The 10 Best Christmas markets in London 2026

London does Christmas markets differently. There is no single medieval square with a hundred gingerbread stalls — instead the city spreads them out, so a Christmas market trip to London is really a walk between half a dozen of them, from a full funfair in Hyde Park to a line of wooden chalets on the South Bank with the London Eye lit up behind. This guide covers the ten best, when each one opens for the 2026 season, and which ones to pick if crowds are not your thing.

When do the London Christmas markets open in 2026? Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is the first of the big ones to confirm, running from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Most of the rest open somewhere between the start and the middle of November and stay open into the first week of January — but at the time of writing they had not published their 2026 dates yet. The table below shows what is confirmed and what is still expected.

• London Christmas market dates for 2026
• The 10 best Christmas markets in London
• Where to see the best Christmas lights in London
• Christmas events in London beyond the markets
• Other Christmas markets in and around London
• The best hotels near the London Christmas markets
• Frequently asked questions about the London Christmas markets

London Christmas market dates for 2026

London's Christmas markets do not open together. The earliest switch on in the first days of November, the last open in the final week of the month, and most run right through to the first weekend of January — a longer season than the German and French markets, which typically close on 23 or 24 December.

Only Hyde Park Winter Wonderland had published firm 2026 dates when this guide was updated. For the others we have listed the window each market has opened in year after year, so you can plan around it, and we update the table as each one announces. Always check the market's own site before you travel.

Our top 10 favourite Christmas markets in London 2026

London's markets are scattered across the city rather than clustered in one square, and that is the best thing about them: each has its own character, and you can string three or four together in an evening on the Tube. Once it gets dark the whole centre is lit, which makes the walk between them as good as the markets themselves.

• Winter Wonderland Christmas market, Hyde Park
• Trafalgar Square Christmas market
• Greenwich Christmas market
• Borough Market at Christmas
• King's Cross Christmas markets
• Winter by the River, London Bridge City
• Leicester Square Christmas market
• Old Spitalfields Christmas market
• Covent Garden Winter Village
• Southbank Centre Winter Market

1. Winter Wonderland Christmas market Hyde Park

London's most famous Christmas market is really a full winter festival. A giant observation wheel, a large outdoor ice rink, fairground rides, live music and a circus tent sit alongside a market with well over a hundred stalls selling mulled wine, festive food and handmade gifts. If you only have one evening and you want the biggest version of Christmas in London, this is it — and it is the only London market that genuinely needs planning, because entry is timed and the popular slots go early.

• What we love: the rides and the size of the ice rink
• Don't miss: the big wheel after dark, and the Christmas circus tent
• Good to know: entry is by timed slot and cheaper booked in advance online; off-peak weekday sessions in November are the quietest and the cheapest. Nearest Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch. Check the official tickets guide for this year's prices and opening times.

2. Trafalgar Square Christmas market

Trafalgar Square is home to the Christmas tree that Oslo sends to London every year as a thank you for British support during the Second World War — a tradition running since 1947. The market around the square keeps things traditional: wooden stalls, handmade gifts, roasted nuts and hot drinks, with carol singing in front of the tree most evenings through December. It is small, it is free, and it is the most central Christmas stop in London.

• What we love: the tree, and the fact that the carols are sung by charity choirs rather than piped in
• Don't miss: the daily carol programme in the run-up to Christmas
• Good to know: free to enter, and a five-minute walk from the National Gallery and Leicester Square. Nearest Tube: Charing Cross.

3. Greenwich Christmas market

If you are in London to actually buy presents rather than drink mulled wine, come here. Greenwich Market sits under a Victorian glass roof with more than 150 stalls of genuine craft — jewellery, ceramics, prints, textiles — from makers who are usually standing behind their own tables. The maritime setting, the Cutty Sark and the Old Royal Naval College a few minutes away make it the easiest market to build a whole day around.

• What we love: the historic covered setting and the quality of the crafts
• Don't miss: the independent food traders at the market's south end
• Good to know: indoors, so it is the one to save for bad weather. Nearest station: Cutty Sark DLR, or the Uber Boat from central London for the better arrival.

4. Borough Market Christmas market

Borough Market does not become a Christmas market so much as turn into the best food shop in the country for three weeks. This is where Londoners come for the goose, the cheese, the panettone and the things they cannot get in a supermarket, alongside stalls doing hot mulled cider and Christmas sandwiches to eat on the spot. Come for the eating and the ingredients, not for gifts.

