The Christmas angels lit up over Regent Street in London at night, with a red double-decker bus

Festive London Planning Guide 2026

ByTracy Collins

OUT NOW · 2026 EDITION

London from November to New Year, with what to book and when for the lights, markets, shows, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, plus the Festive London map for your phone.

Get the guide for $19 (usually $25)

$19 until midnight UK time on Monday 30 November, then $25 · Instant download · 39-page PDF · Festive London map included

The button adds the code FESTIVE19 for you.

Festive London Planning Guide 2026 cover and pages, with the Festive London map on a phone

Written for your first festive trip to London

If you’re coming to London from overseas between November and New Year, and it’s your first time in the city at Christmas, this guide was written for you.

The festive season runs to a timetable of its own. The lights go on in early November, the markets and rinks open a week or two later, and the things people most want to do, from Christmas at Kew to a Christmas Day lunch, sell out weeks ahead. The guide puts the whole season in one place, in the order you’ll need it, with a booking timetable worked back from your travel dates and our notes on how early each thing sold out last year.

We’ve walked the West End lights at Christmas for years, and this is everything we’d tell a friend doing it for the first time.

Planning the festive season in London?

  • When do the Christmas lights go on, and when do the markets and ice rinks open?
  • What do you need to book ahead, from Winter Wonderland to a panto?
  • What’s open on Christmas Day, and how do you get around without the Tube, buses or trains?
  • How do you get tickets for the New Year’s Eve fireworks?

This guide answers it all, from late October to early January, with a booking timetable so you know what to book and when.

Here’s what’s inside

  • ✅ A booking timetable: what to book as soon as your dates are set, four to six weeks before you go, and two weeks before
  • ✅ “Sold out last year” notes, so you know how early things went in 2025
  • ✅ The 2026 festive calendar, from the end of October to early January, with the lights switch-ons and when the markets and rinks open
  • ✅ Markets, Winter Wonderland, ice rinks, light trails and pantos
  • ✅ Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day: what’s open, where to eat and how to get around
  • ✅ New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day: when the fireworks tickets go on sale, other ways to see the fireworks, and the New Year’s Day Parade
  • ✅ Thanksgiving and Hanukkah in London
  • ✅ Festive afternoon teas, Christmas lunch and pubs for a roast

A 39-page PDF you can read on your phone, tablet or computer, or print out.

A look inside

A few pages from the guide, so you can see how it’s laid out before you buy.

Bonus: the Festive London map

The guide includes our Festive London map, which opens in your phone’s web browser via a link, so you don’t need to download an app. It lists 170 places in colour-coded categories you can switch on and off: the lights walk and other light displays, markets, rinks, shops, afternoon teas, pubs, shows, cruise piers and hotels, plus the free loos in department stores, galleries and stations.

There’s also a Christmas Day category, with church services, the Christmas morning swim in Hyde Park, parks open on the day, and places serving Christmas lunch.

Our Christmas lights walk is mapped as a route, with each stop numbered in walking order so you can follow it as you go.

The Festive London map on a phone, with the lights walk, markets, afternoon teas, pubs, hotels and loos pinned

Get the Festive London Planning Guide

The 39-page guide and the Festive London map, yours straight away. The $19 price ends at midnight UK time on Monday 30 November.

Get the guide for $19 (usually $25)

The button adds the code FESTIVE19 for you.

Who’s behind the guide

We’re Tracy and Doug Collins, the British couple behind London Travel Planning and the UK Travel Planning Podcast (690,000 downloads and counting).

Festive London is our favourite time to be in the city, and this guide is everything we’d tell a friend planning their first Christmas there.

FAQs

What format is it?

A US Letter-size PDF that also prints on A4. You can read it on your phone, tablet or computer, and the underlined venue names are clickable links.

When do I get it?

As soon as you’ve paid, you can download it, and we’ll also email you the link.

How does the map work?

The link to the Festive London map is inside the guide. It opens in your phone’s web browser, with no app to download, and you can switch the categories on and off to see just the lights walk, the markets or the nearest loos.

I’m not in London for Christmas itself. Is it still useful?

Yes. The calendar runs from late October to early January, and the lights, markets, rinks, shows and afternoon teas run for weeks on either side of Christmas.

Is it up to date?

Yes. We checked every date and price in October 2026, and each venue name links to its own page, so you can check the latest before you book.

Can I get a refund?

As it’s a digital guide you download straight away, we don’t offer refunds. If anything isn’t right with your copy, or something in it isn’t clear, email us at [email protected] and we’ll sort it.

Top photo: Jamie Davies on Unsplash

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