December for my wife’s annual birthday trip. I will need to check on those igloos and I want to see the new Banksy by the Courts of Justice. Oxford and either Canterbury or Brighton are on the day trips list for this year. We also want to Hampstead Heath to see Kenwood House since it was in the Notting Hill movie. While in that area we’ll stop into two supposedly haunted pubs.

Of course, the weather will determine what we see and do.

We leave in 13 days. Carrie already posted a lot of the openings but I didn't see Windsor Castle, it's date is Nov 27th. I don't have a date but I also read a blog to go to Duke of York Square Market in Chelsea. I don't have more Intel than that. We have our tickets for Kew Gardens for 5:15 one of the days. Can anyone advise if anything to do in the day time in Richmond?

I also read a blog to go to Duke of York Square Market in Chelsea.

This might be what you are referring to:

https://secretldn.com/ever-after-garden-illuminated-white-roses-london-chelsea/

Chelsea’s Duke of York Square will be taken over by 30,000 white roses as it transforms into the Ever After Garden. Nov. 13 – Dec. 16. Every day 3-9

Can anyone advise if anything to do in the day time in Richmond?

Allan, I went for a walk along the Thames. Thames Walk is really lovely and takes you past a number of beautiful sights, including Ham House, which is worth a visit. Here's a link to more info. https://thamespath.co.uk/

Here’s a google map I created for my upcoming trip. It has many of the shops, hotels, and streets that will have lights and decorations. Sorry, my employer and some other misc. places are on there too. :-)

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Pg2eUaZ0---fbrdhrbv4rbw6aTkrBOw&usp=sharing

"I want to see the new Banksy by the Courts of Justice."

@jaimeelsabio Were you aware that they scrubbed it?

https://bsky.app/profile/goodlawproject.bsky.social/post/3lyhus5aall2r

though it wasn't that successful:

https://bsky.app/profile/adrianandshane.bsky.social/post/3lyi3hxkf5c2r

This is a great thread! I am considering planning an impromptu trip to London for the Christmas festivities with my husband and five year old daughter. It would be our first time to London and first time abroad since our daughter was born.
Given the crowds and festivities, would it be too overwhelming to navigate with our five year old?

We would be looking to be there for the middle to end of the first week of December

@Claudia: Thank you for starting this post. I have been to London at Christmas time for the past two years and I am returning again this December, this time with my niece. Your insights have helped me build a great trip.

@Carrie: love the Google Maps, thank you for sharing.

Here are a few other recommendations that were not mentioned in other posts

• Holiday Musical Performance. Have already been to an advent concert at Westminster Abbey and will be going to a candlelight carol performance at St. Martins this year.
• Watch Pantomime. I love this tradition and have made the Pantomime at the London Palladium an annual holiday event.
• High Tea. One of my favorite was a few years ago taking the Brigit's Bakery Grinchmas tour with my friend. She has mobility issues, so this was a perfect way to see the Christmas lights while enjoying a delicious tea. I confess, I took this primarily for the efficiency of combining two events: tea and lights. I was pleasantly surprised on how delicious the food was and while a bit corny, the Grinchmas theme was super fun.
• Food Tour in the East End.. I love this tour so much that I am taking it again on this trip with my niece. I love spending time at Spitalfields Market (one of the better markets for unique Christmas gifts), eating at Brick Lane, and then spending time Christmas shopping.
• Borough Market is always fun, but it is especially lovely in the Christmas season and is one of my favorite places for Christmas shopping.
• Gingerbread City is sponsored by the Museum of Architecture and brings together some of the best architects in the London to create a city entirely of Gingerbread, sugar, and chocolate. If you get a chance to watch the documentary film, it is so funny to see talented professionals struggle with creating their vision in an unfamiliar and entirely edible medium. If you have children, this is a fun place to visit and you can also do a class to make your own creation.
• Buckingham Palace Tours. Did this a few years ago and it was a wonderful experience to see the inside of the palace during the holidays. It is a small tour (think less than 30 people). The guides are wonderful, we happened to be there a few nights before the employees Christmas party and got to hear stories about the parties in the past and what they were looking forward to that year. The only thing is that Buckingham Palace is sparsely decorated, a contrast for example to Windsor Palace.

Hi Christine. I take my daughter most years to see the lights and we usually try to see a show as well. I’d recommend staying somewhere very central with a 5 year old so that you can walk most places. Trying to get on to a Tube or bus in central London can be challenging when it’s super busy. Get up early and get out before the crowds really build. And I guess weekdays would be quieter but we always have to go at the weekend.

Have a look at what shows are on that she’d enjoy. The Snowman is on every year and very Christmassy.

Allan - we love the market at Duke of York Square, and go most Saturdays. It’s a nice group of stalls next to the playing field outside of the Saatchi Gallery - which is lovely for a quick visit!