• What we love: the range of seasonal produce, and the mince pies
• Don't miss: the raclette and toasted cheese stalls, which are worth the queue
• Good to know: open on its usual days plus extra Mondays in December, with altered hours over Christmas week. Go before 11am on a Saturday or not at all. Nearest Tube: London Bridge.

5. King's Cross Christmas markets

King's Cross is the modern one. Coal Drops Yard fills with design-led stalls and independent brands rather than tinsel, Granary Square gets a light installation, and pop-up bars around the canal serve hot chocolate and punch. It is the least traditional Christmas market in London and, for a lot of people, the most pleasant — you can walk in off the train, do an hour of proper present shopping and be gone.

• What we love: the design and the fact that it is never as packed as the centre
• Don't miss: the small ice rink, and the light installation in Granary Square
• Good to know: several separate sites with different opening times, all within a ten-minute walk. Nearest Tube: King's Cross St Pancras.

6. Winter by the River London Bridge City

The best view of any London Christmas market. Winter by the River runs along the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, so the stalls of handmade gifts, mulled wine and street food come with Tower Bridge floodlit on one side and the City skyline on the other. There is no funfair and no entry ticket, which makes it the obvious pick if Winter Wonderland sounds like too much.

• What we love: Tower Bridge from the riverside stalls
• Don't miss: the covered bar area, which is where this one comes alive after work
• Good to know: free to enter, usually open late into the evening, with reduced hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and closed on Christmas Day. Nearest Tube: London Bridge.

7. Leicester Square Christmas Market

Leicester Square turns the middle of the West End into a compact Christmas market, and it usually opens earlier in November than anywhere else. The stalls are secondary to the Spiegeltent, which in recent years has hosted an award-winning variety show mixing acrobatics, cabaret and comedy in a room small enough that you are almost in it. Combine the market with a show and you have a whole evening; combine it with a theatre ticket and you have a better one.

• What we love: the setting, five minutes from every West End theatre
• Don't miss: whatever is playing in the Spiegeltent — check the line-up before you book
• Good to know: free to walk around, ticketed for the tent. Nearest Tube: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.

8. Old Spitalfields Christmas market

Old Spitalfields pairs Victorian market architecture with the East End's design scene, so you get craft, independent fashion, prints and small-batch food under one roof rather than the usual chalet fare. It is the market Londoners go to, which shows in the stock: this is the best place in the city for a present that will not turn up under anyone else's tree. Spitalfields also runs a strong sustainability programme, with pop-up performances and events on Market Street through December.

• What we love: the mix of established traders and young designers
• Don't miss: the artist and print stalls at the Commercial Street end
• Good to know: covered and open on its usual market days, with hours varying over Christmas week. Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street or Shoreditch High Street.

9. Covent Garden Winter Village

Covent Garden is the most decorated corner of London at Christmas and the most photographed. The Piazza gets an enormous tree, the Market Building is hung with oversized illuminated baubles and mistletoe chandeliers, and the giant bells above the market play carols on the hour. The market itself is on the higher-end side — good gifts, good chocolate, a few of the better London makers — and the whole area is walkable to Seven Dials and Neal's Yard, both worth the detour for the lights.

• What we love: the Christmas bells and the scale of the decorations
• Don't miss: the lights switch-on, usually one of the first in London in early or mid-November
• Good to know: free, busy from mid-afternoon, and best photographed just after dusk. Nearest Tube: Covent Garden.

10. Southbank Centre Winter Market

Our favourite, and usually the first big market to open. Wooden chalets run along the Thames outside the Royal Festival Hall with the London Eye and the whole north bank lit up opposite, and the food is the best of any London market — international street food rather than the standard bratwurst and crepes. It is a market you can happily visit without buying anything, which is the highest compliment we can pay one.

• What we love: the riverside setting and the street food
• Don't miss: the walk on to Waterloo Bridge afterwards, which is the best free view in London
• Good to know: free, usually open late every day, and directly on the walk between the London Eye and the Tate Modern. Nearest Tube: Waterloo or Embankment.

Where to see the best Christmas lights in London

The markets are only half of it. London's Christmas lights are the reason the city is worth visiting in December even if you never buy a bratwurst, and most of them are free. The switch-ons happen through the first half of November, so the displays are up before most of the markets open.

