This is one trip where words alone will just not do it justice. Also, there is some great info. about Christmas in London here (Thanks Claudia!). When things open, what to see, etc.
As well as some recent trip reports thanks to jaimeelsabio and allan.
So, in the interest of not repeating information, I think I can help most by providing the visual enticement.
PHOTOS: I’ve posted some of my photos on google photos. The two at the end are short videos from Christmas at Kew Gardens.
DATES: I was here Friday Nov. 14 – Saturday, Nov. 22. I thought this was a great time to go. Even though some of my days overlapped with Allan’s, I did not experience the crowds that he did. I think there are two main reasons for this. 1) Location. I stayed right in the heart of Westminster, at the Sanctuary House Hotel, and was able to walk most everywhere. AND 2) I was solo. It’s much easier to be out the door at 6 or 7 am when you are by yourself. I hope to return to London next Nov. with my sister (who has health challenges) and my mom (who will be 80) and fully recognize that this will be a different trip. Different, but still fabulous.
My biggest tip is get out early when you can. If you want to go to Harrods, be at the doors before they open. I had Bond Street to myself on a Sunday morning at 7:30am.
I loved the early sunset time this time of year. It was great to be out at 5pm and able to see all the lights without having to try to stay up much later. Also, as a solo, female traveler, I just feel safer walking around in the dark at 5pm versus 9 or 10pm. Not to say it’s not safe at those later hours. It’s just a comfort level for me.
FINAL THOUGHTS: London at Christmas time is a great destination for everyone. There is just so much to see and do. I encourage anyone who has been thinking about it, to just do it. Book that trip to London next Nov. or Dec.
Hi Carrie,
Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing them. FWIW, I enjoy reading your trip reports and repetition from a different person's perspective doesn't feel like repetition to me.
Amazing photos- may I ask if this was on a phone or with a real camera? Well done getting up so early to get the streets when they are empty!
Glad to hear you had such a nice time here- I still maintain it's my least favourite time here, tho I am not much of an xmas person. But I am happy other people are enjoying it!
Hi Katiecem, I’ve been conflicted on the trip reports lately. Someone made a comment earlier this year that stuck with me. Something about the trip reports are a way for a person to brag about their trip. I would never want to come across like that. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to take a lot of trips lately, and maybe people are tired of me and my trip reports. Sometimes I get tired of myself. :-) So, I decided I’ll write a trip report if I have something new or helpful or exciting to share. My next trip is March with my sister and her husband. I usually have some interesting stories after traveling with them, so I plan to write a trip report after that trip. That will be Spain.
Hi Cat VH, I have an iphone 15 pro that I used. I upgraded from a 13 mini and I noticed the difference immediately in photo quality and there is a much better zoom on the newer phone. And the best thing about the newer phones, which I just found out before this last trip, is the clean up feature on photos.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/121429
I think of it as a magic eraser. When editing photos, at the bottom next to crop, is clean-up. Click on it and it will suggest things to erase or you touch what you want to erase. And like magic, it’s gone!!!! As someone who spends a lot of time waiting for people to move out of the way to get that perfect picture, I totally feel like I’m cheating when I use this feature. But it is sure nice to be able to get rid of that odd garbage can or construction crane that is impossible to shoot around.
Sorry for invading your city. :-) I do my best to try and stay out of the way of the locals. I’m not the one standing in the middle of the sidewalk checking my phone. And when I fell on top of some poor lady on the tube when I was trying to get situated with my darn suitcase, I apologized profusely.
Carrie, wonderful photos. London is really beautiful at Christmas time. Thanks for sharing your trip!
Carrie - thanks for the trip report and wonderful photos. i'm heading to London on December 21st, (also solo) and your photos are making me even more excited for this trip. I can't wait to see the lights at Kew Garden.
Happy Holidays & Happy Travels!!
Thanks for the tip- I have a 15 as well, tho regular, not pro- but I haven't been able to get my photos looking as good as yours!
No need to apologise, we welcome guests here, and it's a big enough place there is room for everyone! And having tourists fall into you on the tube is just a normal part of life :)
Thanks for posting the links to your beautiful photos.