The market stalls include produce from the country, baked goods, prepared foods, biltong, pies, cheeses, fudge, etc., and a Maldon oyster stall with a screaming deal: £10 for 6 oysters (they generally start at about £3.50 each anywhere else, and go up from there). So fun to grab a seat and slurp down oysters with a glass of champagne while people watching!

The next bus stop down is at Sloane Square, so it’s just a few minute stroll. If you like shopping, the King’s Road there is loaded with cute boutiques. Right on Sloane Square is the beautiful old Peter Jones (now John Lewis) with (at Christmas) their iconic curtain of fairy lights covering the facade.

I hadn’t heard about the white roses this year. Wow! And thanks!

For anyone visiting London, in my opinion "Paddington, the Musical" is a must.

I was worried when I read Peter Jones (now John Lewis) above. I've always known that it is John Lewis under the skin but also have enjoyed that it is, very Sloane Square, Peter Jones. I would be sad for it to be rebranded.

I've just looked at the JL website and it is still showing as Peter Jones and Partners, sort of a half way house.

I'm also glad, having not been back to Duke of York since Partridges closed their fab shop there, to see that the Saturday market is still going. I thought it would have closed. Yay!

And while Partidges did close the Duke of York Square location, the place is almost exactly the same inside - now just called the Chelsea Grocer. :-)

Book your flight and go! Impromptu trip last December and it was fabulous, the lights, events, the people! Yes, it was crowded in some areas but people were kind. Book a few restaurants, a theater event, and a museum you haven’t been to in the past. Great advice to plan one thing a day and then enjoy whatever moves you as the day unfolds. Nothing better than strolling the streets in the early evening enjoying the vibe that is decidedly London at Christmas.

Claudia-
Thanks for the post! I really appreciate your recommendations. It's been bookmarked to use for my trip this Christmas. The excitement is building.

Very pleased that other Forum members found value in the post.

Unfortunate we here in the US are dealing with Air Traffic Controllers on strike. As a Teamster I support them.

As a lover of London at Christmas time I’m hopeful the strike will be resolved SOON. As in before Turkey Day.

EDIT 1: Allan as far as Richmond in the day time, there’s a busy High Street. You should consider having tea, coffee, a meal or a pint.

Lots of spots to do that. If you chose to meander about Richmond Park hoping to see the deer then check to see if Petersham nurseries is serving?

If you prefer a quiet pint then walk to the Mitre
( could train to N Sheen and walk from there) to meet the best pub dog, Rudi and Chris the pub owner. https://www.themitretw9.co.uk/

Give Chris my regards and Rudi a belly rub.

Do you have grandchildren? If yes then stop
at the Aligator’s Mouth down a walkway from the
the St Mary Magdalene church. Could get a pint and a good lunch at The Angel and The Crown pub that’s nearby.

Lots of other worthwhile shops and cafes to explore.

Personally I’d train to North Sheen then amble down Manor Road to Sheen Road and turn left. Cross the street. Walk past the Courtlands and be on the lookout for the signed Kings Ride Gate. Follow the path past the cemetary and on into Richmond Park. I usually amble to the Petersham Gate but there are others.

Simply saying Richmond offers a lot.

Memories? My aunt worked for a US company in London in the 80's and had a flat on Brompton Square. If you leaned around a bit you could see Harrod's lights when you were on the toilet, lol. ANYway, she invited my ex-husband and me to stay while she was back in the states with her family for Christmas. The vivid memories of that first time were that we landed in a snowstorm at Gatwick on 19 December 1981 on Laker Air from Tampa and were told we were the last plane landing due to weather conditions. It was the day of the Pen-lee Lifeboat Disaster which happened in hurricane force winds off the Cornish coast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penlee_lifeboat_disaster

London was blanketed in snow which was a treat for us since we were from Florida. We did manage to fly back home on Laker before they went belly-up the next month.

Either that year or a subsequent year we were in the White Tower at Tower of London on Christmas Eve and the guards had had a little too much Christmas cheer for lunch. There were barely any visitors and they were bored so they followed us around and wanted to talk about every flipping piece of armor in every cabinet, lol. Since they were tipsy they were making horrendous jokes about Henry VIII's armor, etc.

The fuses in the apartment tripped and my ex-husband had to go down to the Midnight Shop at the end of the square and ask them what to do. They were so kind and helpful!

Not that year, but another year we went to have Christmas dinner at an Indian Restaurant on Brompton Road and when we walked in they were playing the BeeGees. After a short while they changed it over to traditional Indian music but we told them they could certainly turn it back to the BeeGees until other customers came in, lol! They laughed, switched and we all sang along!

Except for the ex-husband, I have such fond memories of London at Christmas! Beautiful decorations, cheery people and back in the day, no crowds. THAT has changed, lol!!

