Travel blog & tips on a budget from a 30 year old blogger

5 Reasons to Spend Christmas in London

England Europe London
Posted: November 30, 2012

This post may sound slightly hypocritical as I am leaving London to spend time Down Under, but that is only because I have spent many Christmases in London.  There is so much to do in England’s capital and here are just a few.

1) Theatre

There are many theatre shows to attend in London.  Thriller, Les Miserables and Singing in the Rain are just some of the shows along Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End, home of theatre. The best tickets in the house can be £62.50, but there are cheaper deals if you do not mind having a restricted view.  There are also discount ticket vendors in London, but make sure you visit an authentic one, otherwise you may be paying too much.

Royal Opera House

 2) Bars and clubs

There are always Christmas parties taking place in December.  Many companies will have booked out a bar or a club such as Cafe de Paris and Mahiki for their work Christmas party.  It is always fun to go out with colleagues to some of these more chic clubs which can be expensive to get in.  If you do not have a work Christmas party, you can still go to some of these clubs, just remember to enter before 9:00 or 9:30pm to avoid paying the entry fee and you might even bump into some people holding their work Christmas do and can buy you some drinks on the house.

Covent Garden Market

3) Shopping

London has some of the best shops in Europe and with the Euro being so strong against the pound it is actually much cheaper to shop in the UK.  The lights along Oxford Street, Regent Street and Carnaby Street  are beautiful and really gets people into the Christmas spirit. For those who prefer shopping on one place, there are two big Westfield centres on either side of London, one in Shepherds Bush on the West and one in Stratford in the East.

Christmas Reindeer

4) Ice skating

In the lead up to Christmas, there are many ice skating rinks set up in London. There is one at Hampton Court, Canary Wharf and Somerset House on the Thames.  At the Natural History Museum, there is a 1000 meter ice rink with café selling refreshments, against a beautiful backdrop of the museum. At Winter Wonderland, in Hyde Park there is also an ice skating rink, which is so popular, it

5) Christmas markets

There is a wonderful Christmas market along the South Bank by Waterloo.  There is also a market in Greenwich and Canary Wharf as well as Hyde Park.  For the past 3 years, there has been a Winter Wonderland in the park and each year there has been a Christmas market which is bigger than the last.

Covent Garden Apple Market
Covent Garden Apple Market

What are you doing this Christmas? I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions on places to visit in London, feel free to connect with me on Twitter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *