The best things to do on Boxing Day 2025 in London

London’s best ice-skating rinks are back in full force and almost all of them are open on Boxing Day. Blast away a day of stagnancy in front of the telly by taking your pick from all the classics, lacing up your boots and swishing about.

The only thing better than lounging around with a pint at home? Lounging around on roughed-up sofas in the glow of a burning fire at a cosy London pub. Whether you want to get warmed-up after a brisk walk through Hampstead Heath or you feel like getting all aglow in Soho, these pubs will make you feel bug-in-a-rug snug.

Notting Hill Carnival’s famous Channel One soundsystem is here to blast you out of your Boxing Day stupor. Once again, it’ll be taking over the Village Underground with its reggae roots beats from award-winning Mikey Dread, Jah T and Ras Kayleb. Expect uplifting steppas, conscious reggae, exclusive dubplates and feel-good vibes. The earlier you get tickets, the cheaper they’ll be! 

Prepare for a feast for the eyes, but resist the urge to nibble! The sweetest festive event you’ll find, the Museum of Architecture’s edible exhibition tasks leading architects and designers to ditch their conventional building materials for dough bricks and sugar paste mortar to construct a miniature biscuit metropolis erected in King’s Cross’s Coal Drops Yard for the festive season. With a new theme each year, the exhibition aims to encourage innovation and future-forward city planning, and this year’s ‘Playful City’ theme has resulted in some really fun designs, from school buildings with slides between classrooms to candy-coloured climbing walls. 

Yes, it’s cold out. Yes, the trees are bare. Yes, even the birds sound a bit depressed. But we’re lucky to have some amazing parks in London, and walking around in them in winter can be surprisingly beautiful. Enjoy some bracing green space on one of these wonderful winter walks in London. 

The legendary Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square is central London’s wild-card cinema, and in true eccentric style, it’s open on Boxing Day so you can have your post-Christmas fill of weird and wonderful films. Pick from Interstellar, Superman (1978), One Battle After Another, Weapons, and It’s A Wonderful Life – if you want to carry on the festive feeling. 

London’s hardy thespians have tidied away the wrapping paper, finished the Christmas dinner washing up, blasted their way out of a turkey-induced coma and are getting ready to tread the boards before your Boxing Day hangover has even kicked in. Spice up the day after Christmas and join them for some top-notch Boxing Day entertainment at a brilliant theatre show. Here are some of the best Christmas theatre on offer.  

London is at its most bling this time of year, thanks to all the glittering Christmas decorations and glowing bulbs. There’s nothing lovelier than walking around the city taking in the sparkling sights on Boxing Day. Here’s our pick of the best ones. 

If you need some mental stimulation after watching Christmas on repeat, spend your bank holiday visiting the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which opens its doors to anyone in need of a change of scene in Boxing Day. Tour a lovingly recreated 221B Baker Street filled with murder weapons, Victoriana and waxworks depicting scenes from the stories. Upstairs in Mrs Hudson’s room, there is a folder of letters addressed to Holmes by fans from all over the world and, apparently, a fair percentage of visitors do believe that the whole set-up is for real. This place is all about paying homage to Conan Doyle's version – so don't expect anything relating to the BBC television show.

Why not book one of London’s many joyful kid-friendly Christmas shows? Traditionally, the first port of call for anyone who wants to keep grannies, dads and toddlers on side is visit to the pantomime: if that’s what you're after, check out our comprehensive guide to the best pantos across London.

Each year, Hyde Park gets transformed into a Winter Wonderland and it’s one of the few London attractions that’s open on Boxing Day. Keep the festivities going by embracing its sleigh-load of festive fun. Go for fairground rides, a child-friendly Santa Land (including Santa’s Grotto) and traditional Christmas markets where you can.buy even more gifts. Skate on the outdoor ice rink, slip down the Ice Slide and treat yourself to a frothing stein at the German-style Bavarian Village.

Each year, Kenwood House installs a new Christmas light trail around its stately grounds on Hampstead Heath. For 2025, the lights are themed around Neverland with the Lost Boys’ secret tree trunk, Skull Rock, Captain Hook’s pirate ship and a glistening Big Ben among the installations. Along the way, there’ll also be street food, warm mulled beverages, hot chocolate and plenty of Insta-worthy backgrounds. 

One of the very few grand buildings open on Boxing Day in London, Eltham Palace is extra special because you get two grand piles for the price of one. The remains of the Tudor palace include a bridge over the moat, as well as the impressive Great Hall. The biggest draw now, though, is the art deco property built adjoining the Great Hall in 1936 by textiles heir Stephen Courtauld. The furniture and fittings look like a film set. Take it all in on a Boxing Day mosey. 

Lots of London restaurants close over Christmas but Chinatown's lights are still shining bright. So why not make an epic Chinese feast your new Boxing Day tradition? It's a delicious excuse to escape a turkey curry buffet, and to embrace a different kind of wintry cosiness with your family and friends.

This London icon is open on Boxing Day, making it a sweet opportunity to beat the crowds. Even better, its special Christmas late hours means you can glide over the city at night in all its lit-up glory, before repairing to a nearby pub for a mulled wine. Last ride is at 8pm, and you'll be able to see the festive lights on Oxford Street and Regent Street, as well as the gleaming Thames.