Christmas season in London

Public transport ( overground, underground and buses, black cabs ) does not operate on Christmas Day.

A variety of restaurants, cafes and pubs might be open but with hours cut back.

Over the 30 years I’ve been privileged to spend Christmases in London I’ve watched what was once a complete shut down evolve.

London is a multi ethnic city. Christmas, a Christian holiday, is celebrated by many but not by all of the populous.

Nowadays there will Uber, Bolt, Gett and Free Now cabs for transport. . Most offices, stores, grocers will be closed. Churches will be open but hours limited.

I’ve learned to stay with friends, in an apartment with oven/hob or in a hotel with a small fridge, microwave and coffee pot.

I’ll hit a Sainsburys or Tesco on Chrsitmas Eve and buy food; bread, crackers, cheese, cereal, fruit, pasta dishes, etc. I also make certain to a have a large bottle of still water, tea bags, my own coffee grounds, a Melitta 1 cup brewing cone and fliters.

I’ll also be certain to get outside to stroll in one of the city’s welcoming parks.

Definitely keep aware that most public transport in the entire country will be shut down on Christmas Day.

I have spent 4 of the last 6 Christmases in London.

While most things will be closed, over the last few years, more and more places, especially those serving food have opened. Even some of the big chains.

London Walks usually has a few tours running on Xmas. The big issue is how to get to them with no public transport.

The rest of the week the city will be hopping.

Thank you for the replies. To clarify, on Christmas Day I will be in King's Lynn. Why? To stand outdoors at Sandringham and hope to catch a glimpse of royals walking to/from church. I know that's not everyone's chosen Christmas activity, but it will be mine.

So it's Boxing Day until approx. January 2 that I'm looking to plan.

The only thing I will let you know is that on New Year's Eve there is a major firework show on the Thames near Parliament. The area will be packed with people. If this is something you like, you can plan to be there. If this is not something you'd like, then you can plan not to be there.

Winter Wonderland is a huge carnival type attraction in Hyde Park that is very popular and runs during the holiday season.

Are you using public transport. I'm not quite sure of your actual travel plans, but be aware that much public trnasport finishes early 0n 24th, is largely non existent on 25th, and restricted on 26th.

I would keep your plans for Boxing Day flexible. It is very likely a lot of transport will be limited especially between towns. Also be aware because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the following Monday 28th will be a bank(public) holiday.

As has been said above, London has a massive firework display on New Year’s Eve by the river at Westminster. This is (free) ticket only, you can’t just turn up. It is packed from early in the day as people find the best viewing spots. A lot of the surrounding roads will be closed and nearby tube stations will be exit or entrance only to manage crowds. This is a long winded way of saying avoid the area unless you have a desperate wish to watch the show close up.

How are you thinking of getting from Kings Lynn to Sandringham on Xmas day? I don’t think there’ll be any public transport and only a few (costly) taxis. I doubt Uber operates in N Norfolk but maybe worth checking.

Also, I am not sure that anyone can turn up at the church. I thought, but could be wrong, that only residents of the Sandringhan estate were allowed close to the royal family. Perhaps worth checking as well.

OP wants to see the royal family as they walk from Sandringham House to the church. Any member of the public can do that, as long as they dont mind queuing, not just Sandringham estate residents.

Christmas at Kew is my absolutely favorite London Christmas activity. There are Christmas lights/shows and then there is Christmas at Kew which is entirely in a league of its own. Buy your tickets now, they sell quickly.

https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas

transport plans would be good to know.

Major engineering works on both roads (Norwich is infamous) and rail are often scheduled over the long week including Christmas and New Year.

It is well worth checking.

I'd be interested in how you expect to get around? Train? Rental Car? Taxis?

I thought I'd seen this question before as soon as I posted the above. I was right https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/cambridge-king-s-lynn-leicester-during-christmas-new-year-weeks

I hope you get more answers here than there.

Have you given up on Leicester?

BillS719 asked "How are you thinking of getting from Kings Lynn to Sandringham on Xmas day?"
Others on this forum advised I use Uber or a similar ride service. I'm aware that public transport on Christmas Day won't be an option.

Nigel asked: "Have you given up on Leicester?" No, not at all.

It's just that the church retreat in/near Leicester isn't going to open until around January 4. (They haven't announced their schedule yet, but confirmed they are closed to visitors until at least January 4.) So I thought I would spend the week of Boxing Day in London and then go to Leicester on January 2 or so.

Rick has a section in his London guidebooks talking about how to plan for Christmas travel.

I followed the advice of Carol Now Retired and bought a ticket for Christmas at Kew. It's open on the Monday after Christmas, which others have advised is a bank holiday, so I thought that would be a good day for me to go.

That's the first expenditure and commitment I've made, so far, for this trip.

A good friend just decided to take her grandchildren to Greece (from the USA) this June. She said "life is short, so I thought let's just do it." She's given me courage.

You'll have a nice time just wandering and taking in all the lights of the holiday season.
During our Nov/Dec visit last year, we wandered and stopped by the churches we came across. One of the churches had a flyer for the Friends of the City Churches for the City of London, with a map. Here's an interesting link:

https://www.visit-a-church.info/index.php?id=10&L=1

Both on the Sunday and the Monday there will be at least 3 ways out of Kings Lynn- the train to London via Cambridge (even if there turns out to be part bus replacement, there will still be service), the Excel bus to Peterborough for LNER or Thameslink to London (which you can book as a through ticket), and the Excel bus in the other direction to Norwich for Greater Anglia trains to London.

I know the Excel bus is only £3 from KL to either Peterborough or Norwich, but booked as a through ticket it may be even cheaper. I was looking the other day for Leeds to Kings Lynn, and it was only about £1 more to add on the bus from Peterborough- it was under £10 from Leeds to KL which I thought was a fantastic bargain. So from the far side of the Lake District to Kings Lynn I was looking at £20 each way for a short notice booking with railcard (not months into the future).

And, on Christmas Eve, even if there is engineering work between Cambridge and Kings Lynn then the trains will be replaced by buses at the normal train departure times, or potentially later.

On my line we have long term engineering work (looking at 18 months currently), and the rail replacement buses are actually better than the train service in that there are earlier than normal departures in the morning, and services running an hour later than the trains in the evening.

Also from London to Leicester there is National Express bus service- Leicester is a big National Express hub point.