Christmas lights in London 2026: switch-on dates and Christmas trees

In short

• First official switch-ons in 2026: Carnaby Street on Wednesday 4 November, Regent Street on Thursday 5 November (the street is closed to traffic from 17:00 to 21:00 that evening) and Covent Garden on Thursday 12 November.
• Trafalgar Square Christmas tree: the official lighting is on 3 December 2026. The time has not been announced yet.
• Oxford Street and Bond Street: the 2026 switch-on dates have not been announced (Visit London: "TBC"). Check the organisers' websites.
• Most lights stay on from mid-November to early January. Looking at the street lights is free.
• What you pay for: the Skate at Somerset House ice rink (adults £13–£28.50, plus a £1.50 fee per ticket) and Christmas at Kew (from £25.50).
• Getting there: the Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights. On switch-on evenings the centre can get very crowded, so a weekday is best.

As of October 2026. Check dates and prices with the organiser again before you leave home.

Switch-on calendar 2026

The table is in date order. For Carnaby Street, Regent Street and Covent Garden these are official switch-on events. For the other places it gives the first day the lights or displays are available (the exception is the Trafalgar Square tree, where the date is the official lighting). "Not given" means the source does not include that information.

In addition, the Southbank Centre has two events this season: the Winter Market from 2 November to 3 January 2027 and Winter Light from 27 October to 31 January 2027 (Visit London).

Sources for the dates: Visit London: the best Christmas lights in London and the Visit London events calendar.

West End streets

Carnaby Street

The lights are switched on on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at the "Carnaby Street Light Switch On" event. Entry is free. This year's theme is "Press Play on Christmas": neon lights with a 1990s British feel (Visit London). The switch-on time has not been announced yet, so check the Carnaby Street website. Liberty London is next door, and the nearest station is Oxford Circus.

Regent Street and St James's

The lights come on on Thursday 5 November 2026. That evening Regent Street is closed to traffic from 17:00 to 21:00, with entertainment for families and offers in the shops (Regent Street).

• This is the 10th year of the "Spirit of Christmas" angel installation, with new features in 2026.
• According to Visit London, the lights are on from 5 November to 5 January 2027, every day from 15:00 to midnight. The installation has more than 30 "spirits" (illuminated angels).
• In St James's Market there is a "Wishing Tree": a £5 contactless donation to the organisation Felix lights up the tree.
• Visit London's tip: go on a weekday evening, because it gets crowded.

Stations: Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus.

Oxford Street

The 2026 switch-on date has not been announced (Visit London: "TBC"). What is known is that the lights will have a Harry Potter theme, created with HBO Max for the opening of the largest official Harry Potter store in the UK, on Oxford Street. Viewing is free. Updates are on the Oxford Street website. Stations: Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch.

Bond Street

The 2026 switch-on date has not been announced (Visit London: "TBC"). In 2025 the lights were inspired by the Crown Jewels. For the 2026 theme, check the Visit London round-up. Station: Bond Street.

Covent Garden, Leicester Square and St Martin's Lane

• Covent Garden: the switch-on is on Thursday 12 November 2026, with live performances and a countdown to "pressing the button". The Market Building will be decorated with more than 300,000 lights, golden bells, mirror balls and baubles. A British Christmas tree will stand on the West Piazza. It is all part of a seven-week programme, "The Theatre of Christmas" (Covent Garden). The switch-on time is not given in the sources for this guide, so check it on the organiser's website.
• Leicester Square: star-shaped lights, from 1 November to 6 January 2027.
• St Martin's Lane: from 3 November to 6 January 2027, with a Theatreland theme (the West End theatres).

Beyond the West End

• Battersea Power Station (5 November to 3 January 2027, free): glowing baubles and candy canes on Electric Boulevard and a 12-metre Christmas tree on Malaysia Square. Santa's Workshop runs from 27 November to 24 December. On 22 November Santa and his elves abseil down the building's façade. Station: Battersea Power Station (Northern line).
• Chelsea and Sloane Street (from 12 November): Firefly Festive Forest, more than 30 trees designed by artists along Sloane Street, from 12 November to 1 December. At Duke of York Square the Ever After Garden stands from 5 November to 21 December: more than 30,000 illuminated white roses, a memorial installation. Station: Sloane Square.
• Churchill Arms (119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN): a pub covered in Christmas trees and lights, from 12 November. According to Visit London, tables cannot be booked. Station: Notting Hill Gate.
• London Eye and Southbank: a free light show on the London Eye every evening from 14 November to 3 January 2027 (Waterloo station). Southbank Centre: the Winter Market (2 November to 3 January 2027) and Winter Light (27 October to 31 January 2027).
• King's Cross and Coal Drops Yard (26 November to 3 January 2027): the "Cracking" Christmas tree, designed with Aardman. Station: King's Cross St. Pancras.

Christmas trees: where they stand and when they are lit

Trafalgar Square

The Trafalgar Square tree is a Norwegian spruce that Oslo has given to London every year since 1947, as a thank-you for Britain's support for Norway during the Second World War (Mayor of London). The tree is felled in November in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the UK ambassador to Norway and the Mayor of Oslo. It then travels to London by ship and lorry. It is decorated in the Norwegian style, with vertical strings of lights.

• Lighting: 3 December 2026 (the Visit London events calendar lists "3 Dec switch-on"). The time in 2026 has not been announced yet. Check the Mayor of London website.
• Carols: throughout December there are hour-long carol-singing sessions under the tree.
• Cost: free.
• Getting there: Charing Cross, Embankment and Leicester Square stations.
• Hanukkah: the Hanukkah menorah stands in Trafalgar Square from 14 to 22 December (Visit London).

