- Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree2026: tree arrives in early December 2026; lighting ceremony date to be confirmedFree
- Regent Street Christmas Lights2026: switch-on Thu 5 Nov 2026 (Londonist)Free
- Oxford Street Christmas Lights2026: early November 2026 (date to be confirmed)Free
- Carnaby Street Christmas Lights2026: switch-on Wed 4 Nov 2026 (This is Soho)Free
- Covent Garden Christmas Lights & Tree2026: switch-on 12 Nov 2026Free
- Christmas at Kew2026: 13 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027, 4.20pm–10pmFrom £25.50 (2026); timed entry
- Christmas at Hampton Court Palace2026: Festive Fayre 4–6 & 11–13 Dec 2026Included in palace admission (Fayre ticketed)
🧒 With kids
- Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree · London
- Oxford Street Christmas Lights · London
- Covent Garden Christmas Lights & Tree · London
- Christmas at Kew · London
- Christmas at Hampton Court Palace · London
- Christmas at Cliveden · Taplow
✨ Date night
- Regent Street Christmas Lights · London
- Carnaby Street Christmas Lights · London
- Glow Wild at Kew Wakehurst · Ardingly
🎉 With friends
- Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree · London
- Regent Street Christmas Lights · London
- Oxford Street Christmas Lights · London
- Carnaby Street Christmas Lights · London
- Covent Garden Christmas Lights & Tree · London
- Christmas at Kew · London
Christmas tree
📷 Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 📷 Anneke_B · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 📷 Kathleen Conklin · CC BY 2.0
Christmas tree · London
Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree
The Norwegian spruce given to London by the people of Oslo every year since 1947 as thanks for wartime help — around 20–25 m tall, lit at a public ceremony with carols in early December.
✨ Date night🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- Oslo's gift to London since 1947
- Lighting ceremony with carols in early December
- Carol singing by the tree on December evenings
- Christmas market in front of the National Gallery
A London Christmas classic — come on a weekday evening for the carols, then walk up to Regent Street's lights.
- 2026
- tree arrives in early December 2026; lighting ceremony date to be confirmed
- Last season
- lit 4 Dec 2025 – 5 Jan 2026
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- Charing Cross station and tube are on the square; Embankment and Leicester Square are a few minutes' walk.
Worth knowing
- The tree stays until about 5 January, then is recycled.
Christmas street
📷 Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 📷 Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0 · 📷 Lucy McCallum · CC BY-SA 4.0
Christmas street · London
Regent Street Christmas Lights
The 'Spirits of Christmas' — 30 angel figures made of around 300,000 LEDs — hang across the curve of Regent Street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly.
✨ Date night🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 30 illuminated 'Spirits of Christmas'
- The sweeping curve of Regent Street
- Switch-on evening with entertainment
- Hamleys and Liberty nearby
The most photographed Christmas lights in London — walk it after dark from Oxford Circus down to Piccadilly Circus.
- 2026
- switch-on Thu 5 Nov 2026 (Londonist)
- Last season
- switched on 6 Nov 2025
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus tube.
Worth knowing
- The traffic island by Oxford Circus is the classic photo spot.
- The lights look best after dark; by day the figures are hard to make out.
Christmas street · London
Oxford Street Christmas Lights
'Sky Full of Stars': about 5,000 stars and 300,000 LED lights strung along London's busiest shopping street, usually the first West End lights to go on.
🎉 With friends🧒 With kidsWhat's there
- Around 5,000 illuminated stars
- Over a mile of lights
- Department-store Christmas windows
- Links to Regent Street at Oxford Circus
Best combined with Regent Street and Carnaby in one evening walk; very crowded on December weekends.
- 2026
- early November 2026 (date to be confirmed)
- Last season
- switched on 3 Nov 2025
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus or Tottenham Court Road tube.
📷 Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0
Christmas street · London
Carnaby Street Christmas Lights
A themed installation across the pedestrian street that changes every year — more adventurous than the big shopping streets; the 2026 theme is inspired by the 90s.
✨ Date night🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- New design every year
- Pedestrian street — easy photos
- Soho bars and restaurants around it
Five minutes from Regent Street and often the most fun design in the West End.
- 2026
- switch-on Wed 4 Nov 2026 (This is Soho)
- Last season
- 2025 'All is Bright' installation
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- Oxford Circus tube, then 3 minutes' walk.
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City lights
📷 The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0City lights · London
Covent Garden Christmas Lights & Tree
Over 300,000 lights, giant baubles and a 55 ft Christmas tree in the piazza, with street performers and festive shop windows; the 2026 theme is again 'The Theatre of Christmas'.
✨ Date night🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 55 ft tree with 30,000 lights
- Giant hanging baubles in the market building
- Street performers
- Seven-week season
The most festive square in central London — go early evening on a weekday.
- 2026
- switch-on 12 Nov 2026
- Last season
- from mid-Nov 2025
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- Covent Garden or Leicester Square tube.
Garden light trail
📷 m.shattock · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 📷 tanja-mueller.eu · CC BY 2.0
Garden light trail · London
Christmas at Kew
London's best-known Christmas light trail through the after-dark gardens, ending at the illuminated Palm House, with food and drink stops along the route.
✨ Date night🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- Illuminated trail through Kew's gardens
- Palm House light show at the end
- Food and mulled-wine stops
- Adult-only evenings on selected dates
What visitors sayGoogle 3.8 ★ · 204 reviews
Many call it magical — beautifully designed light and music installations over a roughly 2-hour, 2–3 km walk, well organised, with plenty of food stops. But long-time regulars felt 2025 was scaled back (no lake fountain show at the end, more lit trees and fewer 'wow' pieces, less Christmassy), and prices — tickets, £12–14 food — are a common complaint.
Worth the price for a special evening — book early, weekend slots sell out.
- 2026
- 13 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027, 4.20pm–10pm
- Last season
- 2025 season
- Cost
- From £25.50 (2026); timed entry
Getting there and parking
- Kew Gardens station (District line and Overground) is about 5 minutes' walk from Victoria Gate.
Worth knowing
- Entry slots every 20 minutes from 4.20pm; last entry 8pm (7pm on 24 Dec).
Stately home / castle
IllustrationStately home / castle · London
Christmas at Hampton Court Palace
Henry VIII's palace dressed for Christmas with an immersive 'Winter Palace' experience inside, and a Festive Fayre in the courtyards over two December weekends.
🧒 With kids✨ Date nightWhat's there
- Tudor palace decorated for Christmas
- Winter Palace experience with mythical beasts
- Festive Fayre (two weekends)
A daytime Christmas outing rather than a light trail — good with children.
- 2026
- Festive Fayre 4–6 & 11–13 Dec 2026
- Last season
- Winter Palace season 2025
- Cost
- Included in palace admission (Fayre ticketed)
Getting there and parking
- Hampton Court station (trains from Waterloo) is across the bridge from the palace.