Carrie, I also love the camera on the 15 Pro-I got it specifically because I wanted the better Zoom. And I love Clean-up-its a game changer to get rid of cars in photos!
Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing.
Hi jeanm, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this trip as much as I did. I’m not a big lover of cities and I was just there last year with my sister and her husband, but I felt the Christmas magic. It’s a great walking around city and all the decorations made it even more enjoyable. I think the first thing I did after checking in and having breakfast was run to St. James Park to see if the pelican were still there. They were! They just bring me such joy.
Hi Stacie, Have a great trip! If you get a chance, take an uber boat ride down the river at night to see all the lights. I did the boat trip during the day, and I couldn’t help but think how much better it would look at night. The uber boats are very comfortable, and unlike the tube, they have toilets.
Hi again Cat VH, I came home thinking I really need to work on my balance before I return. I am so impressed with the people who can ride the tube without holding on to anything. I always try to stand near the door so I can hold on to pole.
Hi cala, I wasn’t originally planning to post photos, but after reading allan’s great trip report, I thought, they need to see it. People need to see how it looks this time of year.
A friend told me about clean-up a few days before my trip, and I was like, how did I not know about this. I love it so much I bought myself the new ipad air so I can have clean-up there too.
Hi Ginger, Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed them. I’m in the process now of deleting some more. I always take thousands of photos. I have allowed myself a hard limit of 200 per trip that I can keep. But, 150 if I can get there. I’m currently at 208 for this trip. And I always do a photobook after each trip too.
I also enjoyed your photos, looks like a magical time of year to visit, definitely more magic than the middle of August, when I was there earlier this year.
FWIW Android also has a photo editing feature that is called magic eraser (accessed in the photo app, tools/edit/magic eraser). I used it to zap out all the people in front of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul - fun to imagine what it would look like if that truly had happened.
In lieu of a Trip Report, your photos tell the perfect story of London this time of year.
I did not experience the crowds that he did. I think there are two
main reasons for this. 1) Location. I stayed right in the heart of
Westminster, at the Sanctuary House Hotel, and was able to walk most
everywhere. AND 2) I was solo. It’s much easier to be out the door at
6 or 7 am when you are by yourself.
You're so right. Travelling with 5 limits your freedom to be up and out, as does staying in Fulham vs. Westminster. When it's just Carla and I, I'm usually out the door for an our or two while she wakes up and gets ready, and usually we stay closer to the centre so I can wander. I'm envious of some of the photos you got early in the morning. I'm curious, did you edit the Kew photos to get rid of the people or are you just incredibly patient and waited out the crowds for an opportunity?
Someone made a comment earlier this year that stuck with me. Something
about the trip reports are a way for a person to brag about their
trip. I would never want to come across like that. I’ve been fortunate
to have been able to take a lot of trips lately, and maybe people are
tired of me and my trip reports.
Personally I don't get tired of trip reports, and I especially love the ones from people that have visited the same places I've been. I love to read the different views of the same thing. What I do get tired of is the negative nellies that complain about what someone else posts.
You never dealt with the crowds this trip? Lucky. I think for us, some of the challenge that makes crowds more noticeable and more of an annoyance is the height of Carla. She's 5'0 and a crowd can be 10 people standing in front of her.
Gosh, Carrie, between your fantastic photos and Allan's and Jaimeelsabio's trip reports, I think I will have to add London to my Christmas Market trip that I hope to take in 2026. Thanks for sharing!
Hi CL, It sounds like you might need to do a return trip to London. :-) The magical eraser is not perfect yet, as the AI has to guess what is behind the item you want to zap. But, it even impressed my dad, who is never impressed with anything.
