TRAVEL TIPS | 5 Utterly Christmassy things to do in London this year

Here we are… The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, according to Andy Williams!

Christmas is an occasion to look back and review, to sit comfortably and share a hot drink with friends and family, to eat as much as you want and celebrate. It is also a frenetic period: you want to make enough time for a long break. So usually the weeks before run quickly and you find yourself rushing from one task to the following until finally, the break arrives!

If you are planning to visit London during your winter holidays you may as well have been too busy to organise your visit. But don’t worry, having lived here for almost 4 years now (even though I still have to experience the actual Christmas day in London) I decided to share my absolute favourite Christmassy spots in this dreamy city with you.

Top 5 locations to visit in London for Christmas

Kew Gardens / Christmas in London

If I think about Kew Gardens at Christmas, the only words that come to my mind are dreamy and magical. The world-leading botanic garden gets an after-dark makeover where the building and the plants are fully covered in artistic light sculptures.

Here you can have a sneak peek at this year mesmerising trail illuminated by one million glimmering lights.

Walk around London’s main shopping district: Regent street, Oxford street and the amazing windows at Selfridges / Christmas in London

I know it. Christmas shopping in some of the busiest streets of London may be overwhelming. But you’ll forget about the crowd once you see the beautiful decorations that permeate them. Plus, if you avoid the week end and go during week days instead, you might even find it to be not too busy.

Don’t forget to pay a visit to Selfridges, even just to have a look at their windows. They are retail design leaders and constantly organise collaborations with different designers to bring innovation in Oxford Street through their shop windows.

For example, back in May they did a collaboration with the art and design practice Wang & Söderström. You can read all about it in this post on Frame

christmas in lodnon 2019, winter holidays london, italianbark interior design blog — Ph Martina Pardo

Covent Garden / Christmas in London

After your walk in Regent Street, you’ll get to Piccadilly Circus. From there you will have a walk in Soho, get distracted by the red lanterns in China town, and finally head toward Covent Garden. Christmas decorations here are very polished and change every year. You’ll find luxury shops selling traditional teas, Christmas markets and plenty of restaurants. Altogether under the same roof of shiny lighting!

christmas in lodnon 2019, winter holidays london, italianbark interior design blog, covent garden — Ph Martina Pardo

The Churchill Arms / Christmas in London

After all the shopping why don’t you move to the sophisticated area of Kensington? Here I recommend you to have dinner in one of the most iconic pub in London, The Churchill Arms. It was the first pub in London to start serving Thai food and it’s really well-known for its eccentric decorations and it’s filled with Churchill memorabilia.

Little curiosity: I heard that keeping all the plants alive (they more indoor) cost them about £24k a year.

And since you are here, don’t forget to stop by Harrods!

Charles Dickens Museum / Christmas in London

Last but not least, the Charles Dickens Museum is an absolute must in this time of the year. Located at No 48 Doughty Street, it hosts the world’s biggest collection relating to Dickens. Visiting his home will bring you back in time: the rooms are fully decorated for Christmas and the result is that each area still feels alive, but not in this century! You will see the very room where he wrote Oliver Twist and discover some of this memorable author’s personal quirks.