London Christmas Lights Walk: Oxford Circus to Covent Garden
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I spend a lot of time in London for work. I commute to Canary Wharf fortnightly from Liverpool, but there’s a difference between just being in London and actually experiencing it.
In November 2023, my colleague-friend and I decided to make the most of one of our evenings. We’re both from Liverpool and both work in London together. We try to make the most of our evenings during our two day fortnightly visits, and on one November trip, we decided to have a Christmas evening following the lights in London, and came up with this route as a result.
This is a walkable self-guided route, right through central London’s best Christmas light displays. It starts at Oxford Circus, finishes in Covent Garden, is roughly 3 miles and takes around two to three hours, depending on how long you linger. The lights are free to view, and the route is straightforward. It’s one of the best evenings you can have in London in November or December without spending a penny.
I’ve included a Google Maps link with every stop pinned so you can follow the full route in real time. Or, if you’d rather pick and choose, each stop has its own link whenever you see this icon – 📍. So you can skip anything that doesn’t work for you.
At the end, I’ve also listed optional add-ons for Canary Wharf, Notting Hill and Knightsbridge if you want to extend the evening further afield, but the main route stands completely on its own.
London Christmas lights walking route – quick overview
Start: 📍Oxford Circus tube station
Finish: 📍Covent Garden
Distance: Approximately 3 miles
Time: 2-3 hours
Cost: Free
Best time to start: 4 pm – which is dark enough for the full effect without being too late
Here’s the full route in order:
1. 📍Oxford Street – stars above the street, Selfridges windows
2. 📍South Molton Street – blue archway of lights
3. 📍Connaught Hotel – Mount Street Christmas tree
4. 📍Annabel’s – Berkeley Square, the most anticipated display in London
5. 📍New Bond Street – Cartier, Dior, Tiffany’s and the Cartier sound show
6. 📍Burlington Arcade – covered Victorian arcade, beautifully decorated
7. 📍Fortnum and Mason – giant advent calendar facade
8. 📍The Ritz – classic red and gold on Piccadilly
9. 📍Savile Row – scissors themed lights
10. 📍Regent Street – the iconic golden angels
11. 📍Liberty London – Tudor building, worth going inside
12. 📍Carnaby Street – changes theme every year
13. 📍Kingly Court – hidden courtyard off Carnaby Street
14. 📍Piccadilly Circus – illuminated advertising boards
15. 📍Seven Dials and 📍Neal’s Yard
16. 📍Covent Garden – fake snow, giant tree, LEGO Santa and Rudolph
👉 Open the full route in Google Maps – save it to your phone and follow it in real time.
London Christmas lights walking route map
A few practical notes before you start:
Start time: 4 pm is a good time to start. It’s dark enough to see the lights properly, but not so late that you’re rushing. Most displays stay lit until around 11 pm.
Getting there: Take the tube to Oxford Circus on the Central or Victoria line. That’s your starting point. Each stop on the route also has a nearby tube station if you want to join, exit or rejoin the route at any point; these are marked on the Google Maps route.
Getting around: Walk the whole route, that’s the point. But if your legs give out or the weather turns, the 139 bus runs along part of the route and is worth knowing about.
Phone: Charge it fully before you leave, and bring a portable charger if you have one. You will take more photos than you expect.
Phone safety: London has an active phone snatching problem, particularly in busy tourist areas. Keep your phone secure when you’re not using it and be aware of your surroundings, especially on Oxford Street and around Carnaby Street.
Transport costs: Use contactless rather than buying a travel card, which automatically caps at £8.90 per day for zones 1 and 2. Use Citymapper rather than Google Maps for navigating the tube.
Stop 1 – Oxford Street
Start here: 📍 Oxford Circus tube station
Turn left out of the station, and Oxford Street stretches in both directions; this is your starting point.