Hi Allan, I had a strategy that worked perfectly for kew gardens. I made sure to go on a weekday. I was there on a Tuesday, Nov. 18. I had read go early in the evening. I wasn’t sure if the 4pm opening time would be dark enough, so I booked the 4:20 slot. I took my time once in the gate, used the bathroom and let everyone get ahead of me. And I really loved the beginning of the path, with the flowers in the water and the building in the background. I could of stayed there all night trying to get pictures of all the ever changing colors. By the time I was done there, there was no one in front of me. I did have to wait out people a few times. And there were some areas where I could tell I wouldn’t be able to wait or the group behind me would catch up. So, I didn’t get pictures of everything that I would have liked to. I usually end up deleting pictures if they have people in them, so I rarely bother with those anymore. I have a hard time seeing well on the small iphone screen. So, when I looked at a few of these pics on the ipad, I did see a random person off in the distance or maybe a stray arm. Those I did erase. The technology is just not that good yet where you can delete a lot without it looking obvious that something does not look right. I tried deleting a group of people at neil’s yard, and it was whacky. So, I just deleted that photo.
The crowds issue is a trade off for me sometimes. I have a good idea of what will be crowded when and I will avoid those areas at those times. I did miss out on seeing some of the lights over the streets at night because I knew I would not enjoy being in the big crowds. And I think most people were around the areas of Regent, Bond and Oxford streets at night so that really was an advantage for walking near the eye and parliament to get some nice pics without the crowds. Plus, I’m one person, so I can maneuver easily around people if I need to get out of a big clump of people. With 3 or 5 people, that’s hard to do.
Hi Sherry in AZ, I hope you are able to add London. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the markets when they were open. Again, trying to avoid crowds. I did buy these 3 little things at the Trafalgar Square market that I thought were little cakes. Boy, was I disappointed when I discovered they were chocolate covered marshmallows.
Hi Carrie,
Again, FWIW, I like reading trip reports that include the personality, opinions and feelings of the traveler so hearing about the same places from different people or even different times is enjoyable to me. No pressure to write long trip reports, just reassuring that I (and probably many others) don't get tired of long trip reports.
Carrie,
I completely agree with those who find trip reports helpful and I don't think of them as bragging. In addition to reading them for information, I enjoy the personalities, likes, and dislikes, that are evident from well-written reports. I understand if you aren't feeling the desire to write a report, but be assured that many of us will enjoy whatever you write.
Great photos! I might need to update my iPhone one of these months.
I loved my trip to London and Kew Gardens in the summer, and have considered a late November or early December trip, but as someone who has lived in California for most of my adult life, I don't do well in the cold anymore. I'll have to think about that because everything else about it appeals to me.
We recently returned from Spain, so I'll look forward to your report and how your experiences overlap with or differ from ours.
Hi again Katiecem, I appreciate that. If work is slow next week (I’ve been working 60 hours a week), I’ll add some more detail. I do have an interesting phantom of the opera story.
Hi Barbara N, the weather is so tricky. And while there’s so much to see inside, if you go to see the lights and decorations, you will want to be outside. I’m no stranger to the cold and I was prepared. But, there was one day where I had about had it. I was chilled to the bone. I brought gloves but kept taking them off to take pictures. I guess I need to look at getting a pair of tech gloves. Pret has an excellent mint hot chocolate, which I drank almost daily. And I almost bought tickets for 2 days at Kew Gardens, because I was worried my day might not be ideal for photos.
If you take a lot of photos, I do think an updated iphone is worth it. Speaking of phones, quick story. It was my Kew Gardens day, Nov. 18th, and everything on my phone stopped working. I couldn’t use citymapper or anything. I thought it was an issue with Verizon, but found out later that large parts of the internet were down.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c629pny4gl7o
That was a little nerve racking. I could hear nigel and stuart saying, “you should of learned how to read the tube map.” :-) I knew I had to get on district or circle line to get to st. james park, but I was hoping to take one where I didn’t have to change tubes. A nice lady at the tube station helped me get on the right tube with no changes. It's not a big deal to change, I just prefer not to if I can avoid it.
I loved your pictures! But I wanted the two videos to be longer!! I played them several times instead!
And I am with those who love trip reports, especially to places I have been or are considering going.
I tried to talk my husband into going to London over thanksgiving week. All these reports are going to have me planning this much earlier (it was October when I proposed the idea).
The technology is just not that good yet where you can delete a lot
without it looking obvious that something does not look right.
I agree, but it's worth a try. I have a Samsung S24 so I can't comment about the IPhone but I've been having some luck with some photos. I have one from Westminster Abbey where the coronations are held. I'd gotten tired of being patient waiting for all those pesky tourists to get out of my way so I took a photo and edited it on the spot and I can't tell that I wasn't alone. I was able to move on without waiting anymore.
