London is a particularly magical place at Christmas time and I can’t wait to experience it myself for the first time this year. So, I’ve decided to put together a quick guide to Christmas in London for 2009.
London Christmas Lights
Most of the major Shopping Streets in London now have their Christmas lights turned on. The most popular are the Oxford Street Christmas lights which were turned on to great fanfare by Jim Carrey last week.
You can also see Christmas lights on:
- Carnaby Street
- Jermyn Street
- Regent Street
- Bond Street
- Marylebone
- Covent Garden will also be lit up with Christmas lights as well.
London Christmas Ice Skating
There are several romantic venues to take in ice skating in London:
- Natural History Museum
- Somerset House
- Tower of London
- Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park
- Hampton Court Palace
- Canary Wharf
- Alexandra Palace
Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree turn on Date
London’s most prominant Christmas tree is put on display in Trafalgar Square every year. It’s always a gift from Norway and it’s decorated in Norwegian style – it’s a thank you from Norway for the War. This year the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree Lights will be turned on December 3rd 2009 – which I think is rather late and I’m going to miss it. Also, during mid-December, Trafalgar Square has carol singers who spread the festive holiday cheer.
Christmas Church Services
If you happen to be in London during the Holidays be sure to stop by St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminter Abbey and enjoy a Christmas midnight service. All the churches in London are free and open to worshippers who’d like to experience a true English Christmas.
London Christmas Shopping
London is a shopping mecca and there are plenty of places to do your shopping for the holidays. There’s Oxford Street of course and Covent Garden, but also the Westfield Shoppingtown Mall in Shepard’s Bush. And of course – you must stop in to the Harrod’s Christmas shop! Sadly, chances are you won’t be able to see Santa in the flesh – there are only a couple Santa’s in London and they were pretty much booked solid back in August.
Do you have any top tips for Christmas in London?
Author Info - Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis. He keeps Anglotopia running in his spare time, always dreaming of his next trip to England, wishing he lived there - specifically Dorset - and is always trying to figure out a way to move to England. It will happen one day. Keep up with him on Twitter here. Read more from this author
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.