Oxford Street’s Christmas lights have been called Sky Full of Stars since 2021, and the name is apt. There are 5,000 illuminated stars made from approximately 300,000 energy efficient LEDs, creating a continuous canopy of warm white and gold, which stretches the full length of the street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. The lights are in partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, and you can sponsor a star on the Oxford Street website if you want to contribute.
Honest opinion – Oxford Street at Christmas is chaotic. Unless you’re shopping, take your photos and move on. The lights themselves are spectacular, but the street itself is loud, packed and not particularly pleasant to linger on. Get a photo, particularly with a red double decker bus under the stars, if you can time it, and keep walking. But everything else on this route is much more enjoyable.
Selfridges is worth a slow walk past the windows before you leave. Their Christmas window displays change every year and are always worth stopping for; the windows tell a story across the full length of the building.
Stop 2 – South Molton Street
📍 South Molton Street
> 3-minute walk from Oxford Street
From Oxford Street, turn down South Molton Street. It’s a short pedestrianised street running just off the main route that most people walk straight past without realising it’s there.
The blue archway of lights that runs the length of the street is one of the quieter and more atmospheric stops on the whole route. After the chaos of Oxford Street, it feels like a completely different city. It’s calm, lined with independent boutiques and relatively crowd free even in December.
It’s a 2 minute detour that most guides skip, and most visitors miss. Worth it for the photos before you head to Annabel’s.
Stop 3 – The Connaught Hotel, Mount Street
📍 The Connaught, Mount Street
> 5-minute walk from South Molton Street
From South Molton Street, head towards Mount Street in Mayfair. The Connaught Hotel is one of those stops that most people don’t know about until someone tells them, and then they can’t believe they missed it.
The Connaught Christmas tree is installed in the small square outside the hotel and is consistently rated one of the most beautiful in London. Unlike the large scale commercial displays on Oxford Street and Regent Street, this one is understated and elegant.
I haven’t been here myself, but it comes up in every London Christmas lights guide worth reading, and the photos speak for themselves. It’s worth the slight detour off the main route.
Stop 4 – Annabel’s, Berkeley Square
📍 Annabel’s, Berkeley Square
> 8-minute walk from The Connaught
Annabel’s is a private members’ club, and so you can’t go inside unless you’re one of the lucky few paying the annual membership fee. But the exterior display is always worth the stop, and it’s completely free to see from the street.
Berkeley Square isn’t somewhere you’d stumble across accidentally. It sits in the heart of Mayfair and is slightly off the tourist trail. The building is the only one on its stretch of the square that’s decorated, which makes it really stand out. Everything around it is dark and understated, and then there’s Annabel’s, completely lit up with whatever their chosen decorations are that year. It was a giant hot air balloon last time I visited, and the whole display always feels so luxurious.
Annabel’s changes its exterior display every year. Each one becomes its own moment, and when the photos start circulating in November, it becomes one of the most talked about displays in London. Here’s what it’s been in recent years:
> 2023 – hot air balloon
> 2024 – giant peacock snow globe
> 2025 – Chronicles of Narnia
The 2026 theme hasn’t been confirmed at the time of writing, but it’s worth checking Annabel’s Instagram before you visit for the latest reveal.
Stop 5 – New Bond Street
📍 New Bond Street
> 5-minute walk from Annabel’s
New Bond Street was my favourite stop of the whole evening. I had expected something similar to New York’s Fifth Avenue, with designer shops spread out with space between them. What you actually get on New Bond Street is something completely different. The buildings are terraced, one after the other in an unbroken row, which means the displays hit you consecutively rather than in isolation. You turn onto the street, and it’s just one extraordinary facade after another.
The Cartier building is the highlight. The whole exterior is transformed into an illuminated display with a sound show. Music plays and the lights perform in sequence. We stopped and watched with a crowd that had gathered around us. I couldn’t tell you exactly how long it ran but allow time to stop and watch rather than walking past.