Oh my goodness, those are some gorgeous photos! I enjoy reading trip reports -- and looking at photos -- to gather info to help plan future vacations. And your photos now make we want to see storefronts that I otherwise would not have considered as "must-see" sights. You've definitely inspired a lot of people to go to London and Kew Gardens next November - December. Many thanks for sharing!
Great photos.
Trip reports on this forum are not bragging. Its bragging if you send trip reports to people who never asked for them.
maybe people are tired of me and my trip reports
Not possible, Carrie !!
Also
Someone made a comment earlier this year that stuck with me. Something about the trip reports are a way for a person to brag about their trip.
Don't listen to that person. This is a travel forum, where we talk about travel — and trip reports are really helpful !!! Let them go be an Oscar the Grouch in their trash can. But that is sad their words are sticking in people's minds.
Perfect complement to Allan and Jameelsabio's trip reports! Thank you for putting this together. I too remember that thread earlier this year where trip reports were regarded as boasting about your trip, but I get so much value from other's trip reports. I have learned so much, and got so many ideas. I am happy you posted this in spite of the hesitation, and it supports me to continue writing mine.
I am so impressed with the people who can ride the tube without holding on to anything.
Don't be! The best tube riders always have a hand on something. You need to be holding on when the train is accelerating or braking. Shorter people than I may struggle to get a hold of a rail above. You should always try to be holding on though.
The worst is on buses. If you get caught on the stairs as the bus is braking, you're fighting against all sorts of g-forces. Navigating the stairs on a moving bus takes two hands sometimes. I still manage to ring the bell and leap from my seat gazelle-like to be ready at the doors before the bus stops though. I'm not sure if visitors to London may wait in their seat until the bus stops?
Your pictures from Kew turned out great. It looks fabulous.
Thanks for sharing your report!
Hi BethFL, Sorry for the short videos. I just am not a video person, and they take up too much storage on my phone. But I did want a couple short videos to text family and friends back home. And of course Kew Gardens was 10 times better in person. I hope you’re able to go.
Hi again Allan, I was going back over some photos from some previous trips and I tried to erase a dumpster that was in front of a building. Should be real simple, no problem, but it just wouldn’t work. It couldn’t match the background of the building for some reason.
Hi V-n-J, Thanks! I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the department stores either, inside or outside. But I was pleasantly surprised. I mentioned on Claudia’s thread how the windows at Selfridges remind me of the ones at the old Marshall Field’s on State Street in Chicago. It turns out that Selfridge's was founded by an American, Harry Gordon Selfridge, who was a partner in the Marshall Field's Chicago store. So, that completely made sense. My favorite of the big department stores for ornaments was Selfridges. I was so disappointed with Harrods, and I believe Allan had the same reaction. We were not impressed.
Hi Threadwear, Thanks! You’re right! And people don’t have to read them if they don’t like them.
Hi Kim, Thanks! Usually I’m pretty good about ignoring things like that, but it’s been such a rough year personally, so I think I’m more sensitive than normal.
Hi MapLady, I completely agree that the trip reports are extremely helpful. They’ve always been a big part of my trip research. I have Mary’s printed out from her Spain trip and keep referring back to it.
Hi GerryM, The tube does take some getting used to. I’m always so happy when I can find a seat. Although I did give my seat up once to a lady with a suitcase. I thought it a little odd that her husband took the seat next to me and left his poor wife standing.
I loved your photos, Carrie! Thanks for sharing. I would love to see London at Christmastime, but I love being home at Christmas so much, I’ve never done it.
Also, I love your trip reports.
Hi Carroll, You could go mid November maybe. I made sure to be back before Thanksgiving so as not to upset my mom for missing a holiday.
And for those who are in London earlier, I believe the Christmas shops at the big department stores opened end of August, early September.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE TRIP--PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Quick background: I saw Phantom for the first time earlier this year with my sister while we were in Vienna and I just fell in love with it. This is what I had to say about it in my trip report:
We also saw Phantom of the Opera at the Raimond Theater. Now this was
a highlight for me. I loved it and I don’t even like the theater. We
saw Wicked in London last Oct, which I enjoyed, but I thought Phantom
was so much more impressive. The quality of the singing was really
incredible. The set design and special effects seemed more modern than
Wicked. And you could really feel the live orchestra. I was really
blown away. My sister said I need to get out more. It was in German
with English subtitles.
