Free things to do in London this weekend

Every winter the Southbank Centre turns the banks of the Thames into a frosty wonderland, full of little wooden Alpine-style cabins selling gifts, warming drinks, and snacks. You’ll find huts serving up truffle burgers, duck wraps, mulled wine, Dutch pancakes, churros and many more tasty morsels to nibble on while you look through gifts, jewellery and decorations made by independent craft traders. Or, once you’re done browsing, snuggle up at pop-up king Jimmy Garcia’s riverside venue Fire And Fromage, where you can snaffle all you can eat raclette, sip on seriously decadent hot chocolates, and even toast your own marshmallows round a cosy fire pit.  When is Southbank Christmas Market open? The market is open now, and will stay open until Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26, with a few pop-ups staying open slightly longer until the New Year. The Southbank Centre's Winter Festival is on until Sunday, January 5, 2025.  Do you need to buy a ticket? No, it's free to enter and have a wander. 

There's arguably nowhere in London more Christmassy than Covent Garden's Piazza in December. Every year, the shopping district seems to outdo its previous efforts, and this year’s display features almost double the number of individual lights as last year’s one, with 260,000 of them bathing the square in a warm glow, including 30,000 LEDs festooning an 18-metre tall Christmas tree on the West Piazza, where you’ll also find a Santa’s sleigh created from a reconditioned 1884 carriage hand painted by British artist James Gemmill. Meanwhile, the roof of the Market Building is adorned with 40 gigantic bells, 12 giant baubles and 8 spinning mirror balls as part of an installation first introduced last year. From November 29, shoppers can also check out the Covent Garden Chalet, an alpine-themed respite from the festive crowds offering mulled wine and seasonal treats. So very very festive!

Dreaming of a kitsch Christmas? New York’s famous Miracle on Ninth Street bar is popping up in London for its seventh year, ‘50s Christmas decorations, nostalgic accessories and creative new spins on beloved cocktail favourites in tow. This year’s menu is still a work in progress, but past years have seen the bar slinging the likes of a Snowball Old Fashioned or a Christmapoliton, which includes cranberry sauce and absinthe mist – a take on Christmas trimmings that’s not for the faint-hearted. If you’re failing to find the Christmas spirit, this is one great place to come find it.

There’s a Bavarian flavour to Kingston Christmas Market, so much so you might be fooled into thinking you’ve stumbled through a portal into Germany. As you shop its many stalls, you can keep you energy up with bratwurst and mulled wine or take a pit stop at the Bavarian curling lanes. Live music and Christmas carol singers will also soundtrack the activities to really get you in the mood for Yuletide. Opening Dates: December 7 Best For: Raising your festive spirit

Get yourself feeling ridiculously festive with an evening of carols inside Sir Christopher Wren’s architectural masterpiece, aka St Paul’s Cathedral. The legendary London landmark hosts a series of mostly free and unticketed carol concerts each year, alongside a couple of ticketed charity gigs raising money for charity. Visit over December for a huge range of concerts, including family-friendly services, Handel's Messiah, and traditional carols. The big events to look out for are A Celebration of Christmas (Dec 12) and the Christmas Carol Service (Dec 23 and 24). The concerts are always hugely popular, so get down there early and be prepared to queue. Start practising your high notes now. You can find full information here. 

One of Christmas’ great perks is all the food you’re allowed to stuff your face with. You don’t have to wait til December 25 to get started. At Maltby Street Market every Friday from the end of November, the food market’s finest traders will be cooking up some scrumptious snacks for you to fill your boots (or, well, stomach) with, all beneath Victorian railway arches lined with twinkling lights. Usually, the Christmas market offers entertainment like carolling and wreath-making so keep your eye out for word on activities.      

Christmas might be the merriest time of year, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Dashing around Oxford Circus, trying to get suitable presents for everyone while fighting the crowds of others doing the same? Nightmare. At nearby All Souls Langham Place, though, you’ll find carol services ready to soothe your shopping stress and remind you of the real magic of Christmas. A stunning choir will be performing some of the season’s best-loved songs under twinkling lights and mirrorball (not something every church boasts), while the services will wrap up with complimentary mince pies and hot Christmas punch. The cherry on top? Entry is completely free. No wonder the church advises arriving 30 minutes early to make sure you can get in.

Regent Street was actually the very first road in London to be adorned by Christmas lights back in 1954 – a tradition that happily still continues to this day. Each winter, the display comes to life as one of the most impressive in the capital and features 45 angels designed to look like they’re playing the trumpet. Very festive, very fun and very grand – the whole thing is made up of thousands of individual LED lights. Catch the lights for yourself from November 7, when the big switch-on takes place, with the lights shining daily from 3pm to 11pm until January. Find more Christmas lights in London Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London

Oxford Street is one of the most iconic areas for London’s Christmas lights, and for good reason, given that a hefty proportion of us Londoners will see them lighting our way as we do battle for Yuletide gifts. As is now tradition, the lights this year are made from eco-friendly materials, including LED lights and recycled plastic. Featuring over 300,000 individual lights – including 5000 twinkling stars – they shine from 4pm to midnight daily until early January. Be sure to look out for Oxford Street’s ‘Big Day Of Joy’ on December 7; staged in support of charity partner Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), it will feature street performances, seasonal menus and in-store activities around the area. 

A London Christmas staple, Carnaby Street’s lights are typically pretty special, illuminating the street with eccentric, fun-loving tributes from everything from rock bands to robins to outer space. Carnaby’s 2024 installation is named ‘Into the Light’, which promises a ‘first of its kind’ approach to festive lights in London. It uses 60,000 LEDs and programmatic lighting to create a ‘dynamic and immersive’ display with ‘sculptural light forms’ that stretch to six metres in length. What’s more, it's been created with sustainability in mind, and is powered entirely by green energy, and designed to be used for at least the next five years, although the technology can be adapted so we won’t necessarily be seeing the same displays each time, which is pretty darn neat! Find more Christmas lights in London Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London