Looks like Duke of York Square has more than the White Roses. This is what I'd read.

https://dukeofyorksquare.com/whats-on/news/the-12-days-of-christmas

I'm sad about that the Gingerbread City, tickets aren't available until after we leave. We also may do a day trip to Salisbury. We're travelling with my 82 year old mother-in-law and my brother-in-law and his wife. The latter two have never travelled outside of Canada and the US before and were investigating a day trip bus tour that included Stonehenge and Bath. They say the tours are ridiculously expensive and may not do it. I've suggested that if Stonehenge is important that we could go to Salisbury for the day. spend the day. I have my eyes on the Cathedral Tower tour which we missed in 2022 because it was cancelled after QEII passed away. The website says it's a great tour to take on a late November afternoon to see the Christmas lights in Salisbury from above.

We've been on vacation with them before but usually Disney Trips on extended family vacations when all of our kids were young, and then two years ago to Spring Training in Florida. I really have no idea if a European vacation will be their thing or not, but it's been fun planning with them and cautiously advising them about doing too much, such as daytrips to Paris. We didn't tell them not to do it, just suggested it might be a lot. Newbies! ;).

@Lin C
I'm here now (well, Oxford this week; London next week) and I hadn't heard of "Paddington, the Musical" until I got here. Very disappointed all the shows until the 17th are (not surprisingly) sold out. Maybe on my next visit!

I’m adding a memory from nearly 50 years ago.

My friend and I attended a 4pm mass at St Paul’s Follwing the service we walked out to discover snow was falling….I remember grinning from ear to ear. Wonderful Christmas season memory from my London travels.

Was it dark already?

I'm picturing snowflakes coming down swirling through streetlights.

Around xmas time it gets dark here about 3.50pm (and the sun doesn't rise till about 8am).

even now in early November it is sunset at 16:28 in London and completely dark 5 or 10 minutes later. For all intents and purposes it is actually dark not far off 4.

Coming out after a 4 o'clock mass or Evensong at St Pauls would have been completely dark.

Does seem like one of those magical moments. Thanks for the image.

Carrie, great list.

If you have Nov 8 open do try to see the Lord Mayors Parade. This year the Lord Mayor is a woman.

https://lordmayorsshow.london/. Great history.

I usually tube to Moorgate or Cannon Street and walk over to view the participants as they prepare to march. Caps and ribbons adjusted. Bands warming up, horses hooves being polished, horses being brushed and saddled, etc. Lots of pagentry.

There’s a Cafe Nero by Mansion House that has large windows that I’ve stopped in for some coffee.

Last visit, 2023, got my take away coffee at Rosslyn Coffee.

EDIT: yes Robert it was dark by then. Exactly what you describe is what was occurring. Thus my grinning given I’d never experienced a White Christmas growing up in California.

Unfortunately, I’ll miss the Nov. 8th parade.

Starting today, Nov. 5th, winter light installations along the Thames near the Southbank Center.

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/winter-light/?utm_source=secretldn&utm_medium=fb_post&utm_content=202511051907fb_post&fbclid=IwY2xjawN4eJhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOY1cyUnkwbWZhSE44TVU5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHq175uw1jSHzM5NET4KqScrDN0ZLQZQomi-iNeC6LNmCKECRFBDSJrbKc3iA_aem_l_WRrg6xErSxZciSLlvksw&cp_smn_source=secretldn&cp_smn_content=winter-light-2025-southbank-centre-london&cp_smn_term=text_cta_1&suid=f350bbe7-5d5f-4aab-be48-d0d6b0827576

"...what you describe is what was occurring."

My mental picture is pretty great, the real one must have been wonderful. Thanks for this thread. I've saved for (hopefully) future travel.

Such a great thread, Claudia. Thanks! We leave for London on the 21st...so just over two weeks away!!!

Thanks for the Richmond question, Allan...I believe we discovered you are there the day before us. (We will be there the 26th; staying in Kew 1 night).

So many wonderful things to do!

Thank you for starting this thread. Tomorrow we fly from Lisbon to Manchester to spend a few days in Liverpool. We arrive in London on November 10 and finally go home on November 17, ending an 11 week trip. I tacked Liverpool and England on to our already long trip for a few reasons, but one of them was to experience some holiday cheer with hopefully warmer temperatures than I had on a December Christmas Market trip a couple of years ago. I bought our Christmas at Kew tickets shortly after they went on sale. I’m disappointed to hear that Windsor Castle won’t be decorated early enough for us.

Thank you for the encouragement Marianne and Helen!
Flights are booked! We will start in strasbourg then head to London for four days.

Thank you again to those on the thread for all the good insight and tips! If there are any more for first time visitors with a 5 year old, I’ll take them all!

Lots of playgrounds for children in London.

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/search?keyword=Playgrounds

I was in the west end this morning, and went to Liberty's. It has one of the best Christmas shops I've seen, up on the 4th floor. Could be good for presents, or mementos.

Also the windows in Selfridges looked good - would love to see how they look at night.

If anyone would like to preview the Christmas shops in the big department stores, youtube has some recent videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7jKb54BkQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9II-9hsPT8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBaL_FvOOtk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6krfhhcji0

Thank you for the information about the Lady Mayor's Show! Planning to attend tomorrow :-)