So, I was super excited to see Phantom in London, assuming it would be the same show. It was not! Comparing it to the version in Vienna, the story seemed different, the sound quality was horrible (no surround sound), and the singing wasn’t nearly as good. Looking online after, I guess the performance in Vienna was a more modern, updated version.
That’s not the end of the story.
About halfway through the performance, there were shouts down below from the audience. I was up in the first balcony, first row. At first I thought it was part of the performance, telling myself this is just one more example of how it’s different. And then there was a cry for a doctor. From what I could see, some older gentleman had fallen. He seemed to be on the floor for a good 10 minutes before a few men carried him out and then I could see him lying in the hallway. I was never able to find out what happened so I take that to hopefully mean he was OK. So, that delayed things awhile. It seemed like an eternity I was just sitting there. I do not do well with sitting still.
So, after however long, the show started back up again. It seemed to go on for a while, and then the actors took a bow, and the audience clapped and then started to get up. I was like, oh good, this is finally over. There was no announcement about this being the intermission, so I thought maybe the medical emergency break counted as the intermission. Apparently not. As I was about to walk out the door, one of the ushers handed me a ticket and said I would need it to get back inside. So, I ended up leaving at the intermission and I didn’t even realize it. It sure felt like I had been there for 3 hours.
I’m sure if I had not seen the Vienna version, I would have enjoyed this one more. But there was just no way I could not compare the two. The Vienna one was really spectacular!! If anyone is headed to Austria and is a Phantom fan, this is a must see. As of now, it’s playing through June 28, 2026.
Such beautiful photos, London is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing, Carrie.
A good reminder that a visit at anytime from about mid-November will get you to "London at Christmastime."
Thanks Carrie, we will be in Vienna and would like to see Phantom. Do you have a link where to buy tickets?
Hi Luv2Travel, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
Hi again Kim, My guess is that mid-Nov. is a lot less crowded. I would say that 92% is Christmas ready at that time. Some of the performances, like the Nutcracker and some of the Christmas concerts, don’t start until Dec. A couple of the Christmas markets open later, Camden Market and Borough Market. You might see more decorations in Dec., but there was more than enough for me to see in Nov. The big thing is to wait until Christmas at Kew Gardens is open. Looking back a few years, opening dates have been from Nov. 13 to Nov. 17. No dates published yet for 2026, but I would expect it to open around those same dates.
Hi Tammy (aka Diveloonie), I hope you get to see Phantom. Here is the website for the theater:
https://www.musicalvienna.at/en/schedule/100004/THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA
If you scroll down, there is a video preview of the performance. At the top, you will see “Dates & Tickets.”
And I want to make sure you caught what I mentioned above. The performance is in German with English subtitles. I was hesitant to book for this reason, but I think it enhanced the performance for me. It makes you focus more on the visual and the music.
The Raimund Theater was easy to get to. We were staying at the Boutique Hotel am Stephansplatz and took the U-Bahn, U3, to westbahnhof and then it was about a 7 minute walk.
Hi Carrie, I love your photos and I also love reading trip reports. Re: " I thought it a little odd that her husband took the seat next to me and left his poor wife standing." I try not to judge when I see what I think of as odd or inconsiderate behavior. My husband is 7 years older than me with terrible balance. If there is only one seat on any type of public transportation, I always tell him to take it. He's too big for me to pick up off the floor!
Hi Joann, You are absolutely right. There could have been a perfectly reasonably reason for the seat arrangement. And I should know better than to judge. My sister, who is young and looks perfectly healthy on the outside, often needs special accommodations for her numerous medical conditions.
Carrie, One particularly useful version of the tube map you may not have seen is this one showing which station have toilet facilities- https://content.tfl.gov.uk/toilets-map.pdf
Now of course that is dependent on them not having been vandalised, but it is quite handy to have.
