Planning your winter visit to London — The Empty Nest Explorers

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Top reasons to visit London during the winter:

Airfare is less expensive during the winter.
Lines at major attractions are much shorter.
Hotel rates are lower than in the summertime.
The weather is milder than you might think.

Summer isn’t the only great time to travel to London. Winter vacationing can offer some very tempting benefits. Airfares and hotel rates can be more affordable, crowds can be thinner, and many destinations in winter have their own unique charm.

One of the best decisions we made all year was to visit London in winter.

We started looking at January as a good time for our family trips when our son started college. He had long winter breaks and his summers were potentially full of work and internships. So if we wanted to travel as a family - and it is delightfully satisfying to travel with your kids when they are no longer kids! - we had to think outside the summer box.

For tips on getting around London, you might want to read our post: Traveling by train in Britain: a guide for beginners

I love everything about London. I love that it feels as exciting as New York, I love the history, and I love a cozy pub. And it’s actually one of the best spots for a winter or Christmas trip, as long as you are willing to forego a few things and pack a few layers.

Although the days are short and the weather can be a little dreary, most of the sights you would have on your list for summer are available in winter. It doesn’t stop or shut down like many “good-weather” oriented locales. London's world-class museums, theaters, and pubs are warm and welcoming, and you may even enjoy a Dickens-esque dusting of snow.

Winter weather in London - What to pack

Expect winter weather in London to be a bit rainy and chilly, but not as cold as you may think. The humid oceanic climate keeps the weather fairly mild. Though the average temperature stays below 10°C / 50°F, it doesn’t normally dip below freezing, so it’s not that bad. It rarely snows, as it is a bit too warm and wet, but if it does, it’s just a dusting and can be a magical sight.

Days are short in winter, with the sun rising at around 8am and setting around 4pm, so take advantage of exploring the city at night.

You should pack a warm coat that’s comfortable for moving around, plus a hat, gloves and a few layers. Most importantly, you want that outer layer to be weather-resistant, as you will definitely get rained on at some point. But your coat doesn’t need to be a massive parka! We actually did this trip with just a carry-on roller suitcase and a backpack each - you need less “heavy stuff” than you might suspect.

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I wore comfortable, waterproof hiking boots the entire trip and never needed another pair of shoes. (Granted, I didn’t go to the opera or anything like that - but I did wear those cute boots into Buckingham Palace!) My outer layer was a fuzzy-lined midweight Columbia jacket with a hood, which I sometimes wore over a zip-up fleece, depending on the weather that day.

My shirts were all either lightweight turtlenecks or long-sleeved T-shirts, which rolled up nice and small in my luggage. I also wore thin silk long-johns under my jeans most days. Good hiking socks, my trusty boots, a wool beret for windy spots, light knit gloves - I was very comfortable for the whole trip. If you like having an umbrella with you, make it a small foldable one that fits in a purse, backpack or large pocket. I also like to stuff a few plastic bags in my purse for wet umbrellas.

Packing light has become a little bit of an obsession for us on these European trips. When we are hopping on and off trains, changing hotels, and seeing a few places in one trip, the benefits of traveling light are hard to beat. (We talk about packing light also in our post 11 Tips for Traveling in Italy.)

You can get around London easily via the London Underground (or the “Tube”) no matter what the weather. Prices are by zones, and tapping your phone or credit card at the turnstile makes payment effortless. The Underground offers daily price caps, so if you hit that amount, you will ride for free for the rest of the day.

Average London winter temperature (Fahrenheit)

Overall, don’t be reluctant to face a little chilliness and rain in London. You just might find it to be something special, as we did, offering a different perspective on the city, a different photo aesthetic for your travel pics, and a lot fewer fellow travelers filling the streets.

The locals aren’t fazed by it, and neither should you be!

(Didn’t the Queen Mum, well into her 90s, say that she thought the cure for a cold was a brisk walk in the cold? Well, I won’t consider that a medical recommendation, but you get my point.)

