London Christmas Lights Walking Route 2024 (+ Map)

Enjoy a festive evening on a self-guided walking tour of the London Christmas lights. See grand boulevards illuminated in all their glory and stores adorned with beautiful decorations.

Few cities display Christmas Lights with the same sense of extravagance as London.

Glorious illuminated displays strive to outshine last year’s festivities, and more and more streets are participating in the tradition of decorating themselves for Christmas.

Across the city, beautiful Christmas lights brighten the historic streets and iconic facades. Several of them are located within a festive walking trail through central London.

We’ve put together this walk, which is 3.2 miles (5 kilometres), and visit the most iconic streets and the best Christmas lights and decorations.

If you were to march around quickly, it would take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

But no doubt, you’ll want to amble and savour the festive atmosphere.

This is a great thing to do if you’re looking for activities on Christmas Day in London.

LONDON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR

START: OXFORD STREET

Start at Bond Street Underground Station and walk along Oxford Street to Selfridge’s.

It’s a busy street, particularly at Christmas time, but it’s worth admiring the thousands of brilliant white stars forming a canopy over the street.

SELFRIDGES

Each year, Selfridges’s department store decorates its store with quirky Christmas Displays.

For 2024, the theme is More the Merrier, where different artist have decorated each window in their style.

There are 15 windows, and it’s one of the best things to do for Christmas in London.

GROSVENOR SQUARE

Continue past Selfridges and turn left down North Audley Street to Grosvenor Square.

It contains the Ever After Garden, a memorial to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The garden features 20,000 illuminated white roses. It’s a beautiful memorial and a lovely, quiet place in London over Christmas.

ANNABELS

After leaving Grosvenor Square, follow our map around Davies Street, passing the lights on Mount Street.

Turn right to head down to Annabel’s, a private members club with a magical Christmas façade. Last year, the display featured a massive hot-air balloon symbolising hope and inspiration.

This year, the design features a magical bird in a giant snow globe.

NEW BOND STREET

Cut through Berkeley Square (or around it if it’s closed) and along Bruton Street to New Bond Street, which features beautiful Christmas decorations each year.

Turn right on New Bond Street to pass several posh stores with extravagant decorations.

The Dior store featured a huge butterfly last year, and the Cartier Store always looks stunning at Christmas.

This is probably the highlight of the Christmas lights and the busiest section on this walk.

FORTNUM & MASON

Continue past the Cartier and Tiffany & Co stores, then turn left on Piccadilly to see Fortnum & Mason. Each year, they adorn the entire shop front with a huge Advent Calendar and an animated performance.

BURLINGTON ARCADE

Retrace your steps and go right into Burlington Arcade. This covered shopping arcade is packed with ultra-high-end stores and is always beautifully decorated for Christmas.   

SAVILE ROW

Turn right along Burlington Gardens, then quickly pop into Savile Row (on your left), where the home of bespoke tailoring has adorned its famed street with a Christmas nod to its industry.

Golden sheers cut through a glittering swathe of fabric to mark the festive season.

REGENT STREET

Continue along Vigo Street (an extension of Burlington Gardens) and then turn left onto Regent Street, where the Christmas lights tradition began. It’s always a popular display, with huge angels forming a canopy over the street.

The display has 300,000 twinkling lights, which is a great photo opportunity.

LIBERTY

Continue along Regent Street for excellent photo opportunities, then turn right on Great Marlborough Street to see one of London’s iconic shops.

In a mock Tudor building on the west end, Liberty is stocked with exclusive items and top-end homeware. Their Christmas shop on the 4th floor is packed with quality decorations.

CARNABY STREET

Next, turn right on Carnaby Street.

Usually, Carnaby does a wacky display, as you can see in the photo below. This year, they have gone with a more subtle approach called “Into the Light.”

Using 60,000 sustainable LED’s, it creates an immersive light show powered by green energy.

For some reason, they reminded me of shopping trolleys.

PICCADILLY CIRCUS

At the end of Carnaby Street, turn right on Beak Street, then left on Golden Square. Continue towards Piccadilly Circus to admire the impressive, winged canopy over the street.

The lights feature dramatic large-scale figures of Anteros, the Greek god of requited love. A statue of Anteros has stood in Piccadilly Circus since 1893.

This is where our London Christmas Itinerary finishes the walk, as the following lights are all visited on a different day.

LEICESTER SQUARE

From Piccadilly Circus, follow Coventry Street over to the Leicester Square. It’s always a vibrant place to enjoy the energy of London, and Christmas is no exception.

Read more about what to do in our guide to the Leicester Square Christmas Market.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE

From Leicester Square, take a short detour to Trafalgar Square. There’s a Christmas Market set under the National Gallery, and each year, a giant Christmas tree donated from Norway is displayed there.

It can get busy, and there’s little need to stick around too long.

COVENT GARDEN

From Trafalgar Square, use our map to navigate towards Covent Garden. Plenty is happening in the square, and you can read more in our guide to Christmas in Covent Garden.  

Finish up this London Christmas light walk with a cocktail at El Ta’Koy. It’s a short walk to Covent Garden Tube station to get the underground back home.

LONDON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WALKING MAP

Use our map to navigate this self-guided walking tour of the London Christmas lights. We recommend starting at Bond Street Tube Station and finishing at Covent Garden tube station; however, you could also do this walk in reverse.

USING OUR MAPS. Click on the top right corner to open in the Google Maps app. Click on the star to save to your Google account.  

TIPS FOR YOUR LONDON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WALK

• If you start at Covent Garden and do this walk in reverse, you could end up at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. This is a good option if you are with kids who would enjoy the rides. It’s an extra 20-minute walk.
• A fun way to see the lights is on the CityDays London Festive Food Hunt.
• The streets are most busy just after sunset, around 4 pm. To avoid some of the crowds, do this walk as late as possible. Most lights switch off around Midnight.
• Most importantly, try and pick a day when it’s not expected to rain.
• To see many more festive lights that are not on this walking tour, read our guide to the best of London’s Christmas lights.

MORE GUIDES TO PLAN YOUR LONDON CHRISTMAS

• To plan your trip, start with our 4-day London Christmas Itinerary, a day-by-day walking plan.
• To book your accommodation, read our guide to the best neighbourhoods in London which includes our hotel recommendations.
• Hit the festive spirit with our guide to the best London Christmas Markets.
• Here are all the best places to see the London Christmas lights.
• Our bumper guide to Christmas in London has the best events and things to do.
• Read our guide to Christmas Day in London to see what’s open.
• Soak up the atmosphere with Christmas in Covent Garden.
• Find the best bars, restaurants, igloos and more in our London Christmas guide.
• Take our self-guided walking tour of the London Christmas lights.
• See what’s on in Leicester Square for Christmas.