And yes I've had that happen a few times (Uxbridge and Harrow, I'm looking at you in particular as repeat offenders)- that can be when a Radar Key comes in very useful as the accessible ones are sometimes available even when the others aren't.
The big thing is to wait until Christmas at Kew Gardens is open.
I 2nd that. It's worth the trip.
I try not to judge when I see what I think of as odd or inconsiderate
behavior.
Just a comment based on my observations of the tube; I wrote in my 2018 Trip Report about London that I thought Londoners should be proud of how considerate they were on the tube. At that time my mother-in-law was 75 and she never had to stand in the tube as someone always gave up their seat. Fast forward to last month and my mother-in-law; now 82 (but doesn't look or act it), still never had to stand. Even on the always crowded Piccadilly line someone always gave up their seat for her. I did observe though that the most likely person to give up a seat were males over 40 years old. The younger they were the less likely they were to give up a seat, and teenage girls and women in their 20's were the most likely to be absorbed in their phones and stay seated.
"Someone made a comment earlier this year that stuck with me. Something about the trip reports are a way for a person to brag about their trip. I would never want to come across like that."
I think if someone feels that way, travel forums are probably not the best resource for them. They're better off going to tourist information sites.
I find trip reports invaluable, and I always seek out reports on a location when I'm researching a trip. I admit I don't read every single report that's posted, but I definitely read them for researching trips, reliving memories from previous trips, and, occasionally, for random entertainment/info when a topic grabs my attention.
So, thank you for sharing your trip and your photos. I appreciate it.
Carrie, thanks for these incredible pictures. You do have a talent.
Regarding Trip Reports and boasting, I don't see much of that here. The folks here offer functional, practical advice that I find invaluable. In my reports, I try to do the same, and add tips that hopefully save others time and frustration. I include my mistakes, maybe preventing others from the same pitfalls.
Also, in this internet and influencers' era, I think it's important to share the stark reality of some destinations, and the discrepancies from the influencers' " romantic" ( filtered) pix.
I have printed many TR's, especially yours, and there were priceless! Keep on writing them!
And come on-no trip rolls out perfectly as planned!
Ps
I have also used the IPhone's Clean Up feature on older pix, and am quite happy with the results . Sometimes not perfect, but acceptable results.
Wonderful report, Carrie, as usual. I just booked the Sanctuary House for April. Any comments on it, especially re: the location?
Hi isn31c (Stuart), Thanks for the link to the tube toilet map. It is definitely very helpful.
Hi again Allan, That’s great to hear. I’m hoping we’ll have that luck with my mom next year. I’ll have to suggest she stop dying her hair, so she’ll look older. :-)
Hi BB, I appreciate your comments. Thank-you!
Hi Pat, Thanks! My dad is a really good photographer, so I’ve picked up a few tips from him over the years. And it’s funny because I always hated going anywhere with him because he was always taking a million photos. And now I do the exact same thing.
Hi Katheryne, Did you see my trip report from my Oct. 2024 trip?
I have some info. in there about what we did and how we got around.
The location is just perfect for me. I love being a few minutes from St James’s Park in one direction and the Parliament (a favorite photo subject of mine) in another direction.
St. James’s tube station is a minute walk from the hotel. Be sure to use the Broadway exit.
I looked briefly at other hotels for my return trip next year, thinking maybe a hotel or tube line closer to the main shopping areas would be easier for my mom. I was able to walk to all the stores, by I know my mom won’t want to walk that much. But I decided I wouldn’t be as happy staying anywhere else. I talked to my sister about it, and she agreed. So, well be staying at Sanctuary House again next Nov.
I ‘m happy to answer any questions if you have any.
Carrie, you are an automatic read for me. I always love your reports, great info and great writing and tone. I have a lot of your stuff bookmarked for future planning, Ireland in particular. So please keep them coming! The few who are soooo sensitive (I remember that comment too) can just scroll on by.
I love your photos, you almost always get some great animal pics. But Kew was the best in this trip. Wow. I keep putting it on my list and then never making it. And you also make me realize it’s time to upgrade my iPhone 12.
Hi Lyndash, I appreciate the comment. I, of course, got some animal pics this trip too.
