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:
🌲 Covent Garden – always a STUNNING (and tall!) example
💎 Claridge’s – designed by Burberry this year
🎅 Bishopsgate Square – the tallest in London!
✨ Trafalgar Square – an annual gift from Norway, given each year as thanks for helping them out in World War II
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
🎅 South Bank Christmas Markets
🎄 Trafalgar Square Christmas Market
⛄️ Winter By The River, London Bridge
4. 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 including Central Hall Westminster. Keep calm and jingle all the way to one of these utterly festive Candlelight concerts this December.
5. 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
🧀 Nessa Soho
🦪 Ekstedt at The Yard
🍜 Farang
🍝 Marcella
🍗 Brigadiers
6. Hit the shops for some Christmas presents and decor
If you haven’t done your Christmas shopping, 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:
✨ Fortnum & Mason
💎 Cartier
🎁 Harrods
⭐️ Selfridges
💛 John Lewis Oxford Street
7. 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.
✨ Winter Light at the Southbank Centre
🌟 The Chelsea Winter Illuminations at Chelsea Winter Village
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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. Miracle at Henrietta is the spot offering up some stunning Christmas drinks and festive vibes.
11. 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
🎄 Beverley Christmas Market in Yorkshire
❄️ Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market
🎄 Manchester Christmas Markets
❄️ Glasgow Winterfest Christmas Markets
🎄 Christmasville: A Magical Immersive Experience in Portsmouth
12. 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.
If you haven’t scratched that surreal, festive itch, there’s more where that came from. Step through a portal at Avora for a sci‑fi cocktail odyssey on a distant planet, complete with bioluminescent forests, mission-style briefings and theatrical bartenders serving up otherworldly concoctions. Go full spectacle at Sabrage, a high-octane night of circus, cabaret and live music at Lafayette in King’s Cross, where acrobats, tongue‑in‑cheek humour and cocktails collide in a very extra night out.
Art nerds can head to Moco Museum, Marble Arch’s sprawling temple to modern, contemporary and digital art, where you can wander through immersive installations, neon-drenched rooms and interactive projections before rounding things off with a cocktail or afternoon tea next door. For a darker twist on the season, The Nutcracker Noir reimagines the classic tale as a multi-room immersive dinner show, blending theatrical performances, live music and a decadent multi-course feast as you journey from a surreal festive mart to a moody Club Noir. And if you’re hooked on optical illusions, mind games and reality-bending photo ops, you can double down on the weirdness with Paradox Museum.
So there you have it: some of the best things to do in London at Christmas. Head out and spread some Christmas cheer!