London Christmas lights: self-guided walking tour
This family-friendly self-guided walk will take you and your children on a London Christmas lights walking route on which you will see Central London’s best Christmas lights. Get ready for a walking route that takes you past Christmas trees, down the most beautiful streets bedecked with decorations and twinkly fairy lights and past the best department stores in London at Christmas time. If you are wondering where the Christmas lights in London are, don’t worry, this route is designed to help you do your own walking tour of London’s Christmas lights. A self-guided walking tour means that you can take it at your own pace, stopping where and when you want to and seeing what interests you and your kids along the way. So, wrap up warm, put on some comfy shoes and make sure your phone is charged and ready to take pictures of all of the wonderful Christmassy sights.
Walk summary
Starting point: Fortnum & Mason
End point: Covent Garden (with optional extensions to Somerset House or the Outernet)
Duration: The walk is around 4km and the walk itself should take around an hour, not including time stopped en route looking at the lights or visiting Christmas shops. If you decide to undertake any of the side quests (i.e. something optional that you could choose to see that is on or nearby the walking route), allow additional time. There are also two alternative optional extensions that you could choose to add on to the end of your walk if you wish.
If you have younger children or would prefer a shorter walk, we would suggest either:
- breaking up the walk and tackling a few sections at a time (if you have multiple days in London); or
- take the optional short cut set out in Part 2.
London sights you will see along the way: Fortnum & Mason, Burlington Arcade, New Bond Street, Oxford Street, Selfridges, Regent Street, Liberty of London, Carnaby Street, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Covent Garden.
Side quests: Annabel’s.
Note: Most of the lights that you will see as part of this route will be switched on by mid-November – check the dates on which the Christmas lights are switched on before undertaking this walk. Some of the photos in this post are taken from Christmas displays from previous years, the exact displays that you see may differ from the photos here.
The route
Part 1 – Fortnum & Mason to New Bond Street
Your starting point is the shop Fortnum & Mason. Each December the facade of Fortnum & Mason becomes a giant advent calendar. They also usually have themed window displays that are worth checking out.
Once you have seen the window displays at Fortnum & Mason, cross the road and continue in the direction you were heading in. On your right you will shortly come across the entrance to the Burlington Arcade. This olde worlde covered shopping arcade feels like stepping back in times at any time of year but at Christmas it is magical. The presence of Burlington Arcade’s traditional uniformed security guards, called Beadles, and the beautiful decorations that adorn the shop facades make this a special place to stroll through.
After you exit at the other end of the Burlington Arcade, turn left and head straight ahead onto New Bond Street.
Part 2 – New Bond Street to Selfridges
Turn right and walk up New Bond Street. New Bond Street is lined by designer stores, most of whom pull out all of the stops when it comes to Christmas and decorating the facades and windows of their stores.
SIDE QUEST: Private members club Annabel’s always decorates the facade of their building for Christmas (and other events). If you want to see it, turn left onto Bruton Street, cross Berkeley Square and it should be right in front of you. Once you’ve seen it, backtrack the way you came, back onto New Bond Street. Turn left.
Keep walking straight ahead to the junction. Turn left onto Grosvenor Street and then right onto Avery Row.
NOTE IF YOU WANT TO SHORTEN THIS WALK: Instead of turning left onto Grosvenor Street, turn right onto Maddox Street and follow it to the end of the street. Cross Regent Street onto Great Marlborough Street. On your right you will see Liberty of London. Skip to Part 5 of this walk and keep following the instructions.
Walk up Avery Row and then keep going up South Molton Street. At the top you will have reached Oxford Street. If you turn left here, a short distance ahead you will find Selfridges department store on the North side of the road.
Usually the facade of Selfridges is decorated (photo below from a previous year, 2024’s decor to be confirmed) along with the windows. Selfridges also has a large Christmas shop – head to the lower ground floor to browse their range of decorations. See our TikTok to have a look at Selfridges’ 2024 Christmas shop.
Part 4 – Selfridges to Liberty of London
With Selfridges behind you, turn left and walk down Oxford Street underneath a canopy of stars.
Admire the shop windows along the way. When you reach Oxford Circus junction. Turn right down Regent Street. Take the second left turn onto Great Marlborough Street. On your right you will see Liberty of London.
Part 5 – Liberty of London to Piccadilly Circus
Liberty of London is a beautifully unique shop at any time of the year but at Christmas it has a real magic. This mock-Tudor building not only decorates its windows with beautiful displays but it also has a wonderful Christmas shop. For a look at its 2024 Christmas shop, watch our TikTok video.
From the main entrance to Liberty of London, with the building behind you, turn right and bear round right around the building onto Carnaby Street.
Carnaby Street became iconic in the 1960s for its fashion and culture and today its Christmas lights reflect that. Each year the theme for the lights changes. Past themes have included Carnival, Bohemian Rhapsody, and a kaleidoscope. The theme for 2024 has been announced as ‘Into the Light’. 2024’s installation is designed to be reused for at least five years and will feature hourly light displays, with over 6-metre-long sculptural light forms suspended above the main street.
Make sure to explore the streets leading off Carnaby Street.
At the end of Carnaby Street, turn right onto Beak Street and walk straight ahead onto Regent Street, at which point, turn right. All along Regent Street you will see the angel lights strung across the street.
Keep walking down Regent Street until you reach Piccadilly Circus again.
Part 6 – Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden
From Piccadilly Circus, walk down Coventry Street, crossing the road and entering Leicester Square past the Swiss Clock and between the M&M’s store and Lego shop.
In Leicester Square, from 6 November 2024, you will find a number of Christmas market stalls selling food, drinks and other items.
Leave Leicester Square by Cranbourn Street. At the end of Cranbourn Street, cross over the road onto Garrick Street. Walk down Garrick Street and turn left onto King Street into Covent Garden.
In the run up to Christmas Covent Garden becomes a winter wonderland. The central piazza is bedecked with garlands and oversized decorations all set against a backdrop of twinkly fairy lights. This year’s Market Hall display will feature over 40 gigantic bells with bows, 12 giant baubles and 8 spinning mirror balls.
There are usually a number of places dotted around the market where you can take the ultimate London festive selfie – check out Santa’s sleigh for a great shot! In addition, there is a large Christmas tree each year in Covent Garden which is usually more impressive than the Trafalgar Square one (sorry Norway). In past years there has even been fake snow (although whether or not that will be repeated in 2024 is yet to be confirmed).
You’ve reached the end point of this walk!
From here you could, if you choose, take one of two optional extensions to the walk.
OPTIONAL EXTENSION 1 – Somerset House. Each winter the courtyard of Somerset House transforms into an iconic open air ice skating rink. Leave Covent Garden by Russell Street. Turn right onto Wellington Street and walk down it until you hit the Strand. Turn left and cross the road. Head down the pedestrianised section of the Strand and you will see the entrance to the Somerset House courtyard on your right.
OPTIONAL EXTENSION 2 – The Outernet. Over the festive period, the Outernet’s floor to ceiling screens take a festive turn. In 2023 the whole thing turned into a giant snow globe. Dates and a theme for 2024 are yet to be announced. Leave Covent Garden by King Street, turn right onto Garrick Street. Cross the road and go down Cranbourn Street. Turn right onto Charing Cross Road and walk straight ahead until you see the Outernet on your right.
Route
We’ve created a Google Map with the London Christmas lights walking route that we have described above clearly marked. Whether you follow our written directions or the walking route on the map, we hope you have a fantastic time making Christmas memories with your kids!
Have you found something cool and Christmassy along the way that others walking the route with kids should definitely see? Share in the comments!