Sparkling lights, magical markets and endless entertainment — London knows how to do the festive season
ED GRENBY - 1 December 2023
If the fare to the North Pole is looking a bit pricey this year, perhaps put London on your wish list instead. The capital doesn’t do every season perfectly (things can get seriously sticky in high summer), but its Christmas offerings are undeniably terrific, from Dickensian pubs to laser light shows. If the spiritual heart of London’s festive season is midnight mass at St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey (stpauls.co.uk; westminster-abbey.org), then the epicentre of its more worldly celebrations is the cathedral of consumerism, Harrods. Here, a significant chunk of the £2.3 billion spent by customers every year is dropped in December – and later this month a Channel 5 documentary, Christmas at Harrods, will take viewers behind the scenes as the world-famous department store gears up for the season.
This year, anyone who’s planning to do their Christmas shopping – or simply their Christmas gawping – at the venerable Knightsbridge institution, can expect to see 50-odd stunning window displays, a nine-metre tree shimmering in Valentino Pink, and daily chocolate-making demonstrations in the Food Hall (harrods.com). Other famous shops that are worth a visit include toy store extraordinaire Hamleys (hamleys.com) and the luxury goods emporium Liberty (libertylondon.com), which truly goes to town with its festive windows. If, on the other hand, you prefer your Yuletide a little more wholesome and outdoorsy, try reddening your cheeks and watching your breath hang in the frosty air at one of London’s pop-up ice rinks. The beauty at Somerset House (somersethouse.org.uk; until 14 January) is probably the prettiest – and then it’s just a Torvill and Dean-style pirouette across Waterloo Bridge to the South Bank. Here, at the Royal Festival Hall (southbankcentre. co.uk), catch Nutcracker, a jazzy reworking of The Nutcracker (until 6 January); Christmas Actually, a variety show curated by Love Actually writer/director Richard Curtis (7–11 December); and the singalong- 134 with-the-Philharmonic Christmas Classics (15–17 December), featuring everything from O Little Town of Bethlehem to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. Make sure you practise those high notes!
Just in front of the Royal Festival Hall, and beside the Thames, is one of the city’s winter markets – a collection of winsome wooden huts selling gifts, mulled wine and other edibles – and next door to that is The Curling Club (thecurlingclub.com; until 11 February). Here, a little bit of Winter Olympics comes to London, as you practise gliding your “stone” along the ice to the bullseye painted on it. It’s not real ice, however (so there’s no need for skates, or those folk you see on TV whizzing along and polishing the path in front of the stone with brooms), but the fun is authentic.
To up the wintry feel, the whole place is decked out in après-ski fashion, with a range of great drinks and warming comfort food. Another place that’s worth adding to your wish list is the Christmas market in Leicester Square (christmasinleicestersquare.com; until 7 January). Arranged around a temporary big top where you can catch cabaret show La Clique, you’ll find stalls selling fudge, mulled wine, hand-made tree decorations and arguably less traditional treats such as churros. Looking onto Leicester Square, you’ve got one of London’s most Christmassy hotels, too. The foyer of The Londoner (thelondoner.com) features gorgeous fireplaces, and its tree is a thing of chic beauty, designed by Huishan Zhang, the Chinese-British couturier beloved by the likes of Keira Knightley. Rooms are cosy but distinctly stylish, there’s a secret whisky bar behind a hidden door and the night-time views from the eighth-floor rooftop bar show the whole of London lit up like a Christmas tree.
If you want to get closer to the capital’s Christmas lights, consider a circuit on an open-top Routemaster bus with theClassic Tour (theclassictour.com). With dazzling displays to see everywhere from Oxford Street to the Shard, it’s the quickest way of covering the ground apart, maybe, from a reindeer-drawn sleigh. Arguably the best light show of all is at Kew Gardens (kew.org; selected dates until 7 January), where you walk through glowing tunnels past trees lit up in jewel-like colours. Running Kew a close second is the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park that comes with rollercoasters, ice rides and circus shows (hydepark- winterwonderland.com; until 1 January).
If it’s shows you want, perhaps the pick of the pantos is Peter Pan starring Jennifer Saunders, Julian Clary and Nigel Havers at the Palladium (lwtheatres.co.uk; until 14 January). But it’s not all about audience participation at this time of year (oh no it isn’t!): Scroogier types might enjoy Christopher Eccleston’s Ebenezer in A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic (oldvic theatre.com; until 6 January) – or even a film instead. Kensington Palace is hosting screenings of Miracle on 34th Street, Die Hard and, of course, Elf (thelunacinema.com/venue/ kensington-palace-pavilion/; 11-15 December). Then there’s the big show. Come 31 December, the noise is all about the bangs and whistles of the Mayor’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display (london.gov.uk/ events). Connoisseurs will tell you the best place to watch is at Belvedere Road, beside the London Eye, from where the rockets and the rest are launched; but there are six official spectator areas, all with great views of the 200-metre-high pyrotechnics. You don’t get that at the North Pole...
