Londoners Guide to Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner, and the Christmas decorations are up and the presents are being wrapped. We are getting excited with a countdown for Christmas. London is one of the nicest places around Christmas and here is a Londoners guide to Christmas in London.

Markets pop up around London from December till January. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is a perfect place to go with a group of friends and family or with your partner. One thing that might amaze you is the free admission, you just have to book in advance if you want to use the ice rink there, and also pay for tokens to go on rides, but ticket box queuing is very short. It offers a wide variety of activities there, from shopping to food and rides. A top tip when going here, is to arrive early in the day, 15:00 – 16:00 is a good time to enter because you avoid the mass queuing. It’s perfect time because the lights around the whole park are on and it’s a great sight to see.  If you go with a group of friends that are of drinking age then there are plenty of drinking tents around made to look like German beer houses, which is perfect if you just want to go and have a drink. There are really tasty food stands around the site, you get quite a minimal choice of food, its predominately burgers and hot dogs, but if you are vegetarian there are some stands that offer vegetarian options. There are cash points available but they come at a fee and it’s the best idea to withdraw cash before hand, because most of the stands may not offer the option of paying with card. If you aren’t really a fan of rollercoasters or spinning rides there are plenty of small arcade stands like a skeet ball stand and a few fishing rod stands where you will always win something. When arriving here, try and avoid using transport around Oxford Street to the run up to Christmas as it just gets really busy. I would recommend getting there on foot, and avoid walking along Oxford Street all together. Also on the journey home, I would avoid all nearby tube stations, as they can sometimes be closed for the night due to engineering works most weekends.

Christmas lights are beautiful to sight to see, and London offers some great places of viewing. Regent Street and Oxford Street offer some of the best Christmas lights. Advice when going here is to not go on weekends. If you can and have the time, then go during weeknights. Carnaby street offers some of the best lights since the last couple of years. Although Carnaby Street is a short walk, its worth seeing and taking a few pictures to capture the moment. Most lights run until early January so you have plenty of time to see them.

Not only does Winter Wonderland offer Ice Skating but there are few other spots that offer that as well. Skate at the Somerset House rink comes around like clock work around December time. Not only is it a great place to go at night, it is open all day and you can get skating lesson there, also the kids just get a window to let them have some fun on the ice. You get to skate on the grounds of Somerset House, and see the beautiful building in all its glory. Natural History Museum has its Ice Skating rink open for another year again, you can skate right in front of the glorious museum. A great place to bring the family along for a fun weekend. Its gorgeous with the fairy lights and large Christmas tree in the middle of the ice rink. Ice Skating comes at a small cost, so do check prices before going and check if you need to pre book before you skate.

Don’t forget to countdown to all the events if you are attending any Christmas events in London or wherever you live. Why not use two of the Christmas backgrounds we have in the app. We would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Skating Rink In Fountain Court at Somerset House, London under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: www.traveljunction.com

DSCF5603 under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)