• Regent Street — the biggest display in the city, with vast illuminated angels spanning the whole street from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus. Best walked from the Piccadilly end, looking north.
• Oxford Street — the most famous switch-on and the busiest pavement in Britain. Worth doing once, ideally on a weekday evening.
• Covent Garden — the giant baubles in the Market Building, the Piazza tree, and Seven Dials and Neal's Yard a few streets away. The most concentrated set of good photographs in London.
• Carnaby Street — a themed installation that changes every year and is consistently the most inventive in the city. Two minutes from Regent Street.
• Christmas at Kew — an after-dark illuminated trail through Kew Gardens, and the most spectacular light display in London by a distance. It is ticketed, timed and sells out well in advance, so book as soon as tickets go on sale.
• King's Cross and Coal Drops Yard — the installation Londoners recommend to each other. Free, quieter than the West End, and right by the station.

If you would rather see the lights from the water than the pavement, a winter Thames cruise covers the South Bank, the bridges and the City skyline in one go — one of the more memorable ways to spend an hour in London in December, and one you can give as an experience rather than book for yourself.

Christmas Events in London

There is a great deal more to a London Christmas than the markets. If you are building an itinerary, these four are the ones we would plan around.

Ice skating at Somerset House

The most elegant outdoor ice rink in London, set in the courtyard of an eighteenth-century palace and lit from the surrounding facades. It usually opens in mid-November and runs into January, sessions are timed and book out at weekends, and adult tickets have run in the region of £15 to £30 depending on the day and time. Check the current prices and session times on the Somerset House site before booking.

English National Ballet's Nutcracker

London's Christmas ballet tradition. English National Ballet performs Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker most Decembers at the London Coliseum, usually running from mid-December into early January, with tickets spanning a wide range from cheap upper-balcony seats to the stalls. It is the single best Christmas experience in London for anyone who would rather be indoors and warm.

Christmas lights in Oxford and Regent Street

The two great shopping-street displays, both switched on in the first half of November and both free. Regent Street is the more impressive of the two; Oxford Street is the more famous. See the Christmas lights section above for the full route.

Sky Garden Christmas Events

The Sky Garden, on the top floors of the building at 20 Fenchurch Street, runs festive events with a view over the whole city. General entry to the garden is free but must be booked in advance; the Christmas events themselves are ticketed and range from an affordable drinks slot to a full seated dinner, so check what is on before you pick a date.

Which Other Christmas Markets Can You Visit in and Around London?

Greater London covers 32 boroughs, and the ten markets above are the central pick rather than the complete list. If you are in the city for more than a weekend, or you want somewhere with fewer people in it, these are worth the journey out.

• Alexandra Palace Christmas — "Ally Pally" sits on a hill in north London with the best free view of the skyline in the city, and puts on a Christmas programme in its restored Victorian Theatre alongside the market and an ice rink. The most underrated Christmas outing in London.
• Kingston upon Thames Christmas Market — a proper European-style market of wooden chalets in the old market square, expected to run from around 12 November to early January. Thirty minutes by train from Waterloo.
• Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre — a market in the courtyards of Henry VIII's palace, running across a couple of December weekends. The setting does most of the work.
• Chelsea Physic Garden Christmas Fair — a few days in late November in London's oldest botanic garden, with more than a hundred independent makers and small businesses. The best of the small ones for actual gift shopping.
• Columbia Road Christmas market — the Sunday flower market in Bethnal Green sells Christmas trees and wreaths through December and is an East End institution. Go early; by midday you cannot move.
• Wembley Park Festive Market — a newer addition, with market stalls, food and light installations around the stadium from mid-November. Easy if you are staying in north-west London.

Christmas at Kew belongs on this list too, though it is a light trail rather than a market — see the Christmas lights section above. And if you are willing to travel further for the best of the rest of the UK, the Edinburgh Christmas market is the biggest in the country, while Manchester's Christmas markets and the Winchester cathedral market are both a straightforward train ride away. Our full guide to Christmas markets in the UK has the rest, and for the continental version there are the Strasbourg and Paris markets.

The Most Beautiful Hotels in London for the Christmas Markets

Most of the central markets are within walking distance of each other, so where you stay matters less than you would think — but these five put you in the right part of town, and each one is a nice place to come back to after an evening in the cold.