View of Tower of London and Tower Bridge from Sky Garden observation deck.

Visiting London during the Christmas Season

If you celebrate Christmas, London can be a magical place to visit at that time of year. The festivities generally start in November and continue through just after New Year’s Day (which is a little early by American standards so keep that in mind).

As you can probably imagine, London is very lit up with Christmas lights during the season. Since it starts in November, you can take advantage of less crowds during that time, before December really brings in the tourists. Traveling to the UK from the US also tends to be less expensive before Thanksgiving. Holiday prices are higher.

Some of the best light displays in the city streets can be seen at Regent Street, Oxford Street, Marylebone Village, Covent Gardens, Seven Dials, Bond Street and all over Chelsea. But really, the entire city gets in the spirit. Pubs actually go a little crazy with the decorating!

There is an annual tree lighting ceremony in Trafalgar Square, featuring central London’s show stopping 80-foot tall Christmas tree. This tradition dates back to 1947, when the towering Norwegian spruce was gifted to London from Norway, as a gesture of thanks for British support during World War II. The tree is usually decorated in traditional Norwegian style.

If Christmas lights are your thing, the Light Walk at Kew Gardens is a popular and dazzlingly festive holiday treat. The one-and-a-half-mile trail features colorful light displays throughout the gardens, Father Christmas and delicious goodies along the route, from tasty hot foods and sweet treats, to spiced cider and hot chocolate, offered by local vendors.

Read more about Kew Gardens in our full blog post London’s Kew Gardens: planning your visit.

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a major annual Christmas carnival that sprawls through Hyde Park from mid-November until the New Year. It features rows of old-time market stalls, games, roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a "Bavarian village," a Christmas circus, and of course, Santa.

The wonderland also features the UK's biggest outdoor ice rink set under a canopy of twinkling lights, an ice slide, and lots of goodies to eat and drink. Tickets have to be purchased ahead of time, as this is an extremely popular event. But if you are coming to London specifically holiday cheer, this should not be missed.

In fact, ice-skating is a much loved outdoor activity all over London, by locals and tourists alike. There are lots of places to give it a go: Somerset House, outside the Museum of Natural History, and Hampton Court Palace, to name a few.

There used to be a skating rink at the Tower of London as well, but it was closed back in 2021 and will be still closed this coming winter of 2023/24, which is a shame because I think that sounds awesome. Hope they bring it back one day!

In the meantime, you can skate in a royal setting at the skating rink at Hampton Court Palace for an enchanting experience, whether skating under the stars at night or pairing it with booking a ticket to tour Henry VIII’s historic home to make a day of it. There is also a delicious selection of festive refreshments at the rink’s onsite café and bar.

The rink at Canary Wharf stays open through most of February, which is a real treat because all the others close right after the new year.

You may have to book tickets ahead of time to skate at any of these popular locations.

If you love holiday movies, The Luna Winter Cinema is an experience for you! Throughout December 2023, you can snuggle up in a festive atmosphere and watch your favorites in some iconic locations, like the Pavilion at Kensington Palace or the magnificent Battersea Arts Center, as well as some other great locations just outside of London. For a full schedule and ticketing info, go to their website at The Luna Winter Cinema.

New Year’s Eve in London boasts partying around the area of Big Ben, whose midnight chimes are broadcast nationwide. Fireworks are set off from barges from the London Eye and revelers head to Trafalgar Square. The holidays are capped off with a New Year’s Day parade through Soho.

Our trip was in mid-January, so we missed the holiday displays and festivities, but we were able to take advantage of better pricing and easy access to attractions that are usually packed at other times of the year.

What can I see in London in winter after the holidays?

The short answer is - pretty much everything! Once things quiet down after the holiday season, January can offer good deals and good access to many of the same sights that would have been on your agenda for the summer. And you may find that even the things that you need advance tickets for are easier to book. Additionally, some fun experiences are specific to a winter visit.