Dior’s butterfly display was stunning and one of the most beautiful individual shop displays on the whole route. Chanel’s giant star. Tiffany’s. Chaumet. They all go all out and some of the displays mirror what you’d find outside their flagship stores in other cities, and so if you’ve been to New York or Paris you’ll recognise the DNA of each house’s Christmas aesthetic.
The Bond Street overhead lights change theme every year. In 2025 they featured 93,000 LEDs inspired by the Crown Jewels, think crowns, jewels and sparkle running the full length of both Old and New Bond Street.
One practical note is that New Bond Street gets very crowded in the evenings, particularly at weekends. Go as early as you can after dark for the best experience.
Stop 6 – Burlington Arcade
📍 Burlington Arcade
> 2-minute walk from New Bond Street
Burlington Arcade runs between New Bond Street and Piccadilly and is worth walking through even if you’re not buying anything. Built in 1819, it’s one of the oldest and longest covered shopping arcades in Britain. A glass roofed Regency era arcade lined with around 40 independent boutiques selling jewellery, cashmere, watches and perfume.
At Christmas, it’s beautifully decorated throughout, with garlands, ribbons and warm lighting running the full length of the arcade. Walking through it feels completely removed from the bustle of Bond Street outside. The Beadles, which is the arcade’s own uniformed security guards and one of the oldest private police forces in Britain, are still on duty throughout the festive season, which adds to the atmosphere considerably.
The outside is worth photographing before you go in, the entrance on Burlington Gardens is decorated with a wreath and lanterns that photograph beautifully at night.
It’s also worth noting that Burlington Arcade has a no running, no singing and no open umbrellas rule that’s been in place since 1819, and The Beadles take it seriously.
Stop 7 – Fortnum and Mason
📍 Fortnum and Mason
> 2-minute walk from Burlington Arcade
Fortnum and Mason sits right at the end of Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly and is one of those places that earns its reputation entirely. Founded in 1707, it’s been the Royal Family’s grocery store for over 300 years and at Christmas it becomes something genuinely special.
The exterior is worth stopping for alone. The facade is decorated like a giant advent calendar, with each window lit differently against the green and gold of the building. At night it photographs beautifully.
Inside is where it gets really good. When we visited, Christmas puddings were dangling down through the centre of the staircase, bobbing up and down. The food hall is extraordinary at any time of year but at Christmas the hampers, biscuit tins, teas and confectionery all come out in their full festive glory.
My friend comes every year specifically for the pickled Brussels sprouts. Yes, they exist, and yes, they are a thing. I picked up a rather beautiful Advent calendar for my aunt.
The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon on the fourth floor is one of the most beautiful places for afternoon tea in London, and so it’s worth booking if you want to make it an occasion. The ground floor cafe is good for a quick festive hot chocolate if you need a warm up mid-route.
Fortnum and Mason also has restaurant outposts elsewhere in London. At the Royal Exchange in the City, at St Pancras International station, and at Heathrow Terminal 5. But the Piccadilly flagship is the one worth visiting and the one that feels like a proper destination in itself.
Stop 8 – The Ritz
📍 The Ritz
> 2-minute walk from Fortnum and Mason
The Ritz is between Fortnum and Mason and Green Park and is worth a brief stop as you pass.
The exterior Christmas display is classic and understated. A deep red and gold against the pale stone of the building, warm lighting on the entrance canopy and the famous sign lit up above the door. It’s everything you’d expect from The Ritz.
You won’t be going inside without a reservation and a jacket. Afternoon tea at The Ritz is booked months in advance, and the dress code is strictly smart. But the exterior is free to look at and takes seconds to photograph, and is one of those quintessentially London Christmas moments.
Stop 9 – Savile Row
📍 Savile Row
> 3-minute walk from The Ritz
Savile Row is a brief detour off Piccadilly but worth taking. It’s the world’s most famous tailoring street, and home to bespoke suit makers since the 18th century, the street that gave us the word “sav” and where the Beatles played their last ever public performance on a rooftop in 1969, celebrates Christmas in the most fitting way possible.
