London in December: Christmas spirit & more

Day 2: famous sights, Christmas spirit & Kew Gardens

We started our second day with a croissant and coffee at Blank Street before heading to Piccadilly Circus. We strolled through the city, getting a feel for bustling London. Of course, sights like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey were on the list. Near Westminster Abbey, you’ll also find the Supreme Court and St. Margaret’s Churchyard, both impressive for their architecture. From there, we walked toward Elizabeth Tower and the London Eye. A ride on the London Eye costs £29/person online (about €33), which felt a bit expensive to us and the queue was long as well. There’s also the option to buy fast track tickets online for £44/person (about €50), allowing you to skip the regular line and save up to 60 minutes of waiting time.

While wandering through the city, we discovered the Southbank Centre Winter Market, which was a hidden gem for us with its many food stalls and pop-up bars. The small Christmas market runs every year from early November to early January, open throughout the week, and is a great alternative to the relatively expensive restaurants.

Afterwards, we wanted to explore some Christmas highlights in London, starting with Covent Garden. It’s beautifully decorated, both indoors and outdoors, during the winter season. If you stroll from there toward the Theatre District and St. Martin’s Lane, you’ll find more beautifully decorated streets, cafés, and restaurants. We then walked toward Leicester Square, where there’s another Christmas market full of different stalls, plenty of food, and mulled wine. This market also runs every year from early November to early January. We finished the evening wandering down Coventry Street, which is also decorated for Christmas, and made a stop at another Harry Potter store.

One of our highlights of the second day was Piccadilly Circus, where you’ll find Regent Street with its famous Christmas angels, which look especially magical in the evening lighting up the city. But beautiful Christmas lights aren’t just found there: head to the Soho District, for example to Carnaby Street, to see the famous Carnaby Universe, which illuminates the street at night. There, we took a break at Shoryu Ramen. The restaurant and its ramen are highly recommended, though we had to wait a long time for a table. If you can plan ahead, we recommend making a reservation to save yourself the long wait.

To finish the day, we took the train to the Kew Gardens. Every year, from around mid-November to early January, the Christmas at Kew exhibition lights up the entire park with different illuminations, decorations, and light displays. Along the circular route, there are also food and mulled wine stalls. However, this walk costs £34.00/person (about €39) and is especially popular on weekends. It’s best to buy tickets in advance for your preferred time slot. Tickets can be conveniently purchased online on the Kew Gardens website. We were lucky to get tickets via Ticketswap, but these are often more expensive and there’s no guarantee of availability for your desired time slot.

There are three different entrances, and depending on how and where you arrive, you should choose the right one. For trains or buses, the Elizabeth Gate is recommended, for the Underground the Victoria Gate, and for cars the Brentford Gate (parking must be booked in advance). More important information can be found directly on the Kew Gardens website.

Was it worth it? The illuminated walk was a lovely evening activity, but we personally felt the price, with almost €80 for two people, was quite high for “just” a decorated and illuminating park (drinks and extras are not included). Additionally, reaching the gardens can be a bit tiring during a short stay, as it’s located outside central London.