Winter is theater season in London, and heading to the theater in the cold months is a classic British tradition. Many of London’s West End new shows are launched in winter, and there is a huge range of options, often better priced than Broadway shows in New York. The website Theatre Tickets Direct is good for listings and last-minute ticket discounts.

Earlier sunset time means more hours to explore the spectacular vista of London at night. Even on our rainy first night, it was a fun romp in the lit-up city, making use of that good quality outerwear we’d brought along. London at night is quite magical.

Many of the most famous landmarks, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and Millennium Bridge - just to name a few - are dazzlingly lit at night. Plus vibrant neighborhoods like Soho, Southbank, Chinatown, & Trafalgar Square are a colorful feast for the eyes and camera. Don’t let iffy weather deter you from exploring, especially for your photography, as the wet pavements add a reflective and saturated quality that can light up your photos in an enchanting way.

I will always remember how Harrods sparkled in the rain in the beautiful and stately Knightsbridge neighborhood. And we were able to tuck into the famous department store for a little reprieve from the weather and an unscheduled late bite, as it wasn’t crowded at all.

Recent renovations and upscaling of Canary Wharf have also made this primarily business district into a fun evening destination, with shopping, restaurants, and modern architecture. We took in the Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival, a free festival that warmly illuminates the wharf during the darkest time of year. And, as previously mentioned, Canary Wharf has the added bonus of an outdoor ice rink that stays open long after the traditional holiday rinks.

Canary Wharf has been made a bit “closer” to the central London action by the addition of the Elizabeth Line in 2022. To read about it and how to use it, check out our full blog post on Traveling by train in Britain: a guide for beginners.

The one thing you will have to miss out on if visiting in the heart of winter is the beautiful sight of English gardens. But tours to countryside spots outside of London are still available, offering a different experience but still enjoyable. Places like Oxford, Windsor and York, offer a good amount of indoor sightseeing. And even an outdoor highlight like the Cotswolds can be beautiful in winter and much less crowded to visit. (Best to book a tour for this if you don’t have access to a car.)

Even after the holiday lights are gone, Kew Gardens is open for a natural respite, albeit with limited hours due to the earlier sunset times and of course you’ll be seeing subtle botanicals of winter and not stunning summer blooms.

By staying open-minded and embracing the time of year for its own rewards, you can find plenty of natural experiences to enjoy. And you can always find a cozy spot for afternoon tea to warm up!

You can get your nature fix without leaving the city of course; the open spaces of London’s famous parks can be lovely in winter. Hyde Park is a natural must-see for any visitor even after the Christmas carnival has packed up for the season. And we also loved walking through Kensington Gardens in January.

The winter ducks and waterfowl on the Serpentine River were out in force on a sunny winter day (Tufted Ducks, Coots and a Black Swan were the highlights, for my bird nerd friends) and I personally love visiting the Peter Pan Statue whenever I can. We followed some of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, passing Kensington Palace and it really felt like we had the park to ourselves.

Lots more about Kensington Palace and gardens in our full blog post Visiting Kensington Palace: All you need to know.

After a walk in the park, why not wander into a classic English pub for a pint and a cozy lunch? We enjoyed ourselves at the Scarsdale Tavern - with its charming atmosphere it's exactly what one imagines an English pub should be.

Best winter destinations in London

Tower of London :
Minimum crowds are a very attractive aspect of visiting London’s famous museums and sights in winter. A memorable highlight of this winter trip was walking right up to the Tower of London and getting in with no lines and no big crowds, quite different from what you experience in summer. I don’t even think we booked those tickets ahead (but check into that first as these situations change often.) Besides taking the Beefeater-led tour, it was nice just to be able to experience the different towers and the Crown Jewels (included in the general ticket) without crowds, taking our time at all the exhibits. If you want to experience the Ceremony of the Keys, however, you will need advance tickets as it sells out quickly.

