Nowhere does Christmas lights like London. It’s truly one of the best places in the world to enjoy stunning Christmas decorations. Here’s how to enjoy London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours – all for free.
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London is magical at Christmas. I’ve travelled around a lot of cities in Europe at Christmas, and I honestly think that London has some of the best Christmas lights that you can find anywhere. And, best of all, seeing these amazing Christmas lights in London is completely free! My guide to London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours will show you all of the best spots in the city where you can see Christmas lights for free.
My step-by-step walking route around central London is the perfect way to see London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours, all for free. Of course, you could easily spend a lot more than 2 hours seeing all things Christmassy and festive in London. But my walking route will show you the highlights, and you can do this route in about 2 hours as long as you keep moving and don’t stop for too long. But of course, if you have more time, it’s definitely worth spending longer to get that perfect photo of the Christmas lights.
If you really want to get to know London at Christmas, the best way is to book a Christmas Lights bus tour with guide (affiliate). Or you can enjoy a bus tour that includes a festive afternoon tea (affiliate), or an open top bus tour for the best photos (affiliate). Or, you can book a guided walking tour of London’s Christmas lights and markets (affiliate), or a Charles Dickens themed Christmas walking tour (affiliate).
Hotels in London can be quite expensive over Christmas, so it’s best to book far in advance if possible. It’s worth paying a bit extra so you can stay in the centre of London, right in the middle of all the activity and Christmas spirit. Check out hotels in London on Booking.com for your stay here (affiliate).
So here’s my step-by-step guide to the best walking route where you can see London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours, all for free.
Stop 1: Oxford Street
For your first stop on your tour of London’s best Christmas lights, head to Oxford Street. Oxford Street is one of London’s busiest central streets, filled with iconic shops. The Christmas light decorations are always stunning here every year.
Oxford Street is also a major bus route in London. So there are almost constantly red buses going down the street. This means you can easily get the iconic London photo of the Oxford Street Christmas lights with a red London bus in the foreground.
Stop 2: Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street
Walk along Oxford Street until you get to Selfridges. Selfridges is a huge department store along Oxford Street. And it’s famous for being beautifully decorated at Christmas.
In 2025, Selfridges had Disney themed Christmas decorations. It was just magical. From across the road, you could see the building lit up, with the Disney castle above the entrance.
All of the windows, the whole way along the shop, were also decorated for Christmas. They each had a festive display based on a Disney film. There were so many – including Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, and more. I spent a long time just walking slowly along the windows of Selfridges and enjoying each of the displays. It’s amazing that you don’t need to even go inside the shop or pay any money to be able to see these displays.
Stop 3: Cartier Flagship Store, New Bond Street
For another shop that has impressive Christmas lights, head to the Cartier flagship store on New Bond Street. The Christmas lights here change every year as well, but they’re always really pretty and really unique.
Just across the road from the shop is a beautiful Christmas tree. It’s just outside in the street. It’s a great place to take photos. And there were a lot of Instagram-style photoshoots happening with this Christmas tree when I was there.
Stop 4: Fortnum and Mason, Piccadilly
Keep walking south until you get to Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly. This huge shop is lit up in incredible bright red colours for Christmas. It’s decorated like an advent calendar, with each of the windows of the shop decorated like the windows in an advent calendar.
Fortnum and Mason is a famous tea shop, so if you’ve got some extra time, head inside the shop to buy some special Christmas gifts for friends and family.
Stop 5: Regent Street
The next stop on your walking tour of London’s best Christmas lights is Regent Street. The Christmas lights on Regent Street are undoubtedly my favourite in all of London. The Christmas lights on Regent Street are all angels, impressively huge as they hang down from high above. And the Christmas angels are here every year, and I never get tired of seeing them.
Regent Street is another busy bus route in London. So you can easily get the perfect photos of the angel Christmas lights with the iconic red London buses in the background. If you visit during rush hour in the evening, anytime between 5-7pm, the traffic is usually really bad on Regent Street – so the buses will be stationery at traffic lights for long periods of time. It’s perfect to have time to line up the photo without it looking blurred from the bus moving!
Stop 6: Liberty Department Store
On Regent Street is another of London’s famous department stores: Liberty. The Liberty department store is a great place to visit at Christmas. The outside of the historic building is impressive to look at, and has a few nice decorations.