If the fare to the North Pole is looking a bit pricey this year, perhaps put London on your wish list instead. The capital doesn’t do every season perfectly (things can get seriously sticky in high summer), but its Christmas offerings are undeniably terrific, from Dickensian pubs to laser light shows. If the spiritual heart of London’s festive season is midnight mass at St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey (stpauls.co.uk; westminster-abbey.org), then the epicentre of its more worldly celebrations is the cathedral of consumerism, Harrods. Here, a significant chunk of the £2.3 billion spent by customers every year is dropped in December – and later this month a Channel 5 documentary, Christmas at Harrods, will take viewers behind the scenes as the world-famous department store gears up for the season.
This year, anyone who’s planning to do their Christmas shopping – or simply their Christmas gawping – at the venerable Knightsbridge institution, can expect to see 50-odd stunning window displays, a nine-metre tree shimmering in Valentino Pink, and daily chocolate-making demonstrations in the Food Hall (harrods.com). Other famous shops that are worth a visit include toy store extraordinaire Hamleys (hamleys.com) and the luxury goods emporium Liberty (libertylondon.com), which truly goes to town with its festive windows. If, on the other hand, you prefer your Yuletide a little more wholesome and outdoorsy, try reddening your cheeks and watching your breath hang in the frosty air at one of London’s pop-up ice rinks. The beauty at Somerset House (somersethouse.org.uk; until 14 January) is probably the prettiest – and then it’s just a Torvill and Dean-style pirouette across Waterloo Bridge to the South Bank. Here, at the Royal Festival Hall (southbankcentre. co.uk), catch Nutcracker, a jazzy reworking of The Nutcracker (until 6 January); Christmas Actually, a variety show curated by Love Actually writer/director Richard Curtis (7–11 December); and the singalong- 134 with-the-Philharmonic Christmas Classics (15–17 December), featuring everything from O Little Town of Bethlehem to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. Make sure you practise those high notes!
Just in front of the Royal Festival Hall, and beside the Thames, is one of the city’s winter markets – a collection of winsome wooden huts selling gifts, mulled wine and other edibles – and next door to that is The Curling Club (thecurlingclub.com; until 11 February). Here, a little bit of Winter Olympics comes to London, as you practise gliding your “stone” along the ice to the bullseye painted on it. It’s not real ice, however (so there’s no need for skates, or those folk you see on TV whizzing along and polishing the path in front of the stone with brooms), but the fun is authentic.
To up the wintry feel, the whole place is decked out in après-ski fashion, with a range of great drinks and warming comfort food. Another place that’s worth adding to your wish list is the Christmas market in Leicester Square (christmasinleicestersquare.com; until 7 January). Arranged around a temporary big top where you can catch cabaret show La Clique, you’ll find stalls selling fudge, mulled wine, hand-made tree decorations and arguably less traditional treats such as churros. Looking onto Leicester Square, you’ve got one of London’s most Christmassy hotels, too. The foyer of The Londoner (thelondoner.com) features gorgeous fireplaces, and its tree is a thing of chic beauty, designed by Huishan Zhang, the Chinese-British couturier beloved by the likes of Keira Knightley. Rooms are cosy but distinctly stylish, there’s a secret whisky bar behind a hidden door and the night-time views from the eighth-floor rooftop bar show the whole of London lit up like a Christmas tree.
If you want to get closer to the capital’s Christmas lights, consider a circuit on an open-top Routemaster bus with theClassic Tour (theclassictour.com). With dazzling displays to see everywhere from Oxford Street to the Shard, it’s the quickest way of covering the ground apart, maybe, from a reindeer-drawn sleigh. Arguably the best light show of all is at Kew Gardens (kew.org; selected dates until 7 January), where you walk through glowing tunnels past trees lit up in jewel-like colours. Running Kew a close second is the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park that comes with rollercoasters, ice rides and circus shows (hydepark- winterwonderland.com; until 1 January).
If it’s shows you want, perhaps the pick of the pantos is Peter Pan starring Jennifer Saunders, Julian Clary and Nigel Havers at the Palladium (lwtheatres.co.uk; until 14 January). But it’s not all about audience participation at this time of year (oh no it isn’t!): Scroogier types might enjoy Christopher Eccleston’s Ebenezer in A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic (oldvic theatre.com; until 6 January) – or even a film instead. Kensington Palace is hosting screenings of Miracle on 34th Street, Die Hard and, of course, Elf (thelunacinema.com/venue/ kensington-palace-pavilion/; 11-15 December). Then there’s the big show. Come 31 December, the noise is all about the bangs and whistles of the Mayor’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display (london.gov.uk/ events). Connoisseurs will tell you the best place to watch is at Belvedere Road, beside the London Eye, from where the rockets and the rest are launched; but there are six official spectator areas, all with great views of the 200-metre-high pyrotechnics. You don’t get that at the North Pole...
ED GRENBY