If you look up, you’ll see giant illuminated golden shears cutting through swathes of glittering fabric suspended above the street. The display includes over 5,000 low energy LEDs and nods directly to the street’s heritage. It’s one of the most specific and clever Christmas light displays in London, and completely unlike anything else on the route.
One bonus is that Savile Row tends to be considerably quieter than New Bond Street despite being just around the corner.
Stop 10 – Regent Street
📍 Regent Street
> 3-minute walk from Savile Row
There are some things that are so associated with a place that seeing them in person gives you a feeling you can’t quite explain. The Rockefeller tree in New York is one. The Regent Street angels are another.
The Spirit of Christmas angels have hung above Regent Street every December since 1954, with over 30 golden winged figures stretching the full length of the street from Oxford Circus down to Piccadilly, each one lit and suspended between the buildings on both sides. To me, those angels, along with a red double decker passing underneath them, are the absolute epitome of London at Christmas.
I’ve seen them in photos hundreds of times. Seeing them in person for the first time is something else entirely.
The lights run from early November through to early January and are on daily from around 4 pm until midnight. They switch on around the same time as Carnaby Street, which is usually the first week of November, and are consistently one of the most photographed Christmas displays in the world.
Stop 11 – Liberty London
📍 Liberty London
> 4-minute walk from Regent Street
Liberty is just off Regent Street on Great Marlborough Street and is worth going inside even if you’re not planning to buy anything. The Tudor revival building was constructed in 1924 using timber from two Royal Navy ships, HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. It has creaking staircases, wood panelled galleries and an atmosphere unlike any other department store in London. Oscar Wilde called it “the chosen resort of the artistic shopper.” He wasn’t wrong.
I usually make a beeline straight to the fourth floor, where the Christmas shop takes over entirely. Liberty opens its Christmas shop earlier than almost anywhere else in London, sometimes as early as August. Inside you’ll find luxury baubles, themed decorations, tree toppers, ornaments and gift sets, all with that distinctly Liberty aesthetic. The themes change every year, but the quality is consistent throughout.
I always pick up a bauble when I visit. I have a running collection of London themed ones, including a double decker bus. They definitely cost more than a bauble reasonably should, and feels completely worth it every December when it goes on the tree.
The Seventy Five Restaurant on the second floor is worth knowing about if you need a sit down, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails, open throughout the day.
Stop 12 – Carnaby Street
📍 Carnaby Street
> 2-minute walk from Liberty
Carnaby Street is one of the most anticipated Christmas light reveals in London every year. Unlike most other streets, which stick to a consistent look, Carnaby completely reinvents itself every December. New theme, new installation, new everything.
When I visited in November 2023, the theme was Carnaby Universe, a neon and light wave space display that filled the whole street and looked completely extraordinary. In 2024, it launched a new programmatic display called Into the Light. In 2025, the theme was All is Bright, chunky geometric shapes in multiple colours suspended above the pedestrianised street.
The theme change each year is part of what makes Carnaby one of the most shared and talked about Christmas light displays in London every year. Check their Instagram before you visit to see what the current year’s theme looks like; it’s usually revealed with considerable fanfare in October or November.
The street itself is pedestrianised, lined with independent and boutique retailers, and considerably more relaxed than Oxford Street or Bond Street. A good place to browse if you have time before moving on to Kingly Court, just around the corner.
Stop 13 – Kingly Court
📍 Kingly Court
> 2-minute walk from Carnaby Street
Most people walk past Kingly Court without realising it’s there. It sits just off Carnaby Street, so look for the entrance on Kingly Street. It opens up into a covered three storey courtyard lined with independent restaurants, bars and shops.
At Christmas, the courtyard is decorated throughout, and the enclosed space gives it a genuinely cosy atmosphere that’s completely different to the open streets you’ve been walking. It’s a good place to stop for a drink or something to eat if you need a break mid-route as there’s a good range of options across all three floors.
