Where to see the best Christmas lights in London

Though not a traditional Christmas lights display, the lights at Fortnum & Mason are very much a part of Christmas in London. The iconic 18th-century department store gets in the festive spirit by transforming its façade into a giant advent calendar. Different designers create beautiful installations according to the annual theme, with the building counting down to Christmas and revealing a new display each day.

The busiest shopping street in Europe isn't just home to hundreds of shops, it also boasts one of the best Christmas light displays in the world. Countless stars twinkle above the street, and many of the retailers share in the Christmas cheer with festive window displays and decorations. In the evening, all the signs, shopfronts, traffic, and general bustle give the street yet another dimension. This year, Oxford Street will be illuminated with 300,000 lights in partnership with the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Charity, which supports seriously ill children. The lights will come together to create 5,000 glowing stars along the street.

The Seven Dials area in Covent Garden is one of the prettiest roundabouts in the city on the worst of days, so just imagine what some sparkling lights do to the place. Twinkling across the square and in the trees, these Covent Garden Christmas lights are an obligatory stop on any Xmas lights tour London travel agents come up with. They're worth the detour if you just happen to be in the vicinity too.

Covent Garden draws millions of visitors each year, and it knows howto bring its A-game for Christmas. Featuring some of London's most impressive Christmas decorations, the Covent Garden display includes oversized ornaments in the market building and all around the square. In 2023, the decorations were refreshed, including huge golden bells with bows, giant baubles, and mirror balls. This year, almost 260,000 LED lights will beam across the Piazza, Seven Dials, Neal's Yard, and surrounding streets in a dazzling new display, with 30,000 more adorned on a grand 55-foot Christmas tree. The big switch-on will kick off a seven-week festive program featuring Yuletide pop-ups perfect for gift shopping, plenty of mulled wine, and 'Festive Thursdays' with live entertainment and late-night shopping.

Carnaby Street is another of London's world-famous shopping streets. It features an incredible decorative display with changing themes throughout the year. It doesn't hold back for Christmas either, with a beautiful display along the entire street. Carnaby's 2024 installation is called Into the Light and will feature 60,000 LEDs with programmatic lighting, creating a six-meter-long sculptural light form. The display will be fully powered by green energy and designed to last at least five years, making it a more sustainable choice than your average display.

Every year, London's famous Trafalgar Square is host to a majestic Christmas tree that, somewhat surprisingly, comes from Norway. The tradition goes back to 1947, when the Scandinavian country sent over the first 25-metre “queen of the forest” – not as reparations for the Viking raids of yore, but as a thank you for the UK's support during the Second World War.

Regent Street is where the tradition of decking out London's streets in festive gear first started back in 1954. The trademark angelic figures hanging above the street represent the Spirit of Christmas and are a perennial postcard classic. Just like with other busy London streets, the traffic and retailers add their own little bit of sparkle. The Christmas decorations stretch from Langham Place to Waterloo Place, but the consensus is that the best bit is between Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus.

The Piccadilly Christmas lights are similar to the Regent Street ones in that they also feature a winged figure high above the street, but it's not the same one. It's inspired by the statue of the Greek god of unrequited love Anteros, Eros' lesser-known and less popular brother, atop the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus. The end effect is the same, however – a shimmering festive vista stretching down Piccadilly.

Though bordering on Mayfair, Marylebone Village is a much more subdued shopping and dining destination than its more famous affluent neighbour. It's definitely still aimed at an upmarket clientele, but the pleasant streets offer a more relaxed experience. During the festive season, Marylebone Village is decorated with Christmas lights and hosts various events.

In winter, all sorts of festive installations and decorations sprout up around Coal Drops Yard, the redeveloped area in King's Cross. Past years have featured glowing sculptures, chalets, Christmas markets, and a majestic Christmas tree. There are plenty of food and drink vendors to keep you warm as you make your way around the festive displays too.

A quaint hidden gem next to Oxford Street, St Christopher's Place has a village feel to it throughout the year. During the holidays, that feel is amped up further with pretty Xmas lights and seasonal delights at the restaurants and bars lining the street and square. The pedestrianised area even goes one step further, renaming itself to St Christmas Place for the season. See? Quaint.

A visit to Kew Gardens is a classic Christmas bucket list item in London. The renowned botanical gardens are majestic throughout the year, and during the Christmas holidays they're festooned with lights in a series of magnificent displays, from tunnels of light to bejewelled trees. Note that unlike most of the Christmas light displays in this guide, the Christmas at Kew light trail isn't free to view.

Spread across multiple streets in the neighbourhood, the Belgravia decorations bring the enchantment of Christmas with dazzling lights. The displays in Elizabeth Street, Motcomb Street, Eccleston Yards, Halkin Arcade, and Pimlico Road are accompanied by the Christmas Trail of Cheer, featuring extravagant floral displays throughout the neighbourhood.

Greenwich Market is a popular shopping destination, full of stalls offering stylish clothing, pretty jewellery, vintage finds, and more. It gets a Christmas makeover each year, with twinkling lights and festive treats and goods setting the mood. The Christmas lights kick off with a spectacular lantern procession.

For the holidays, Bond Street, both Old and New, puts on a royal Christmas lights display. Having featured massive peacock feathers for multiple years, they switched to a dazzling display inspired by the Crown Jewels in 2022. Even so, the Xmas lights sometimes fade into the background – Bond Street is home to some of the world's most luxurious retail brands, and they always try to outdo one another with their spectacular window displays.

The world-famous home of top-quality craftsmanship and bespoke tailoring is unveiling a brand-new Christmas lights display in 2023, inspired by its heritage and values. Giant golden shears cutting through a glittering swathe of fabric illuminate the famous street. They're made from 5,154 energy-efficient and planet-friendly LED bulbs, along with recyclable materials, in an effort to minimise waste and reduce energy consumption.

As befits an upscale neighbourhood such as Mayfair, the streets in this area boast beautiful Christmas lights during the festive season, accompanied by the tasteful decor local restaurants and retailers put up. One of the highlights of Mayfair's Christmas decorations can be found in South Molton Street, where you can walk through tall arches full of starry lights.

Another one of Mayfair's top spots for Christmas lights and decor, Mount Street is one of the area's original shopping streets. Home to luxury boutiques, high-end restaurants, and five-star hotels, the street is illuminated with 63,000 sustainable lights comprising big blue bows during Christmas. The on-street establishments also put up their own fancy decor – The Connaught hotel's Christmas tree, designed by a different artist each year, is a world-famous highlight.

With roots going back all the way to 1321, when it served as a meat, poultry and game market, the beautiful Leadenhall Market has seen its share of Christmas joy. It's still one of the best places for Christmas lights in the capital, with its intricate architecture covered with sparkling displays, and a massive fir tree centrepiece tying it all together.

With its flowering facade, The Churchill Arms in Kensington regularly ranks among the UK's most beautiful pubs, and the proprietors go all out for the seasonal winter display. The pub is covered with more than 90 conifer trees and lit up with thousands of Christmas lights. It's a bastion of Christmas cheer that's impossible to miss if you're passing by, and definitely worth making the trip for if you aren't.

Chelsea's historic King's Road stretches from Slone Square to Fulham, and is part-pedestrianised during the festive season so you can take full advantage of the lovely Christmas lights strung up across the street. The various high-end boutiques and retailers along King's Road contribute to the atmosphere with beautiful Christmas displays as well.