Where (& When) To See Christmas Lights In London 2025
By
16 hours ago
See London light up this winter
If you’re a fan of twinkling lights in all different colours, shapes and sizes, the British capital really is one of the best cities on Earth to visit come Christmastime. While you enjoy Christmas shopping and festive street food and stave off winter’s icy chill with woolly scarves and hot chocolates, here’s exactly when and where to see the very best Christmas lights in London this year.
Where To Find London’s Best Christmas Lights In 2025
Sloane Street (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Cadogan)
Chelsea
Date: From 15 November
Closest Tube Stations: Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, South Kensington
Chelsea’s annual Christmas Light Switch-On is a fun-filled affair featuring a special Christmas market, face painting, cookie decorating, mulled wine and Santa himself to press the all important ‘on’ switch at 5pm. The fun will return on Saturday 15 November 2025, prompting the beginning of the chic neighbourhood’s season-long marvellous 360-degree display (as well as music and fresh snow on 15 November).
Nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea will also house the pop-up Chelsea Winter Village, featuring a spellbinding light trail plus street food and warming drinks.
‘Tis the Season at Burlington Arcade
Burlington Arcade
Dates: Usually mid November
Closest Tube Stations: Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus
Embodying style and sophistication in the heart of London, Burlington Arcade always pulls out all the stops when it comes to festive displays. Last year was all about luxury with Nordic fir trees, velvet bows, twinkling lights and stunning chandeliers transforming the arcade’s interior into a magical festive destination – so we’re excited to see what 2025 brings.
Oxford Street’s 2023 Christmas lights. (Doug Peters/PA Wire)
Oxford Street
Dates: From Monday 3 November
Closest Tube Stations: Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Marble Arch, Tottenham Court Road
Oxford Street’s festive light switch on is always very early in the season, kicking off the whole city’s festivities. Oxford Street runs through the heart of the West End and is home to hundreds of world-famous brands and flagship stores, many sporting beautiful festive window displays come winter. The strings of shining stars zig-zagging down the road are also some of London’s most iconic annual Christmas lights, and it’s all for a good cause, too, raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.
Regent Street
Dates: From Thursday 6 November
Closest Tube Stations: Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Green Park
Speaking of iconic, Oxford Street’s friendly neighbour, Regent Street, is home to another familiar festive sight: huge sparkling angels spreading their wings across the width of the street. Known as ‘The Spirit of Christmas’, with 30 of the sparkly spirits watching over Christmas shoppers, there are more than 300,000 LEDs on this road alone.
CGI of Carnaby Street’s 2024 Christmas Lights
Carnaby Street
Dates: From Thursday 6 November
Closest Tube Stations: Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Tottenham Court Road
Pioneers of the quirkier Christmas light displays, last year Carnaby Street committed to a five-year sustainability scheme, meaning we will see the same sculptural LED lights across this time period. Designed by London-based creative production and design studio Sculptivate, the installation features mesmerising hourly light displays, with six metre-long sculptural light forms suspended above the street, and thousands of energy-efficient LED bulbs glowing in the sky. Think all the Carnaby quirkiness with an extra dollop of modernism.
Bond Street’s 2023 Christmas lights. (© Matt Crossick/PA Wire)
Bond Street
Dates: TBC, usually mid-November
Closest Tube Stations: Bond Street, Oxford Circus, Green Park
Festive lights have been a tradition on Bond Street, London’s luxury shopping destination, for over 60 years. After many years draping quirky giant peacock feathers over the street, two years ago Bond Street decided to mix things up. In 2023 sparkling crowns shone bright in the sky in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, while 2024 saw a collaboration with Chanel with giant twinkling CHANEL Nº5 bottles suspended above the street. No news just yet which direction Bond Street will go in this year – stay tuned…
Covent Garden
Dates: From Wednesday 12 November
Closest Tube Stations: Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charing Cross, Embankment, Holborn
Covent Garden is magical year-round, but especially picturesque come Christmastime. A magical, British-grown, hand-selected 60 ft Christmas tree is the centrepiece in the Piazza, joining the historic plaza’s iconic gigantic bells adorned with bows, giant baubles and eight spinning mirror balls, with mor than 300,000 lights utilised across the area.
