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London at Easter?

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We're considering a trip, around 14 days, in and around London next spring. We'd take our kiddo (age 13) out of school for a few days before his spring break, so we'd arrive about a week before Easter, and stay through the week after. I have no idea what to expect in London on Good Friday/Easter weekend. If you've traveled at that time, was there any downside to being in London for Easter? Were places closed for the holiday weekend? Were places mobbed with tourists because it was a holiday weekend? Was it tricky to get around via bus/tube?

I can certainly google a particular museum, let's say, to see if they're closed Good Friday, but it's harder to get a sense of whether an open place will be packed to the gills, or impossible to reach via public transit!

And on the flipside, was there any standout experience that is limited to that time?

Thanks :)

Posted by
769 posts

The only unusual closures at Easter in London are big stores and large supermarkets, which are required by law to close on Easter Sunday. So don’t plan a visit to Harrods that day, for example.

Although Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays (banks will be closed, and a lot of people will have the day off) tourist attractions will be very much open - Easter weekend is pretty much the big start to the summer season.

It will be busy, because kids are off school and a lot of parents have the long weekend off. The Science Museum and the Natural History Museum tend to get super-busy during school holidays, but on the other hand London is so big and has so many different attractions that it mostly absorbs any extra crowds.

Posted by
198 posts

I spent Easter this year in London. I was concerned about closures too. On actual Easter Sunday, I rode the Hop On Hop Off bus around the city. It was a good day to see the sights and walk around town. I found some shops to be open and others closed, but there was plenty to do.

The days around the holiday were pretty much business as usual. I did make sure to make a dinner reservation on Easter, so I wouldn't wander around looking for something to eat.

I didn't have any trouble with transportation, but if you're traveling by train during that time you might want to check schedules. Sometimes they schedule closures for maintenance on holiday weekends.

Posted by
84 posts

The Passion of Jesus (https://www.wintershall.org.uk/passion-jesus-london) is done in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday. It is fun to see since the whole square including the stairs are used for the performance. The actors will move between audience at times and the Roman guards will move the crowd to make an opening when needed. The performance is free. I saw it a few years ago in the rain and cold and felt very sorry for Jesus in a loin cloth only up on the cross for 20 minutes. The other actors had warm clothing under their costumes where they could.

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769 posts

I found some shops to be open and others closed, but there was plenty to do.

It’s to do with the floor area. If your shop is over 280 square metres, you can only open limited hours on Sunday and must stay closed on Easter Sunday. https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2022/05/guide-to-sunday-trading-laws/

It’s a weird throwback to how controversial Sunday trading was when it was first introduced in the - 1980s I think?

The thing that always catches us Brits out is garden centres - Easter weekend is obviously a great time to get out in the garden, and most of us have at some point driven up to a closed garden centre, remembered the Easter Sunday trading law and tried to style it out. “Oh, I was just turning my car…”

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