Buckingham Palace :
We did book ahead for our Buckingham Palace tour, and this was really such a treat. (See our blog post: Champagne at Buckingham Palace for more details.)
In winter, you have to take the more expensive guided tour, rather than the “open to the masses” experience of summer. We think it’s a much better experience anyway!! We were able to snag a Friday tour not too far in advance but we did book it before we left the US. It’s very worth the price, as you get to see quite a lot.
Unfortunately, you can’t see the Royal Mews or the Gardens in the winter as those parts of the tour are unavailable.

Even watching the Changing of the Guard was a better experience than it could be in the summer because there weren't as many observers vying for a spot. So by just arriving a little early (the ceremony in the forecourt of the Palace starts at 11 am), we were able to have a great, clear view. In summer, you would have to get there two or three hours beforehand to get as close as we did!

An often overlooked fact is that the guard change actually encompasses three locations - St. James’ Palace, Wellington Barracks, and Buckingham Palace.

Closer views due to smaller crowds can actually be had at the Friary Court location at St. James’ Palace before the old guard regiment marches over to Buckingham Palace. But let’s face it, we all want to see the classic view in front of the palace, at least once!

Also, note that the guard change doesn’t take place every day; that only happens in June and July. The rest of the year it’s only Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays as the guard units take up 48-hour shifts.

Read our blog post: Experiencing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Palace and Wellington Barracks

Churchill’s War Rooms :
As a bit of a buff on World War II history, I absolutely loved Churchill’s War Rooms. This is the real-life secret secure bunker that served as the command center for the British government during the war. Many of the rooms have been kept intact, displaying actual maps and furnishings. Included in the ticket price is admission to the Churchill Museum which displays many personal artifacts. It is just incredible to imagine bombs dropping on the city overhead as you walk these corridors.

Definitely get the audio tour as it really enhances the understanding of what you are seeing. Highly recommended and open all year, from 9:30 to 6 pm, with the last entry at 5 pm. But make sure you plan on spending a few hours; you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to explore and appreciate this excellent museum and historic site.

Covent Garden :
One of London’s most popular and loved shopping neighborhoods, Covent Garden is located in the heart of the city’s West End. It encompasses 9 streets around a historic piazza. Although it really shines during the holidays with festive decorations and Christmas shopping maximus, it is a great visit all year round, and we really appreciated the smaller crowds of late January.
It offers world-class shopping and dining options, both classically British brands and international favorites, and the after-Christmas deals are well-known!
We had a great time at Din Tai Fung, where not only can you consume sumptuous soup dumplings, but also watch them being made. (London isn’t just for fish & chips, after all; it’s currently one of the great food cities of the world.) In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much at DTF, we went there twice during our trip.
For bookworms like me, a visit to Cecil Court is a must! A small street off the main area of Covent Garden, Cecil Court is a pedestrian only street, lined with lamps and many, many unique booksellers - in fact, the street prides itself in being “the destination for art, antiques, books, culture, and curiosities.” But for me it’s all about the books. :)
Just around the corner from the colorful and bohemian Neal’s Yard, you can drink coffee and shop for books at Stanford’s, one of the most original bookshops in London.
For another kind of literary themed pick-me-up, there are cocktails named for authors at the cocktail bar at Library, one of the more unique bars at Covent Garden. It was actually once a public library - hence the name - but is now an event space, bar, hotel and member’s club. Yearly membership is ridiculously pricey, but you can get a day’s entry for £20.

Read our full blog post about visiting Covent Garden here.

Fun fact: During the holiday season, the Covent Garden Christmas tree is sprinkled with snow every hour. So if you get there before they take the tree down in early January, it’s just a fun little thing to see. (But not worth making a special plan for!)

The London Transport Museum is also located at Covent Garden and is a great little indoor hit. Very informative, entertaining and interactive, it’s great for all ages. There is also a fun museum shop - who doesn’t want a cute souvenir featuring the famous roundele or the purple design of the newly opened Elizabeth Line? And of course, Covent Garden, home of the transport museum, is easily accessible by Tube, as it should be.

