England, Christmas Markets/Activities place to stay

Over decades have been lucky to spend a number of Christmases in London.

The city shuts down. In the 70’s I was stunned by this reality. Now used to it and actually enjoy the calmness.

First bit of intel is that there is no public transport, Thus no trains, no underground or buses on Christmas Day. Now with uber you could arrange transport but expect to pay premium prices.

Stores will be closed. ( Harrods, Mark’s and Spencer, Selfridges, Liberty, etc)

However, due to the ethnic diversity of the populous you will find some cafes, restaurants and small grocery stores open. Curtailed hours though.

In my visits I’ve stayed at Premier Inns, Club Quarters hotel, Airbnb’s and friend’s rental.

Alwaye made sure my accommodations had a refrigerator, a kettle and microwave. I’d buy what I could heat up (soups or chowders, pasta) bought on the day before. I always purchased my favorite Christmas sandwhich from Pret A Manger.
Also learned to love microwaving a pasta dish.

Loved the quiet on Christmas Day by enjoying long walks. Seeing families out and about with new coats, bikes, prams, etc,

Excellent time to explore London on foot so research a neighborhood with a public park.

IMHO the Queens walk on Thames River path is a great meander on Christmas Day.

EDIT 1: Regents Street, Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Kew Gardens have Christmas Lights. Tickets for Kew are a must.
EDIT 2: investigate what images will be shown on the Battersea Power Station ( now a massive shopping center ) . In 2024 it was Wallace and Gromit.
EDIT 3: Research Santa Runs. Rather charming to see people dressed in Santa Suits getting a pint following their running. Saw my first one in Victoria Park and recall grinning ear to ear. Total surprise, total joy.

EDIT 4: The massive Winter Wonderland will open in Hyde Park.
EDIT: See a Christmas Panto

I should have been more clear. My trip will be from late November to mid December. I will be home a couple of weeks before Christmas.

OP so eliminate what I said about Christmas Day.

November has been my favorite travel month to enjoy my favorite city on the planet. Last visit was 2024. Was there for over a month. You can read my trip report “ Back in London.”

Still stand by seeing a panto, walking along the Thames River path, visiting Kew Gardens, and watching a Santa Run. Adding; enjoy pub grub, visit Bletchley Park, research what’s on at Wilton’s Music Hall and Royal Albert Hall. If you like rowing there will be countless sculls on the Thames.

Be sure to dress in layers. Can be cold, can be sunny. Be certain the credit cards you take are those you can tap and go.

Great city, always changing, always the same. Enjoy!

Hi, Richard, we were in UK this past Nov 22- Dec 8. I did not get a trip report written.

We were in London 4 nights---visited department stores, street decor and a enjoyed a show with a favorite Brit Actor, Nicola Walker (in lovely Sloane Square, where we stayed). We went to Kew for a night so we could visit Kew Christmas, and then on to Bath/Wells area for 4 nights. We went to the Bath market the first afternoon of the market and stayed into the evening. We went back to Bath the next day to go to favorite bookstores and charity shops and to catch a little more of the market. We enjoyed the market. We had a car because we were staying in Wells at a Country House that we'd stayed at a year before. We wanted to have some time to relax a little and to visit Wells, again. In Wells, we revisited the cathedral took a tour of the upper rafters (High Parts Tour) and participated in a candlelight service (Fortunately, I did not drip wax on me). We were also there on market day.

We left Wells to tour the decorated Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) and enjoy afternoon tea. Our night was spent at an old inn on the way back to drop the car off at Heathrow. We returned to London for a concert at Royal Albert Hall. The following day we went to a theatre matinee starring Bryan Cranston and an evening "A Christmas Carol" at the Old Vic. On our last Thursday, my cousin and his wife came into town. We visited the National Portrait Gallery (there was a little market outside--meh) shopped Xmas decorations in the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, headed to a display of major gingerbread creations (a school of architecture?) and grabbed a quick bite to eat before parting ways. Art and I headed to Covent Gardens to enjoy Christmas lights, some market stalls, a shopping center (with a lovely little toy store). We ate at an Italian restaurant while a stream of musicians serenaded (it was a downstairs plaza in the shopping center so people gathered around the upper level to listen, as well. One soloist, classically trained, was extremely talented---our little donation was meager compared to what we would have paid in another venue for his mini concert. We had actually only gone to that end of the center for the pay toilets---but once he started singing, we decided to buy dinner so we could sit and thorougly enjoy his performance.

On our days in London, we took it slow and meandered around town, popping into churches, catching concerts and holiday carts and decor along the way. I'm missing a lot of specifics. Don't hesitate to ask questions.

Late Friday night, we headed to Windsor for two nights (Sir Christopher Wren Hotel). We visited the castle and the festive shopping area (and charity shops:). That night we saw our first Christmas pantomime--it was a Cinderella mashup. The next day, our last day, we walked across the bridge into Eton. The shops were mostly closed, and our timing was a little off for the museum, so we just found a spot to eat before heading back to the hotel to retrieve our bags for the late evening uber to our Heathrow hotel and our morning flight.

I would love to visit the London area every Christmas season!

Hottest week of the year so far, must be time to talk about christmas!!

The title says England, Christmas Markets but thread immediately gets stuck into London. In fact the main christmas market is actually in Birmingham. It's full name is Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market because it's managed by a german company - from Bremen, no, I don't undertand that either... The city is not a pretty touristy place, but it does have hotels because it's big on events and conventions. It is definately not a place to drive into, but it is the hub of the british railway network with frequent fast trains from London and others to almost everywhere else. Stratford on Avon is only a commuter train ride away and the old towns of Shrewsbury and Heford are also very easy to reach. Bear in mind christmas markets often look better in the dark, and Birmingham's certainly does! It's open until at least 9pm so going to somewhere more touristy during the day and then coming back at dusk actually makes a good full day. But small B&Bs in easy reach of the centre may not be easy to find.

The previous and well documented "best in England" was the city of Lincoln, which is a an old city and worth a visit. But it grew too famous and the crowds got too big so it has been dropped because they cannot cope. The Cathedral is organising a smaller one within their grounds, which will might be worth visiting but be careful which version you read about when researching

By the way, are you sure you can pay for transport to Paris/ Brussels/ Frankfurt, and pay for the EU's ETIAS entry fee which is due to start before your visit and pay the EU departure tax on flights homes and still make a saving on the UK departure tax?