But inside gets even better. Every Christmas, the 4th floor of Liberty is dedicated to being a Christmas shop. You can go into the shop for free, and browse the Liberty Christmas shop on the 4th floor. It’s a great place to warm up a little bit after being out in the cold, while still enjoying beautiful Christmas lights and decorations.
Stop 7: Carnaby Street
Back outside, leave Regent Street behind and head into Soho. Within just a few streets, you’ll get to Carnaby Street. It’s another of London’s streets that is decorated with amazing Christmas lights.
The Christmas lights on Carnaby Street change every year. These photos are from the Christmas lights on Carnaby Street in 2023. It was my favourite year of the lights here, and I loved the decorations in the whole area in this year. To be honest, I wasn’t so impressed with the lights in 2025, but it’s still a nice area that’s worth visiting.
Stop 8: Covent Garden
Keep walking until you get to Covent Garden. Make sure you’ve still got some space on your camera memory card, as Covent Garden is one of the best places in London to see Christmas lights. It’s my second favourite place in London – after the Regent Street angels.
Outside Covent Garden, there’s a huge Christmas tree that is beautiful when it’s lit up at night. And inside Covent Garden, it just gets even better. The huge bells cover the whole ceiling, and make the whole place feel really festive. There’s often Christmas music being performed live inside Covent Garden as well.
Stop 9: Somerset House and The Strand
Close to Covent Garden is Somerset House and the street called The Strand. Somerset House is famous for having a huge ice rink outside in the weeks before Christmas. Anyone can borrow ice skates and have a go at ice skating here – and trying not to fall over! I forgot to take any photos of Somerset House on my recent walk around London’s Christmas lights, so these photos are from when I visited in daylight a few years ago.
Right next to Somerset House is the street called The Strand. The lights along here aren’t quite as impressive as those along Oxford Street and Regent Street. But they’re still really pretty. And it’s nice to walk along the Strand as you head towards your next destination at the end of The Strand: Trafalgar Square.
Stop 10: Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square has one of the biggest and most impressive Christmas trees in all of London. The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square is huge – about 25 metres tall. It has an interesting history as well. It’s a gift from Norway. Every year, Norway gifts a tree to London, as a thank you for Britain’s support in World War 2. It’s happened every year since 1947, and is now an important Christmas tradition in London.
For the best views of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, climb the steps in Trafalgar Square up towards the front of the National Gallery. From this raised area, you’ll be able to look down across the whole square, and see Nelson’s Column, the lit up fountains, and the huge tree.
Stop 11: Westminster Cathedral
From Trafalgar Square, head towards Victoria station. Near Victoria Station, you can find Westminster Cathedral. It’s nowhere near as famous as Westminster Abbey. But I think it’s still a really beautiful building, and an undiscovered gem right in the centre of London.
The Christmas tree outside Westminster Cathedral is really pretty. It looks really nice against the backdrop of the stripy Cathedral building behind. This part of London is still really central, but less tourist-y and busy than the areas around Oxford Street and Covent Garden. So if you want to have a more private photoshoot with a Christmas tree in London, this is a great option.
Stop 12: Houses of Parliament
For your final stop on your walk to enjoy London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours for free, head over to the Houses of Parliament. There’s a beautiful Christmas tree here. And you can take great photos of it with Big Ben in the background. It’s a great place to end your festive walk around London, taking in the top sights and Christmas lights.
More options for enjoying Christmas and New Year in London
If you’ve got more time in London, London has so many more amazing things to offer at Christmas. Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park is a must-visit destination if you’re looking for more festive magic. It’s not cheap, and can get very busy, but there’s no denying that it’s a great day out. There are fairground rides, and lots of Christmas Markets selling food and drink. There’s an ice palace there as well, with amazing ice sculptures. It’s definitely worth a visit.
And if you’re able to be in London for New Year, make sure you check out the New Year’s Eve fireworks. The fireworks are set off at midnight, to mark the start of the New Year. For the best views, book a boat trip along the river, that will give you a perfect an uninterrupted view of the fireworks (affiliate), or this boat tour that includes a three course dinner (affiliate). It’s one of the most impressive firework displays in the world, and a perfect way to end your Christmas trip to London.
Hope you enjoyed my guide to London’s best Christmas lights in 2 hours – all for free! If you’re looking for more things to do in London, check out my guide to London’s top sights in 3 hours, plus the top alternative things to do in London. Or for more great Christmas destinations across Europe, check out Prague at Christmas, or Vienna’s stunning Christmas Markets.
