London Christmas Walks and Activities 2024
Christmas and New Year – it’s a truly special time of year in London. London is renowned for pulling out all of the stops come Christmastime. This town was made for pleasure and it’s more than a match for the dying of the light in December. London thumbs its nose at the gloomy weather and short days. It makes merry, creates a merry atmosphere.
From Christmas lights to strolling along the Thames at the Southbank Centre’s Christmas markets with a mulled wine (or hot chocolate!) in hand and going on some of Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland fairground rides. Come with us on a London walking tour to discover all the festive season secrets and stories London has to offer.
Walking Tours
It’s 2024 and we are back! Back in full strength with an outstanding program of Christmas-themed winter walks and virtual tours through Central London for you to indulge in this winter. The cup runneth over, the stocking is full. Even the number is special Christmas Season walks is fitting. And impressive. There are twelve different Christmas Season London offerings, many of which run several times. Be sure to book tickets online to reserve your space. Shall we see what’s under the tree?
The Christmas Tree(s) Walks
Here’s a new walk for the Christmas season – London’s most glorious constellation of Christmas trees. From Claridges to Trafalgar Square. All of it is enriched by the backstories. And not forgetting the timed-to-perfection start times: just when they’re lighting up.
Get ready for these dazzling walks with Claire as they take place at 4 pm throughout November & December. The meeting point is at the Bond Street Underground Station, London (Marylebone Lane exit, by Disney Store – north side of Oxford Street).
Christmas Lights Photography Tour
Explore night photography and learn to capture stunning Christmas lights photos by mastering some of the most creative elements of photography. We will capture the incredible main displays in Regent Street, Piccadilly, Soho, the Strand and some of the stunning landmarks of this city. Through demonstration and a personalised photography practice you will develop your own creative vision while receiving expert advice on shooting in low light and long exposures.
Join these photography walk specials on December 4th & 18th at 7 pm. The meeting point is just outside the Villiers Street exit of Embankment Tube. Don’t forget your camera!
Christmas Covent Garden Pub Walk
Covent Garden, the so-called ‘Garden of Venus’, boasts over sixty pubs and bars, many steeped in history and brimming with festive cheer. On this yuletide-inspired walk, discover the area’s most atmospheric establishments, stopping at iconic pubs, some dating back to the 1600s, for a taste of history and seasonal delights.
This walk takes place at 6:30 pm on 17th December 2024. The meeting point is Tottenham Court Road Tube and is guided by Andy.
The Sherlock Holmes Christmas Walk
“Compliments of the season!” A goose and a hat are lost in a scuffle at a street corner. But where? Which street corner? A suspect spends time in a museum. But why? An investigation leads to a famous market. But how? We follow the crisscrossing paths of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson as they solve their only original Christmas-time case, and Arthur Conan Doyle as he reaches a crisis in his professional life. Where did the detective acquire his famous Stradivarius violin?
Where was the ‘Alpha’ public house which briefly hosted a hidden jewel? Where did Holmes himself live before he moved to 221b? Throw in a film location which links a silent screen Holmes and modern-day Sherlock, a fine house where one of Conan Doyle’s greatest friends lived, a theatre where the sleuth made a triumphant return on stage in the 1920s, and you have the recipe for this affectionate festive offering from the glory days of the Great Detective. Guided by Richard IV, who “specialised in early detective fiction at university, played Dr Watson on stage, contributes to the Sherlock Holmes Journal, is the Audiobooks reader for the Dr John Watson series.”
The Sherlock Holmes Christmas Walks take place at 2.30 pm on the 8th, 18th and 27th December 2024. The meeting point is just outside the exit of Goodge Street Tube Station.
The London of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol & Seasonal Traditions
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol lies at the heart of the festive season. This tour explores the heart of this enduring story in its original setting, the old City of London in Victorian times. Here, where Dickens himself explored and studied every nook and corner, so too Ebenezer Scrooge walked from his counting house to his melancholy tavern and even more dismal lodgings. And as we make their acquaintance we’ll spice things with warming seasonal stories of turkeys and boars’ heads, Christmas puds, mince pies and pantomimes; cards, crackers, Christmas trees and mistletoe.
This walk will take place on various dates throughout December. The meeting point is outside Tower Hill Underground Station.
The Christmas Music Walking Tour
A Musical Walking Tour Of the West End Christmas Lights featuring locations from the movie inspired by the music of George Michael. There will definitely be lots of singing with song sheets provided. So what are you waiting for?
This is definitely not your average London Christmas Lights Tour… no wonder the December 15th date is already sold out. But don’t fret as Adam still has a walk you can join in on Monday, 16th December.
Eating Christmas
Yes, Ann, our Foodies London specialist, has whipped up a Christmas Foodies Tour. It’ll take place on four different dates in December: on the 5th, 14th, 19th and 21st at 10.45 am, (so you get several bites at the cherry). The meeting point is just outside exit 3 (by the Royal Exchange) of Bank Underground Station.