Borough Market :
Even though it is a mostly outdoor setting, visiting Borough Market in winter is no problem, as it’s semi-covered. Once a wholesale market for the greengrocers of south London, it is now a modern food market with a social conscience; requiring sustainable food practices and short and traceable supply chains of all its participating merchants.
It consists of three main areas: Three Crown Square, featuring larger producers and merchants; Green Market, featuring small, specialist produce traders; and Borough Market Kitchen where you’ll find the street food vendors.
You can probably guess - with our fondness for smorgasbords and walking and sampling - where our favorite spot was. We loved grazing on some street food at Borough Market Kitchen and had no trouble finding seats at the provided picnic tables. Lots of great winter treats to be found, from great coffee and fresh hot doughnuts to tummy warming noodles and ramen.
Make sure you have some cash on you - some of the vendors are small and don’t take card.
The only rub is that it closes surprisingly early - 5 pm daily and 3 pm on Sunday! So you have to think of it as a place for lunch or teatime treats and not dinner.

Sky Garden :
I think this may have been the biggest surprise of the trip. We were not expecting Sky Garden to be as delightful as it is! Located at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, aka the “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper (and that is a very accurate description), this indoor-outdoor plaza featuring three levels of terraces under a rounded glass dome is an astonishingly beautiful public garden in the sky. The lush landscaping is surrounded by a 360-degree view of the city and we were just completely blown away by it.
And even better - it’s FREE! Forget the pricey, touristy London Eye (£32.50 per ticket!!!!!!). If you want a bird’s eye view of the Thames, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the Shard and all the iconic Londonisms in the heart of the city, this is a much better hit.

Their website recommends booking a ticket, especially on weekends, but walk-ins are accepted all day, and that’s exactly what we were able to do, as there are many fewer visitors in January.

Yes, it’s a trifle windy on the outside viewing terraces, but that’s what I brought a hat for! And there is plenty of indoor space to come in from the cold. You can purchase a nice cup of tea (ok, I got coffee) or whatever tipple makes you happy, grab a comfortable seat and just enjoy being in this beautiful space on top of one of the greatest cities in the world.

Of course, you can get a real meal in one of the two high-end restaurants or destination bars located here, but you’ll need a reservation for that. We just enjoyed being spontaneous tourists and appreciating the spectacular view of the city from above, without summer crowds or summer queues. It’s just a short walk from the Monument tube station.

St. Paul’s Cathedral & Westminster Abbey :
Of course, London has many famous museums and historical sites, and there is no better time than winter to take advantage of such indoor experiences. Even if churches don’t tend to be your thing, consider booking tours of St. Paul’s Cathedral and/or Westminster Abbey. These two structures go back centuries and are tied up in so much of the history of London. It can be almost hard to comprehend everything that has taken place there, from royal marriages, coronations and burials, to practical wartime uses as an air-raid shelter during the blitz.
And of course the beauty of long enduring art and design. Awe-inspiring and contemplative experiences, I feel, always strike a slightly different and more appreciative note when I’m not sweating in the summer heat.
London Museums:
Of course, winter is a great time to take advantage of London’s renowned museums. And the nice part is so many of them are free, so if you get cold walking around, you can drop into a first class museum and learn yourself something. How awesome is that?
Notably, The Victoria & Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the National Portrait Gallery all have free admission!
The National Portrait Gallery is high on my list to see right now, as it recently reopened in late May 2023 after renovations. There is always a reason to go back to London! :)
A full list of free London Museums can be found here.
Even the Tower Bridge museum is open in winter! (not free though!) We had at great time visiting there and would definitely recommend it, so check out our blogpost for more info Visiting London’s Tower Bridge.

And with that thought, I hope we’ve inspired you to contemplate visiting London in winter. Adventures happen in all seasons! ;)

Some well-reviewed London area tours:

This post was researched and written by Debbie of the Empty Nest Explorers. You can learn more about the Empty Nest Explorers here.