• The Egerton House Hotel (★★★★★) — a luxury boutique hotel in a Victorian townhouse in Knightsbridge, known for warm service, elegant rooms and a proper afternoon tea. The pick if Winter Wonderland and Harrods are your priorities.
• Sloane Place (★★★★) — a stylish hotel in Chelsea with cosy rooms and an artistic streak, plus a restaurant and bar that locals actually use.
• Artist Residence London (★★★★) — a creative boutique hotel in Pimlico with individually designed rooms mixing art and vintage pieces. Near Victoria, and good for the South Bank markets.
• Bob W Tower Hill Studios (★★★) — modern self-catering studios by Tower Hill, well placed for Winter by the River and Spitalfields, and good value for longer stays.
• Camden Enterprise Hotel & Pub (★★★) — rooms above a Camden pub, with modern bedrooms and an authentically British selection of beer and food downstairs. Ten minutes from King's Cross.

FAQ Special Christmas markets in London: All our answers

When do the London Christmas markets open in 2026?

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland runs from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 and is the first of the big London markets to confirm its 2026 dates. The rest follow the same rhythm every year: they open somewhere between the start and the middle of November and run through to the first week of January. The dates table above shows which markets have confirmed and which are still expected.

How long do the London Christmas markets last?

Most run for six to eight weeks, from early or mid-November to the first week of January. That makes them noticeably longer than the classic German and French markets, which usually close on 23 or 24 December. A few of the smaller London markets do close before Christmas rather than running into the new year, so check the individual dates if you are planning a late-December visit.

What is the largest Christmas market in London?

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, comfortably. It is less a market than a full winter festival: a giant observation wheel, a large outdoor ice rink, fairground rides, a circus tent and a market with well over a hundred stalls, all spread across a corner of Hyde Park. Nothing else in London comes close on scale, which is also why it is the busiest.

Where is the most beautiful Christmas market in London?

For sheer spectacle, most people would say Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park: the lights, the live performances and the smell of mulled wine and street food make it the most immersive of the lot. Our own favourite is the Southbank Centre Winter Market, a line of wooden chalets strung along the Thames with the London Eye lit up behind them. For prettiness in a historic setting rather than scale, Greenwich Market under its Victorian roof is hard to beat.

What is a good alternative to Winter Wonderland?

If Winter Wonderland sounds too big, too busy or too ticketed, Winter by the River at London Bridge City gives you the riverside setting and the mulled wine with no funfair and no entry queue. Greenwich Market is the pick if you are there to actually buy Christmas presents, the Southbank Centre Winter Market is the easiest one to drop into for an hour, and Coal Drops Yard at King's Cross is the quietest of the central options.

Are the London Christmas markets open on Sundays?

Yes. Nearly all of them open every day of the week through the season, typically from late morning until around 10pm, and weekends are the busiest time to go. Christmas Day is the exception: almost everything in London closes, Winter Wonderland included. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve usually run shortened hours, so check the market's own site before travelling on those two days.

How much does a mulled wine cost at the London Christmas markets?

Budget somewhere around £5 to £7 a cup at most London markets, and a little more at Winter Wonderland and the larger central sites. Some stalls also add a refundable deposit on the cup, which you get back when you return it. Prices move every year, so treat this as a guide rather than a quote.

Where are the best Christmas lights in London?

Regent Street and Oxford Street are the big set pieces and both are free to walk. Covent Garden and Carnaby Street are the most photographed, Christmas at Kew is the most spectacular of the ticketed light trails, and Coal Drops Yard at King's Cross is the one Londoners tend to recommend to each other. Our full rundown is in the Christmas lights section above.

Treat your loved ones to a weekend at the Christmas market in London

There is not much in December better than walking through London in the cold with a cup of something hot — the historic backdrop, the lights strung across the streets, and a different market every few Tube stops. Which makes it a very good thing to give someone. An Experiencegift voucher lets them choose their own trip rather than unwrap yours, and covers:

• Flights
• Hotel stays
• Train journeys

All over the world. Every voucher can be personalised with your own photo and message, and you can browse what is on offer before you buy. Then pick the format that suits:

• PDF voucher — sent to your inbox to print and hand over in person.
• eGift voucher — sent to their inbox within minutes, which makes it a genuinely good last-minute Christmas present.
• Luxury gift voucher — posted anywhere in the world, free.

All of our experience vouchers have no expiry date and are redeemed online, so there is no rush and no small print to unpick. For anyone on your list who would rather have a weekend away than another jumper, it is the right kind of Christmas gift — and if London is not their city, our guides to days out beyond London, the best sports bars and Michelin-starred restaurants in London can fill in the rest of the trip. And if the trip itself is still undecided, our guides to the best places to travel in November and Christmas gifts for friends are good places to start.