Cahoots is also here, the 1940s underground tube station themed bar that comes up consistently for girls’ nights and hen dos. If you’re doing this walk as part of a girls’ weekend, Kingly Court is a natural pit stop that doubles as a bar crawl start point. 👉 Read our London girls’ weekend guide for more bar recommendations.
Stop 14 – Piccadilly Circus
📍 Piccadilly Circus
> 5-minute walk from Kingly Court
Piccadilly Circus is one of those places that needs no introduction. The illuminated advertising boards, the Anteros statue and the constant flow of red buses and black cabs. At Christmas the overhead lights feature dramatic large scale figures of Anteros, the Greek god of requited love. His statue has stood in Piccadilly Circus since 1893. The winged canopy of lights is one of the more impressive displays on the route.
Honest opinion – Piccadilly Circus itself is more of a pass through moment than a destination. The famous advertising boards are always on and always impressive but the Christmas lights here are less spectacular than what you’ve already seen on Bond Street and Regent Street. Walk through, take your photos and keep moving towards Seven Dials and Covent Garden.
Stop 15 – Seven Dials & Neal’s Yard
📍 Seven Dials and 📍Neal’s Yard
> 8-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus
Seven Dials is where seven streets meet at a central column bearing six sundials, another of London’s quirks, always making the city so interesting. At Christmas, a canopy of lights radiates out from the central pillar over the entire junction, creating one of the most atmospheric spots on the whole route. Unlike the grand commercial displays on Regent Street and Bond Street, Seven Dials feels like more of a neighbourhood, with independent shops and small restaurants.
Seven Dials Market is worth a look if it’s open. It’s a covered food hall that hosts live music at weekends and has a good range of street food and drinks. A natural pit stop if you need warming up before the final stretch to Covent Garden.
Neal’s Yard is a short walk from Seven Dials. It’s a tucked away courtyard of colourful independent shops and cafes that feels completely removed from the busy streets around it. I haven’t been here specifically at Christmas but it’s worth a wander if you have time, the look of it is unlike anywhere else in central London.
Stop 16 – Covent Garden
📍 Covent Garden
> 5-minute walk from Seven Dials
Covent Garden is the perfect end to the route, and one of the most consistently impressive Christmas destinations in London year after year.
The centrepiece is a 55 foot Christmas tree planted in the piazza, drenched in thousands of red and white lights. Around it, the Market Hall is decorated with 40 giant golden bells adorned with bows, 12 giant baubles and eight spinning mirror balls. The same decorations that have returned for several consecutive years now and have become part of what Covent Garden looks like at Christmas.
The fake snow is worth timing your visit around. It falls in the piazza on the hour every hour from midday to 9pm daily until the end of December. If you arrive on the hour you’ll get the full effect without having to wait. A LEGO Santa and Rudolph are positioned at the western end of the building, specifically for photos. It’s worth finding if you’re visiting with children or just want the most festive photo of the evening.
I’ve been through Covent Garden at Christmas more times than I can count but it’s one of those places that doesn’t get old. The combination of the market building, the street performers, the surrounding restaurants and bars, and the scale of the decorations makes it feel like a proper occasion every time.
The Guinness themed Christmas tree on nearby Langley Street is a nod to the area’s new Guinness Open Gate Brewery, and is worth a quick detour if you’re walking between Seven Dials and Covent Garden.
London’s best kept secret – 📍Bar Cicoria at the Royal Opera House
Before you finish for the evening, the Royal Opera House is right here in Covent Garden and most people walk straight past without realising they can just walk in. Head up to the fifth floor and you’ll find Bar Cicoria and the Piazza Terrace. It’s a covered rooftop bar looking directly down over Covent Garden below with views that stretch as far as the London Eye. No booking required, no performance ticket needed, just walk in from noon. It’s been quietly going viral on TikTok as one of London’s hidden gems, and seeing the Covent Garden Christmas lights from above, with a drink in hand, is a brilliant way to end the route.
