Heather on her travels

A winter break in London – things to enjoy at Christmas and into the New Year

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 01:55 PM PST

This is a great time of year to consider a winter break in London, with so many free galleries and museums to enjoy as well as fantastic shopping and plenty of seasonal attractions to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Light installation at Covent Garden

Christmas shopping in London

In December all the shops are gearing up for Christmas with displays of light and colour and you’ll find Christmas Markets around the city. In Covent Garden, once the centre of London’s fruit and vegetable market, this year's celebration revolves around the Christmas Deluxe, a holiday extravaganza which runs from 15th November until the 24th December. Aside from unlimited variety of shops and stalls, there are gourmet Christmas treats from specialists and suppliers, a reindeer petting enclosure for kids complete with helpful elves and a chocolate bar serving hot chocolate drinks and handmade sweet treats. As Covent Garden is so close to London’s theatre district, you might like to end the day with a pre-theatre dinner in one of the many restaurants before going on to see a show or ballet at Covent Garden’s Opera House.

Christmas shopping at Harrods

All the main shopping districts such as Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Bond Street and Regent’s street will have their Christmas lights switched on by the end of November and in Trafalgar Square, the 20 metres tall Christmas tree, a gift from the people of Norway, will be up from 1 December. In Knightsbridge, a visit to Harrods is guaranteed to get you in the seasonal spirit with the opulent window displays, lights enrobing the outside of the store, as well as the delicious treats in the Food Hall. On Piccadilly, Fortnum and Mason is another foodie heaven and a wonderful place to shop for gifts to bring home or treat yourself at Christmas.

The London Marriott Hotel Park Lane is ideally situated for shopping in Knightsbridge and Hyde Park.

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

Christmas Markets in London

In Hyde Park there’s the Winter Wonderland with the Angels Christmas market, with hand made gifts and gourmet food from around the world. There’s also an ice rink and Christmas circus as well as a funfair with giant observation wheel that will take you 60m high for a view over the lights of the park and London.

Christmas Market on London South Bank

On London’s South Bank you can find a traditional Christmas market with stalls from Cologne serving all the festive food and drink as well as arts and crafts and a traditional carousel for the children. If you’re a chocoholic you should visit the Christmas Chocolate Festival (9-12 Dec) at the Southbank Centre with 30 stalls allowing you to sample to buy everything from hot chocolate to chocolate chili, with talks and demonstrations from top chocolatiers. Following this the Southbank Centre will be hosting a Real Food Christmas Market (16-23 Dec) with 40 producers of everything you’ll need to fill your Christmas larder. Just a short walk up the South Bank you can find The OXO Tower and Gabriel’s wharf where you can buy unique gifts from 50 different designer-makers who have studios there.

The London Marriott Hotel County Hall is ideally situated on London’s South Bank to enjoy the seasonal festivities there.

Oxo building on the South Bank

Some Christmas Culture in London

After a long day shopping you can step away from the hustle and bustle and head to art exhibits and museums in London.

At the Victoria & Albert Museum, families will enjoy the Drop in Design events on Sundays through November and December in the run up to Christmas as well as a chance to buy unique design gifts in one of my favourite museum gift shops. At the Natural History Museum you can see the dinosaurs and there’s an ice rink in the front of the museum until early January with thousands of twinkling lights garlanding the surrounding trees.

At the National Gallery there’s a major exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci – Painter at the court of Milan that runs until February 2012 and just around the corner, is the National Portrait gallery where you can find portraits of celebrities and well known public figures as well as kings and queens throughout the ages.

Beside the Thames, the Tate Britain holds the largest collection of British art in the world showing work from the last five centuries including contemporary British art – some are masterpieces of Hogarth, Hepworth and Bacon as well as the famous Turners. Cross the river by ferry to the South Bank where you’ll find the Tate Modern, set in an old power station, where the latest installation is a surreal silent film by Tacita Dean that’s projected onto the Turbine Hall walls.

The Geffrye Museum at Christmas

In East London there are several less well known, but no less fascinating museums and I highly recommend the Geffrye Museum, set in an 18th century almshouses with room-sets showing how Londoners lived over the centuries. At this time of year all the rooms are decorated in the appropriate Christmas style for their era. For an even more intimate experience visit the Dennis Severs House, where a Georgian House has been recreated just as it would have been when it was the home of a prosperous Spitalfield silk weaver, lit with candles and with a smells and murmurs or the ghosts of the past who lived there. You visit the house in silence to absorb the spirit of the place – visits must be booked in advance so check the website for the times of visits.

A musical Christmas in London

The traditional Carol singing is guaranteed to get you in the festive mood and there are plenty of concerts to choose from. Churches throughout the capital are hosting Christmas concerts and carol services, some of which require advance booking, others are free but have a charity collection. Check the websites of St Martin-in-the-Fields, near Trafalgar square, St Paul’s Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral and Westminster Abbey for details of their Advent and Christmas concerts and Carol services.

Christmas tree in Westminster

In Trafalgar Square you can enjoy a free outdoor carol concert as different choirs perform each evening between 2-22 December from 5-9pm. At the South Bank Centre you can find a host of musical and artistic events and they also have free music sessions and other events in the foyer of the South Bank centre – on Friday evening you’ll usually find musicians performing anything from jazz to blues and there are also lunchtime concerts in the Central bar on Fridays and Sundays.

New Year Fireworks at London eye

Reasons to be in London in January

Heralding the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games year, London's official New Year firework display from the London Eye is certain to be a spectacular show against a stunning backdrop to conclude your London festivities. Prepare to be dazzled by spectacular fireworks along the river Thames with prime vantage points are Victoria Embankment, north of the Thames, the bridges in Waterloo and Westminster, and the eastern Jubilee footbridge.

If you love a bargain, you’ll be able to take advantage of the sales in all the London Stores after Christmas and treat yourself to designer brands at a discount. Meanwhile you can enjoy all the same galleries and museums I’ve mentioned above as well as major new exhibitions such as the David Hockney exhibition (21 Jan-9 April) at the Royal Academy.

Time to book your winter break in London with Marriott Hotels and enjoy all the the Capital has to offer.

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