
Well, folks, the countdown has all but finished. With just a few sleeps left, it’s basically Christmas at this point! And we’ve been having a wonderful time enjoying London’s Christmas shops, lights, and decor – all while slurping down plenty of mulled wine! Yup, festive cheer has truly taken over London. So, if you’re looking to maximise your Christmas cheer this year, here are the most wondrously festive things to do in London at Christmas.
1. Marvel at amazing Christmas light displays

Some of the most dazzling sights in London, any time of year, are the Christmas lights that string themselves up around the city. Here’s where you’ll find some of the best Christmas lights in town:
2. Get inspired by superb Christmas trees

Jostling for the top position as the best thing to do in London at Christmas is checking out London’s tree-mendous Christmas trees. There are all manner of designs to be found around the city each year, ranging from abstract to traditional, charitable, and completely bonkers. Here are a few of our favourite Christmas trees in London:
🌆 St Pancras – a wicked display
🌲 Covent Garden – always a STUNNING (and tall!) example
💎 Claridge’s – designed by Paul Smith this year
🎅 Bishopsgate Square – the tallest in London!
🍫 Sea Containers London – a chocolate-inspired tree
3. Wander around a marvellous Christmas market

London’s Christmas markets provide the perfect spot for a cosy night out, a festive stroll, or some last-minute Christmas gift shopping. With plenty of hearty street food, mulled wine, and boozy hot chocolate to enjoy, they provide all the trappings for a charming Christmassy day out. Here are some of our favourites:
❄️ Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park
⛄️ Winter By The River, London Bridge
🌇 Leicester Square Christmas Market
🎅 South Bank Christmas Markets
4. Glide around an atmospheric ice rink

Is it even the holiday season without an ice rink (or seven)? These festive ice rinks provide some unmissable fun regardless of whether you’re gliding across the ice like a pro, or hobbling along clutching the barrier.
🛍️ The Ice Rink at Westfield London Sponsored by Disney’s Moana 2
5. Get in the festive spirit with a magical Candlelight concert
Candlelight is bringing the magic of the festive season to London with this series of magnificent candlelit concerts. Songs from some of our favourite crimbo films, from Love Actually to Home Alone, will sound as well as jazz renditions of Christmas classics like “Winter Wonderland” and “Let It Snow” inside some of London’s most spectacular settings. Keep calm and jingle all the way to one of these utterly festive Candlelight concerts this December.
6. Warm up in a cosy winter igloo

Every year, all sorts of magnificent winter pop-ups take over London’s rooftops, riversides, and terraces. They provide us a steady supply of glorious food, warming winter cocktails, and toasty vibes. Lovely stuff – especially when you get to cosy up in an igloo all the while.
🛶 The Skuna Boat igloos allows you to set sail for Christmas cheer – inside a floating igloo.
🏢 1864 Rooftop Bar & Kitchen is perched above John Lewis for stunning views over London.
⛷️ Feast Off-Piste, at The Berkeley’s Rooftop Bar, swaps the igloos for ski gondolas.
⛸️ Glide at Battersea Power Station has rink-side igloos to escape the cold and watch others glide on by.
🔥 Thor’s Tipi at Winter Wonderland isn’t technicallyyyy an igloo (at all), but it’s got similar vibes with added warmth and joviality.
7. Chow down on a Christmas feast
Christmas is the ultimate excuse to spend all your time chowing down on enormous feasts. Roast? Yes, please. Cheese board? Why not? More wine? 100%! Here are some of the London restaurants serving up the most Christmassy menus to enjoy:
🍖 Fallow
🧇 Duck & Waffle
🥘 Pravaas
🔥 Berenjak
🍽️ Quaglino’s
8. Hit the shops for some Christmas presents and decor

If you STILL haven’t done your Christmas shopping at this point, then your best best might be a gift card (and a promise to do better next year). But if you reckon you can still find what you need in the stores, head to one of these London stores that have gotten all dressed up for Christmas:
🎁 Harrods
⭐️ Selfridges
🤩 Fortnum & Mason
💛 John Lewis Oxford Street
9. Be enchanted by a jaw-dropping light festival

Sure, London’s Christmas lights are already a spectacular sight, but these light festivals go above and beyond. You’ll find festive Christmas light festivals everywhere from the boughs of Kew Gardens to railways on the outskirts of London.
🚂 Epping Ongar Light Fantastic
✨ Winter Light at the Southbank Centre
10. Dine in a beautifully decorated restaurant

When Christmas comes a-calling, everyone from neighbourhood restaurants to Michelin star spots busts out the decorations. These spots in particular are always full of Christmas cheer at this time of year:
🎠 sketch, Mayfair
🎄 Churchill Arms, Kensington
❄️ Daphne’s, Chelsea
🧊 Seabird, Southwark
⛄ Dalloway Terrace, Fitzrovia
11. Explore a Christmas route to see all the sights