From here, the evening is yours. If you’re ready to eat, drink and carry on, Covent Garden and the surrounding streets have everything you need. For a full girls’ weekend itinerary, including where to eat, drink and stay in the area, head to our girls weekend London guide.
Optional extensions – further afield
The main walking route covers around 3 miles and is designed to be completed in one evening on foot. But if you have more time, or want to return on another evening, here are four destinations worth adding. Each requires a tube ride from the main route.
Canary Wharf
Getting there from Covent Garden: Walk to Tottenham Court Road station (5 minutes from Covent Garden) and take the Elizabeth line direct to Canary Wharf in around 8 minutes. No changes needed.
📍Canary Wharf is one of the best connected places in London as it’s served by the Jubilee line, the Elizabeth line and the DLR, and so getting there from almost anywhere in central London is straightforward.
Most London Christmas lights guides stop at Covent Garden. This one doesn’t, because I work in Canary Wharf fortnightly and know it in a way most visitors don’t.
At Christmas (December)
Canary Wharf at Christmas is a completely different experience to central London. Canada Square Park has a covered ice rink from October through February, the malls are beautifully decorated throughout December, and on Fridays and weekends leading up to Christmas, there’s live music across the estate. All for free.
The ice rink has a bar attached, and it’s a genuinely good one. I’ve had drinks there after work, and my whole team ended up there after our Christmas meal one year, which turned out to be the highlight of the evening. The covered canopy means it works whatever the weather, and DJ nights on certain evenings make it feel more like a night out than a standard ice rink visit.
The Winter Lights Festival (January – separate event)
If you’re in London in late January, Canary Wharf does something genuinely extraordinary, but it’s worth clarifying that this is a completely separate event to the Christmas lights and runs after the festive season has finished.
The Winter Lights Festival runs for around two weeks from late January to early February where 16 or more large scale light art installations spread across the whole estate, completely free to visit, running from 5pm to 10pm daily. Bathtubs pulsing with light and sound. Tornadoes of light orbiting pylons. Portals, mirages and interactive installations from artists around the world.
I walk through it on my way from the hotel to the office on my fortnightly work trips in January and it never gets old. A beautifully lit walk through a financial district that feels completely removed from the tourist trail. The 2026 theme was Dreamscape. Go on a weekday as it gets very busy at weekends.
Notting Hill – The Churchill Arms
Tube from Covent Garden: Piccadilly line to Green Park, change to District or Circle line to Notting Hill Gate in around 20 minutes
📍The Churchill Arms on Kensington Church Street is described every year as the most festive pub in the United Kingdom, and it genuinely earns the title. The manager James Keogh has been transforming the exterior every November for over 30 years.
The display features over 90 conifer trees covering the entire facade of the building, 22,000 twinkling lights, illuminated snowmen, reindeer, stars and a giant HO HO HO sign above the door. The switch on has become such an event in its own right that crowds spill onto the pavements to watch. The pub spends around £25,000 annually on flowers throughout the year and brings that same energy to Christmas.
Inside is equally worth knowing about. The Churchill Arms is packed with Winston Churchill memorabilia, wartime relics, chamber pots, old photographs and festive garlands. It’s a proper traditional British pub in every sense. The Thai restaurant at the back is consistently praised and worth booking if you want to eat. It gets standing room only most December evenings, so arriving early is wise.
📍 119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN | Nearest tube: Notting Hill Gate
Knightsbridge – Harrods and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
Tube from Covent Garden: Piccadilly line direct to Knightsbridge in around 10 minutes
Knightsbridge at Christmas gives you two very different experiences within easy walking distance of each other.
📍Harrods on Brompton Road is decorated externally with thousands of lights that outline the iconic terracotta building, which is worth seeing after 4pm when it’s fully lit. The food hall is worth going into regardless of whether you’re buying anything. The hampers, chocolates, Christmas confectionery and festive displays are extraordinary at this time of year and entirely free to browse.