2023 lights
Marylebone Village
Dates: From Wednesday 12 November
Closest Tube Stations: Marylebone, Bond Street, Baker Street, Regent’s Park
Marylebone Village, one of London’s most picturesque (and tranquil) shopping districts, plays host to a whole afternoon of festivities every Christmas known as ‘Merry Marylebone’. This year it’ll take over Marylebone High Street from 3pm on Wednesday 12 November, inviting visitors to enjoy festive activities, artisan market stalls and live music flooding the pretty streets. And, of course, the all important light switch on has cast a festive glow over the whole of Marylebone for the rest of the season.
Christmas At Kew
Details: Friday 14 November 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026
Closest Tube Stations: Kew Gardens
Is this the country’s best winter light trail? We think so. Stretching for 3 km, the annual Christmas at Kew extravaganza brings a dose of festive magic to the world’s largest and most diverse botanical collection. Think immersive light installations, tasty food stalls and festive drinks, all surrounded by beautiful plants and trees.
Details: Christmas at Kew runs from 4.20–10pm on selected dates from 13 November 2024 until 5 January 2025 at Kew Gardens, London. Tickets from £21.50. Booking ahead is essential. kew.org
Lord Mayor of London to Switch On Christmas Lights at City of London’s Leadenhall Market. (© Lucy Young)
Leadenhall Market
Dates: From Thursday 13 November 2025
Closest Tube Stations: Bank, Monument, Liverpool Street
Over in the City, Leadenhall Market has annual festive makeover that just screams Harry Potter. With a show-stopping 18 ft Christmas tree taking centre stage, this beautifully old covered market is bedecked with a colour-changing LED display, as well as huge baubles, fir tree gardens and a twinkling light tunnel.
Getty
Trafalgar Square
Dates: From Thursday 4 December to Monday 5 January 2026
Closest Tube Station:
While not technically a Christmas light display, we think Trafalgar Square’s annual giant Christmas tree deserves an honourable mention. An thank you annual gift from the Norwegian capital Oslo since WWII (when our two nations were close allies, with the UK hosting Norway’s exiled government and royal family), this iconic square hosts a sky-high fir tree every Christmas (specifically from the first Thursday of December), bedecked with golden lights. Getting it from Norway all the way to the heart of London is a huge operation, which begins with a special ceremony in November when the tree is felled in Norway, witnessed by officials from both nations.
© Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Savile Row
Dates: From Thursday 13 November
Closest Tube Stations: Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Green Park
Newer on the Christmas lights scene are Savile Row‘s tailoring-inspired displays: a pair of shimmering golden shears, the iconic tool found in every tailor’s workshop. This along with the message ‘Savile Row Christmas’ twinkles against the winter sky, made up of 5,154 energy efficient and planet-friendly LED bulbs.
The Shard
Details: From Tuesday 25 November to Wednesday 31 December
Closest Tube Station: London Bridge, but best seen from far away.
A unique festive display lights up the tippy top of London’s tallest building every winter, developed in partnership with the London School of Mosaic. The top 20 storeys of The Shard are lit up in a series of colourful Christmassy displays every night throughout December, right up until New Year’s Eve. Visible from 40 miles away, this includes a snowman in a striking red scarf and hat, a softly illuminated candle against a blue backdrop and a festive green and gold design inspired by a Christmas Brooch created by Pop Art pioneering Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi, all lighting up the skyline in a 30 minute long light show on repeat from 5.30pm until 1am.
Details: 28 November–31 December 2023 at The Shard (32 London Bridge St, London SE1 9SG).
St Christopher’s Place
Dates: Usually from mid-November
Closest Tube Stations: Bond Street, Oxford Circus
Pedestrianised shopping square tucked off Oxford Street, St Christopher’s Place metamorphises into St Christmas Place every year, with a brilliantly bright and playful festive display illuminating the charming historic plaza. Walking down Oxford Street, make sure to look out for the purple clock and bright sign pointing to St Christmas Place, which is hidden down an alleyway.