Virtual Tours
Sherlock Holmes & Conan Doyle at Christmas – the Virtual Tour
And the game’s really afoot for Holmes and Watson and Conan Doyle and the resident London Walks Holmes expert, Richard. Because he’s also treating you to an image-rich, very entertaining and informative and beautifully delivered – yes, it’s Richard, he of audiobook fame – Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle at Christmas Virtual Tour. It takes place at 7 pm on December 22nd. It’ll get you to London and in Holmes’ and Conan Doyle’s company at Christmas season wherever you are in the world. What’s not to like about that? And it’s two bites at the cherry because Richard will be repeating it at 7 pm on December 27th.
The Virtual Tour of the London of Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol
Yes, a Virtual Tour for those of you who aren’t in London. It’s the next best thing to being here. Runs throughout December, on Christmas Eve (at 7 pm) and then again on December 31st (at 7pm). Come to London at Christmas time – right in the comfort of your own home – hobnob with Dickens and Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim and, yes, Ebeneezer Scrooge. And, yes, this one’s guided by Richard of audiobook renown. Those great words, that velvety voice of Richard – perfection!
A Charles Dickens Christmas Virtual Tour – his life, his work & his London
The Virtual Tour weaves an exploration of Victorian London with Dickens’s London Life and writing. On the tour we have a look at London at Christmas and the contribution Dickens made to it with his Christmas Books.
Join this virtual tour of Dickens’s life in London on December 16th at 7.30 pm on Zoom!
Christmas with Jane Austen Virtual Tour
On the 9th of December at 7.30 pm we’re off to Regency England, off to meet Jane Austen and her circle at Christmas time. We’ll see how they celebrated Christmas, what their Christmas traditions were, etc. And if some of it is pretty unfamiliar, well, never fear, we’re in good hands – the distinguished emeritus Museum of London archaeologist Kevin Flude is in charge of all the arrangements. Kevin will be taking us round, providing introductions, shedding lots of light, explaining all.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Jane Austen devotee in possession of the good fortune of a couple of free hours must be in want of this virtual walk.”
Christmas Day Walks
Christmas Morning, 1660 – Samuel Pepys’ London
After 8 years of Christmas being banned during the interregnum, Christmas morning of 1660 must have been pretty special, wouldn’t you say? This is a Christmas Restoration walk in every sense of the word! And what better figure to accompany us on our rounds than that quintessential Londoner – let alone the greatest diarist of them all – Samuel Pepys himself. We’re following in his footsteps. Going calling on the Westminster that he knew. And immortalised in the diary. Lucky us. Because Pepys’ Diary, begun in 1660, is the most entertaining and joyful autobiographical record ever kept. Thanks to the quality of the writing, the little anecdotes (they’re like plums in a Christmas pudding), the illuminating profiles, the indiscretions, the insults and – tying it all together – the warmth of Pepys’ personality.
This walk takes place at 11 am on December 25. The meeting point is by the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.
The Christmas Day Charles Dicken’s London Walk
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me” – Charles Dickens.
Our afternoon walk is all about the man who some think invented Christmas – he didn’t! He re-invented it! Before Dickens and his stories came along Christmas was a rather small celebration on the Christian calendar. It was Dickens whose words plumped, fluffed and sprinkled Christmas all over the world making it the traditional Christmas we know today. So on Christmas afternoon we celebrate him, his words, his life, his London and his Christmas. A Christmas before Cola turned Father Christmas red. It’s a delightfully Dickensian and detailed look at – an exploration of – the alleyways and Victorian hideaways off the Strand and Covent Garden districts, places rich in Dickensian lore and associations.
The Charles Dickens Christmas Day walk starts at 2 pm. The meeting point is by the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. (How appropriate is that?)
New Year’s Eve Walk
Hampstead New Year’s Eve Walk – See the Fireworks from the Roof of London
See in the New Year – and see the fireworks – from the roof of London. This one works a treat. But go on, click on the link, read the blurb – you’ll see why this is the class act, why this is the way those who know do it.
Other Activities
Looking for other activities to do in London? The Christmas events calendar is back to normal after last year, so here are a few London Walks curated suggestions:
- Go ice skating in one of London’s magical ice skating rinks at the Natural History Museum or Somerset House
- Indulge and have a festive afternoon tea at Claridge’s and see their breathtaking Christmas decorations
- See the illuminated trail at Kew Gardens, a lovely Christmas-time installation
- An evening of Christmas shopping and see London’s Christmas lights installations on Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and of course don’t miss the angels of Regent Street!
- Pick the best Christmas window display makeover between Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason!
- Indulge in a Christmas Show and go and see the Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall or The Snowman at Peacock Theatre
- A children’s favourite, book to see a panto at London’s Palladium!
- Have a date night in one of London’s Christmas season pop-ups including dinner in chalets, igloos or warm up around a fire pit
Private Tours
Want to organise a fun team social and don’t know what your company Christmas Party is going to look like whilst social distancing? Why not book one of our Virtual Tours and we can organise the time and date to suit you. Bring your team or family together with one of our Christmas specials tour, just ring Fiona or Noel or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you.