The Christmas shop is what I come back for every year. I’ve built up a small collection of Harrods baubles over the years. A red one from 2019 and a gold one from 2023, and there’s something genuinely lovely about adding one each time I visit. The Christmas floor stocks luxury baubles, wreaths, advent calendars, decorations and hampers that are considerably more special than anything you’d find on a high street. It’s worth allowing time to browse properly.
📍Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a 10 minute walk from Knightsbridge station and is one of the largest Christmas events in Europe. There’s 150 rides and attractions spread across 350 acres of Hyde Park, running from mid-November through to January 1st.
Entry is free during off-peak times but you still need to book a slot in advance. Peak time tickets are £5 to £7.50 per adult. Individual attractions are priced separately, the UK’s largest outdoor ice rink costs £11.50 to £17.50, Bar Ice where everything including the glasses is sculpted from ice costs £15.50 to £18, and the Giant Wheel costs £8 to £11.
Honest opinion – Winter Wonderland is enormous, loud and very busy at weekends. It’s not the most atmospheric option on this list. But the scale of it is genuinely impressive, and if you’re visiting with children or a group who want rides and fairground energy, there’s nothing else like it in London at Christmas. Go on a weekday and earlier in the season for a more manageable experience.
South Bank – Winter Light Trail
Tube from Covent Garden: Piccadilly line to Green Park, change to Jubilee line to Waterloo in around 12 minutes
📍The Southbank Centre Winter Light trail runs from early November through to mid-January along the riverfront and is one of the most underrated free light experiences in London. No booking required, no tickets, just turn up after dark and walk through it.
Each year a different set of large scale light art installations from international artists transforms the outdoor spaces around the Royal Festival Hall and surrounding riverside. The installations change annually, and in 2025 there was a chandelier-esque sculpture outside the Royal Festival Hall that performs a show every hour coinciding with Big Ben striking, neon works paying homage to 1990s fashion advertising, and colourful projections across the building facades.
The backdrop throughout is the Thames at night with the City of London skyline on one side and the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben on the other. On a clear December evening it’s one of the most spectacular free views in London, and completely different in feel to the central London route you’ve just done.
The walk along the river between Waterloo Bridge and London Bridge is beautifully lit throughout the festive season, regardless of the specific installations. The combination of the lit bridges, the river reflections and the skyline makes it worth doing even outside the formal light trail dates.
Admission: Free, no booking required
When: Early November to mid-January, lights on from dusk until around 11 pm
Nearest tube: Waterloo on the Northern, Jubilee, Bakerloo and Waterloo and City lines
More London Christmas lights worth knowing about
The main walking route covers the best of central London but the city has Christmas lights displays in almost every neighbourhood. Here are the ones worth knowing about beyond the main trail:
St Christopher’s Place
A hidden alleyway just off Oxford Street that most people walk straight past. Look for the purple clock on Oxford Street pointing you towards it, it transforms into 📍 “St Christmas Place” every December with its own playful festive display. Two minutes from Oxford Circus and completely crowd free compared to the main street.
The Strand
The fairy lights running the full length of 📍the Strand are worth seeing if you’re heading towards Covent Garden from the west. A nod to a brilliant piece of history. In 1881 the Savoy Theatre became the first public building in the world to be fully lit by electricity, and a year later Joseph Swan created the first ever fairy lights for performers dancing on the opening night of Iolanthe. The lights today use 96,000 low-energy LEDs with frames made from recycled aluminium.
St Pancras International
The Gothic Victorian station has a spectacular Christmas tree installed inside the station every year. The theme at 📍St Pancras International changes annually and has included a Wicked green tree, a Hatchards book tree and a golden musical box. It’s free to walk through and genuinely worth stopping for. The station itself is extraordinary at any time of year but particularly at Christmas.
