{"id":7976,"date":"2025-12-19T12:02:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/?p=7976"},"modified":"2025-12-19T13:00:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:00:39","slug":"a-london-christmas-tour-festive-things-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/a-london-christmas-tour-festive-things-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"A London Christmas Tour: Festive Things to See"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Christmas in London is magical. The city fills with lights, markets, and festive energy, and everything feels more special once it gets dark. This year, my best friend came to visit me from Italy, so I planned a small \u201cLondon Christmas tour\u201d to show her the city at its best.
If you\u2019re in London during the festive season and want an easy, student-friendly way to enjoy it, this was our itinerary.<\/p>\n

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Christmas Markets Around Central London<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We started in the afternoon by visiting a few Christmas markets close to each other.
Leicester Square<\/a> Christmas Market was our first stop. It\u2019s small but lively, with stalls selling gifts, decorations, and festive snacks. It\u2019s also right in the city centre, which makes it easy to fit into a day out. There’s also an ice skating rink!<\/p>\n

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From there, we walked to Trafalgar Square<\/a>, which felt calmer and more atmospheric. The location alone makes it worth visiting, especially if you\u2019re seeing London for the first time. Trafalgar Square is also home to London\u2019s famous Christmas tree<\/a>, a long-standing tradition gifted each year by Norway as a symbol of friendship and gratitude following the Second World War.<\/p>\n

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Next, we headed to Covent Garden<\/a>, one of my favourite places at Christmas. The decorations are beautiful, and the area feels very festive. It’s perfect if you plan to buy some unique, handmade gifts!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We finished our market tour at King\u2019s Cross<\/a>, which felt more relaxed compared to the busier central areas. It\u2019s a nice spot if you want festive vibes without big crowds. We also stopped at one of the market stalls for amazing cookies, which were perfect to recharge while walking around.<\/p>\n

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A Walk Through London\u2019s Christmas Lights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Once it got dark, we started our Christmas lights walk, one of the best free things to do in London during December.
We began at Bond Street<\/a> (Old and New), then passed Claridge\u2019s and Annabel\u2019s, both famous for their Christmas decorations. Even from the outside, they\u2019re worth seeing.
We continued through Berkeley Square and Burlington Gardens, which felt quieter and cosier, before reaching Piccadilly<\/a>, where the atmosphere becomes much busier.
Fortnum & Mason was one of our favourite stops, thanks to its festive windows. From there, we walked along Regent Street<\/a>, home to some of London\u2019s most iconic Christmas lights.<\/p>\n

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We ended the walk on Oxford Street<\/a> and Carnaby Street<\/a>. Oxford Street was bright and crowded, while Carnaby Street felt more creative and colourful, making it a perfect place to finish the tour.<\/p>\n

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Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What I loved about this Christmas tour is that it didn\u2019t require bookings or expensive tickets. Most of it was simply walking, exploring, and enjoying the atmosphere. It\u2019s a great way for students to experience London at Christmas without spending too much.<\/p>\n

Sveva<\/p>\n

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For m<\/em>ore insights from international students studying at the University of Westminster and living in the heart of London, please visit\u00a0International Student Blogs<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Christmas in London is magical. The city fills with lights, markets, and festive energy, and everything feels more special once it gets dark. This year, my best friend came to visit me from Italy, so I planned a small \u201cLondon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":953,"featured_media":8093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[144,340,424,425,430],"class_list":["post-7976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-london","tag-christmas","tag-holiday","tag-london","tag-london-at-christmas","tag-london-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/953"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7976"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8131,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions\/8131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}