On now · Early November 2026 to early January
No one does Christmas like London.
Carnaby Street switches on 4 November and the city stays lit until January. Markets, rinks, light trails and the department store windows, walked in the right order and at the hour they are worth seeing.
What is actually on
Magical Christmas lights
Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and Covent Garden. Different installations, ten minutes apart, and a walking order that means you are not doubling back.
Carnaby 4 Nov, Regent Street 5 Nov, Covent Garden 12 Nov
Christmas markets
Confirmed: Old Spitalfields from 11 Nov, Covent Garden from 12 Nov, Greenwich Market from 18 Nov. Expected, not yet announced: Leicester Square, the Southbank Centre and Camden.
Late Oct to early Jan
Winter Wonderland
Hyde Park's Christmas fair in full: the big wheel, a full fairground, market stalls and an ice rink. Free to walk through, but the wheel, rides and rink all need booking ahead separately.
19 Nov to 3 Jan
Iconic storefronts
Fortnum & Mason, Liberty and Harrods put real money into their Christmas displays. A twenty-minute walk that costs nothing and photographs beautifully.
Most windows up by mid-November
When the lights actually go on, 2026
Two lists, because they are two different things. Confirmed dates have been announced by the organiser. Expected dates are last year's plus a pattern, and you should not book a flight around one. Checked 1 October 2026.
Confirmed
- Carnaby StreetWed 4 Nov
- Ever After Garden, ChelseaThu 5 Nov to 21 Dec
- Regent StreetThu 5 Nov
- Old SpitalfieldsWed 11 Nov
- Marylebone VillageWed 11 Nov
- Covent GardenThu 12 Nov
- Kingston Christmas MarketThu 12 Nov to 3 Jan
- Christmas at KewFri 13 Nov to 3 Jan
- Leadenhall craft marketSat 14 Nov & Sat 12 Dec
- Greenwich MarketWed 18 Nov
- Winter Wonderland, Hyde ParkThu 19 Nov to 3 Jan
- Fulham Palace winter gardenFri 20 Nov to 23 Dec
- Chelsea Winter VillageWed 25 Nov to 28 Dec
- Trafalgar Square treeThu 3 Dec
- Eltham Palace Christmas fairSat 5 to Sun 6 Dec
- Crafty Fox, King's CrossSun 6, Sat 12 & Sun 13 Dec
- Bond StreetThu 12 Nov
Expected, not yet announced
- Oxford StreetEarly Nov
- St James'sThu 5 Nov, with Regent Street
- Seven DialsThu 12 Nov, with Covent Garden
- Leadenhall Market lightsMid-Nov
- BelgraviaMid-Nov
- ChelseaMid-Nov
- Kenwood HouseLate Nov
The Christmas markets, and when they open
Same rule as the lights. Highlighted dates are announced by the market. The rest are what the listings expect, and where two listings disagree we give the month, not a day. Checked 3 October 2026.
- Old SpitalfieldsFrom Wed 11 Nov
- Covent GardenFrom Thu 12 Nov
- KingstonThu 12 Nov to 3 Jan
- Leadenhall craft marketSat 14 Nov & Sat 12 Dec
- Greenwich MarketFrom Wed 18 Nov
- Winter Wonderland, Hyde ParkThu 19 Nov to 3 Jan
- Chelsea Winter VillageWed 25 Nov to 28 Dec
- Leicester SquareAbout 31 Oct to early Jan (expected)
- Southbank Centre Winter MarketMon 2 Nov to 4 Jan (expected)
- Trafalgar SquareEarly Nov to early Jan (expected)
- Battersea Power StationFri 6 Nov to 3 Jan (expected)
- Seven DialsThu 12 Nov to 3 Jan (expected)
- Winter by the River, London BridgeMid-Nov to early Jan (expected)
- Between the Bridges, South BankSundays 15 Nov to 20 Dec (expected)
- Mayfair (Mayfair Place)Thu 26 to Sat 28 Nov (expected)
- King's Cross, under the CanopyFri 27 Nov to 22 Dec (expected)
- Camden MarketMon 30 Nov to 23 Dec (expected)
- Borough Market, Christmas weeksFrom Mon 30 Nov (expected)
- Wembley ParkWeekends 5 to 20 Dec (expected)
The ice rinks, and the one that is not running
Rinks sell out and they are the part of a Christmas trip most likely to be booked around. Canary Wharf is on this list because it is not opening this year and half the internet still says it is.
- Skate Leicester SquareSat 31 Oct to Sun 3 Jan
- Glide, Battersea Power StationFri 6 Nov to Sun 3 Jan
- Skate at Somerset HouseWed 11 Nov to Sun 10 Jan
- Queen's House, GreenwichWed 18 Nov to Sun 3 Jan
- Winter Wonderland, Hyde ParkThu 19 Nov to Sun 3 Jan
- Hampton Court PalaceFri 20 Nov to Sun 3 Jan
- Westfield White CityMid-Nov to early Jan
- Alexandra PalaceMid-Dec to early Jan
- Canary WharfNot running in 2026
Take it with you
Every date on one page, sized for a phone.
Confirmed switch-ons, the ones still unannounced, and every rink with its dates. Nothing here is hidden behind this, it is all on the page above. This is just the version you can keep open while you are standing on Regent Street.
One email when the unannounced dates are confirmed, and nothing else. No list swapping, and you can say stop at any point.
The first confirmed switch-on is Carnaby Street, 4 November.
Most visitors see three of these and call it a night. A private Christmas tour gets you round the best of them in one evening, in an order that does not double back, at the hour they are actually worth seeing.
The walks worth booking for Christmas.
All tours →2.5 hours · 8 per guide
Christmas lights tour
Seven installations, one evening, in the order they are worth seeing.
From £150 per group
3 hours · 8 per guide
Soho after dark
A night out with someone who knows where the door is.
From £150 per group, plus £35 a person for the drinks
Up to 8 hours · Any size
Private day, your itinerary
You tell us what the day is for. We build it.
From £340 per group
The rest of the year
London is four different cities.
We push one season at a time because that is how people actually travel. Here is what the others look like, so you can pick the trip rather than take the one you happen to land in.
- Winter in LondonJanuary to February
- January and February are when London stops performing. Museums are empty, restaurants take walk-ins, hotels are half price, and the light between three and four in the afternoon is the best of the year.
- Spring in LondonMarch to May
- Six weeks where London is at its best and not yet full. Cherry blossom in the squares, the parks turning over, and daylight until eight without August’s queues.
- Summer in LondonJune to August
- Summer is when London is busiest and most rewarding at the same time. The whole game is timing: which hour, which entrance, which side of the river.
- Autumn in LondonSeptember to October
- September and October are the locals’ favourite months. Summer’s crowds gone, the parks turning, and everything still open before the winter hours come in.
Do Christmas properly.
One message with your dates. We come back with a price and what is open that week.