If you’re simply overwhelmed by EVERYTHING that London has to offer at Christmastime, or you’re seeking some efficiency as you navigate the festive offerings, we’ve got you covered. These routes and trails allow you to see London in all of its Christmas splendour. So jump on board and get ready to gaze out the window, or bundle up and get ready for a long festive walk!
🎄 The Most Christmassy Bus Route In London
✨ Ultimate Festive Walking Tour Of London’s Christmas Lights
12. Sip on a bevy of Christmassy drinks

There’s more than just mulled wine and boozy hot chocolate to sip on at Christmastime in London. Indeed, many of the city’s cocktail bars offer up some stunning Christmas drinks. Head to these spots for some delicious festive sips:
🍹 Bar + Block – for Christmas movie inspired cocktails
🍸 Arch Bar, InterContinental London Park Lane
❄️ Tattu
🍷 Kapara
13. Wander around some festive museum exhibitions

Even London’s museums can’t resist getting in on the holiday spirit. These museums in particular can always be counted on for Christmassy displays.
🦖 Every year the Natural History Museum, dresses up its T-Rex in a fearsome(ly cute) Christmas jumper.
📮The Postal Museum
🚂 London Transport Museum
14. Have a cuppa with a festive flair at these Christmassy afternoon teas

What’s better than celebrating the festive season with one of the most quintessentially British customs there is? These London spots can almost certainly be counted on for some wonderfully Christmassy afternoon teas this year:
⭐ St. James’s Hotel & Club
🥂 The Savoy, Strand
🎅 Gatsby’s Room, Mayfair
🍪 Biscuiteers, Notting Hill & Belgravia
☕️ Grosvenor House, Mayfair
15. Visit Santa at one of his grottos

Look, half the point of the season is to annoy an old man in a white beard and red hat with requests for the LEGO set of the Death Star from Star Wars, right? If you – or one of your younger family members – fancy an audience with Mr Claus himself, head on over to one of his grottos around the city:
😅 Shrek’s Adventure – Shrek The Halls, South Bank
🎅 Alexandra Palace
🦌 Vauxhall City Farm
🧑🎄 Santa’s Grotto at Camden Market
🛍️ Santa’s Grotto at Hamleys Regent Street
16. Brunch it up Christmas style

What better way to ring in the festive season than with every Londoner’s favourite pastime, brunch? Head to the following spots for some truly scrumptious Christmas brunch delights – and maybe even some cheeky bottomless drinks…
❄️ Dalloway Terrace
🥞 Sunday in Brooklyn
🍹 LIMIN Winter Lodge
🎤 Lucky Voice
🧇 The Table Cafe
17. Get out of London on a day trip

Sure, London may be FULL of Christmas cheer, but it’s not the only place with wonderfully festive sights and attractions. (Even if we were named the most popular Christmas destination in the world…) Head on out for the day, or for a weekend, to explore these Christmassy destinations:
❄️ Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market
🎄 Manchester Christmas Markets
❄️ Glasgow Winterfest Christmas Markets
18. Shout out at a panto

One of our wonderful Christmas traditions is the panto – one of the only live performances actively encouraging the audience to shout at the actors. These delightful shows often feature celebrity cameos and side-splitting performances. Here are a few of our picks of the best to check out:
🏹 Robin Hood at the London Palladium
😺 Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Greenwich Theatre
🪄 Aladdin at the Lyric Hammersmith
🌱 Jack and the Beanstalk at the New Wimbledon Theatre
✨ Cinderella at the King’s Head Theatre
19. Step into an immersive world with a festive twist
It’s not just London’s restaurants, exhibitions and theatres that have been decking their halls with bells and holly (fa la la la la), some immersive experiences are feeling the festive spirit too. You can travel back in time to experience an explosive Jacobean Christmas and toast to surviving a Martian invasion with a glass of mulled wine by the steampunk-style Christmas tree at these reality-warping experiences. Here are some of our favourites…
👽 Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience
💥The Gunpowder Plot Experience
20. Step into the world of a Christmas cinema classic

Sure, you could watch a Christmas film this holiday season. But you could also step right into the worlds represented on screen by exploring some of the filming locations from your favourite Christmas flicks. Several Christmas classics are set in London, and even filmed on our fine streets, such as:
🎄 Love Actually
🎥 Last Christmas
🎄 Bridget Jones’s Diary
🎥 About A Boy
Check out our guide to the best festive films set in London here.
21. Have a very naughty Christmas at the Southwark Playhouse

A Very Naughty Christmas at the Southwark Playhouse is a raunchy and hilarious adult-only Christmas comedy show originating from Australia, running from December to January 2025. This 85-minute comedy concert, with no interval, features stand-up, skits, parodied songs, dancing, singing, burlesque, and plenty of silliness. The show contains adult content, partial nudity, drug references, strobe lighting, haze, and loud noises, making it strictly for ages 18+ (look away, children!)
So if you’re looking for a night of escapism and debauchery, and an (unusual) holiday cheer, this is perfect for those looking for a naughty twist on traditional Christmas entertainment!
So there you have it: some of the best things to do in London at Christmas. Head out and spread some Christmas cheer!