Marylebone Village
📍Marylebone Village is a quieter, more local alternative to Oxford Street with boutique shops, independent restaurants and a high street decorated with wreaths, ornaments and warm lighting. Considerably less crowded than the main West End streets and worth knowing about. The lights switch on in mid-November with a pedestrianised street event including live music.
Jermyn Street
Running between Piccadilly and St James’s, 📍Jermyn Street is consistently mentioned as one of London’s hidden gem Christmas light destinations. Shirt makers, shoemakers and perfumers line the street, it’s a very different atmosphere to Bond Street despite being nearby.
Leadenhall Market
A stunning Victorian covered market in the City of London, with an ornate roof structure and cobbled pathways. 📍Leadenhall Market is beautifully lit at Christmas with twinkling lights throughout the historic arches. Fake snow falls at specific times daily. It’s completely different in feel to the West End displays and genuinely one of the most photogenic spots in London at Christmas.
Little Venice
Festively decorated narrowboats lining the Regent’s Canal with lights reflecting on the water. 📍Little Venice is a completely different Christmas lights experience. It’s local and unlike anything on the main route. Nearest tube: Warwick Avenue on the Bakerloo line.
Peggy Porschen, Belgravia
The famous pink bakery on 📍Ebury Street is Instagram famous at Christmas. It’s a candy coloured pink and red display with Santa above the door and winter foliage throughout. Worth a detour if you’re in the Belgravia area. Nearest tube: Sloane Square on the District or Circle line.
Kew Gardens Christmas
A ticketed light trail through the 📍Royal Botanic Gardens. There are trees and plants wrapped in colourful light displays, lantern lined paths, a steam train and seasonal food and drink. One of the most atmospheric light experiences in London but further out and requires planning. Tickets sell out, so book in advance.
Columbia Road
The famous flower market has Christmas Wednesdays in December. 📍Columbia Road has a very local East London atmosphere that’s completely different to anything in the West End. It’s worth knowing about if you’re spending time in East London.
What to skip
Not everything in London at Christmas lives up to its reputation. Here are two honest opinions worth knowing before you go:
Leicester Square
Leicester Square has a Christmas market and an ice rink every year and both are consistently disappointing. The market is surrounded by chain restaurants and tourist bars, the ice rink is small and poorly maintained, and the whole area feels more like a theme park than a genuine Christmas experience. If you want a Christmas market, Winter by the River at London Bridge is better. If you want an ice rink, Somerset House has a beautiful courtyard setting.
Oxford Street for shopping
The lights on Oxford Street are genuinely worth seeing. They’re iconic and the stop is on the main route for exactly that reason. But if you’re planning to do your Christmas shopping there, manage your expectations. Oxford Street has changed significantly over the years and is now dominated by American candy stores, fast fashion chains and tourist shops. Bond Street, Liberty, Carnaby Street and the surrounding streets are where the proper shopping is.
Final thoughts
London at Christmas is one of those experiences that’s hard to overstate. I genuinely don’t think there’s anywhere else like it. It isn’t just the scale of it, but it’s the history behind it too. The Regent Street angels have been there since 1954, the Bond Street displays have been evolving for decades, and the way the city leans into the history behind it like the Savile Row display. Nowhere else does it the same.
This route took me and my friend a full November evening and we still didn’t see everything. That’s not a bad thing, it means there’s always a reason to come back. The Cartier sound show on Bond Street was the moment that stopped us, and the Fortnum and Mason Christmas shop kept us longer than planned.
If you’re coming from outside London, two hours on the train from most northern cities puts you right in the middle of all of it. That’s a good deal for one of the best free evenings you can have anywhere in the UK in December.
Save the Google Maps route, start at 4pm, wrap up warm and bring a fully charged phone. The rest takes care of itself.
For more London guides, including our girls weekend in London covering where to stay, eat and drink, head back to our London section as we build it out.
London Christmas lights walking route FAQs
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