Covent Garden

The British Christmas tree on the West Piazza will light up with the whole display on 12 November. This year's novelty in the Market Building is "The Forest of Theatre": trees inspired by West End shows (including Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge! and My Neighbour Totoro). From 4 to 31 December, every hour between 12:00 and 21:00, there is two minutes of "artificial snow" (Visit London).

Somerset House

The Skate at Somerset House ice rink runs from 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 in the courtyard, under a 40-foot (about 12 m) Christmas tree. Tickets cost: adults £13–£28.50, children £11–£15, plus a £1.50 fee per ticket (as of October 2026). Somerset House is on the Strand: it is 2 minutes on foot from Temple station and about 8 minutes from Covent Garden, Charing Cross and Embankment. Tickets and details: Somerset House.

St Paul's Cathedral

Since 1934 the monarch has given the cathedral Christmas trees from the Windsor estate just before Advent. In 2024 there were three trees and the 90th year of the tradition (the cathedral's press release of 6 December 2024). The trees stand inside the cathedral. The 2026 dates for the trees have not been announced.

The cathedral also publishes its Christmas programme (St Paul's: Advent and Christmas):

• Advent and Christmas services are free;
• Advent Carol Service: 28 and 29 November 2026, no tickets needed;
• tickets are needed for Family Carols (19 December) and for the carols at 16:00 on 23 and 24 December;
• paid concerts: Handel's Messiah (2 December) and A Celebration of Christmas (10 December).

Battersea and King's Cross

• Battersea Power Station: a 12-metre Christmas tree on Malaysia Square, from 5 November to 3 January 2027.
• King's Cross: the "Cracking" tree, designed with Aardman, from 26 November to 3 January 2027.

Other places where trees usually stand

Visit London lists places with Christmas trees, based on its descriptions from 2025. The 2026 dates have not been announced (TBC), so treat the list as a guide, not a plan. For updates, check the Visit London round-up of Christmas trees.

Christmas at Kew

An evening event at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Kew website).

• Dates: selected days from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, from 16:20 to 22:00. Last entry is at 19:00–20:00 depending on the gate (up to an hour earlier on Christmas Eve). The full calendar is on the Kew website.
• Tickets: from £25.50 (as of October 2026).
• New this year: adults-only evenings on 3 and 9 December.
• Quiet Access: sessions for people with non-visible disabilities, for example autism, on 21 November and on 1, 16 and 26 December.
• Note: the £1 tickets for people receiving Universal Credit or Pension Credit do not cover Christmas at Kew.

A West End walking route

Visit London recommends starting your walk at dusk. The route below is based on its suggestion, but it is arranged so that you mostly walk from west to east and never retrace your steps. The 2026 switch-on dates for Oxford Street and Bond Street have not been announced, so check before you go whether they are already lit.

1. Oxford Street (start at Marble Arch or Bond Street). Walk east towards Bond Street station. Harry Potter-themed lights, switch-on date not announced.
2. Bond Street. From Bond Street station, walk south down Bond Street as far as Piccadilly.
3. Piccadilly and Fortnum & Mason. Turn east towards Piccadilly Circus. Fortnum & Mason is on Piccadilly, by St James's.
4. Regent Street and St James's. From Piccadilly Circus, walk north up Regent Street under the "Spirit of Christmas" angels. By St James's Market, look in on the "Wishing Tree".
5. Carnaby Street and Liberty. Turn off Regent Street into Carnaby Street. Liberty London is next to Carnaby Street.
6. Soho and Leicester Square. Walk south through Soho to Leicester Square (star-shaped lights).
7. Trafalgar Square. The tree and carols (from 3 December).
8. St Martin's Lane. From here, head north along the street with the Theatreland theme.
9. Covent Garden. The end of the route: the West Piazza, the Market Building and the Forest of Theatre. From here you can walk to Somerset House on the Strand (Temple station).

A longer start (Visit London's suggestion). Visit London starts its route further west: from Sloane Street and King's Road in Chelsea, through Belgravia and Mayfair (the Annabel's façade), Savile Row and Marylebone Village to Oxford Street. You can do this part separately.

Separately, not in one walk: King's Cross, Camden Market, the South Bank and Battersea (Visit London).

Budget: what is free and what you pay for

Free

• Looking at the street lights (Visit London).
• The Carnaby Street switch-on and the Oxford Street lights.
• The Trafalgar Square tree and the hour-long carol sessions throughout December.
• The lights at Battersea Power Station.
• The London Eye light show every evening from 14 November to 3 January 2027.
• Advent and Christmas services at St Paul's Cathedral (Advent Carol Service on 28 and 29 November 2026, no tickets needed).

What you pay for

Getting there and avoiding the crowds

• Tube, Overground and DLR: the table in "Switch-on calendar 2026" gives the stations for each place. Check the line status just before you leave: tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status.
• The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Windrush lines (TfL: Night Tube). On other days, check the last train times on the TfL website.
• Weekday evenings: Visit London recommends this time for Regent Street. On switch-on evenings (4, 5 and 12 November, 3 December) the centre can get very crowded.
• Get off a station early and walk: at peak times and during events in the centre, stations can get very crowded.
• In a crowd, keep an eye on your phone and wallet, and if you are with children, agree beforehand where to meet if you get separated.

Plans can change

Plans can change – check the organiser's website before you go. This guide draws on information from organisers' websites, Visit London, TfL, the Mayor of London and St Paul's Cathedral (as of October 2026). Dates, times, prices and ticket availability may change.