Things to do on Boxing Day 2024 in London

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. 

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.

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.

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.

The sport of curling – the one you watch on telly during the Olympics and find curiously engaging – is coming to London. The Curling Club will be taking up residence in both the Southbank Centre and The Shack in Twickenham, bringing ‘epic apres nightlife’ along with it. Both venues will be given a proper apres-ski makeover with wintry cocktails, Alpine-inspired street food and entertainment on hand, alongside an opportunity to try your hand at the ‘short form’ version of the game under the expert tutelage of Team GB Skip and four-time Olympian Eva Muirhead OBE.  

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. 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, people say. But those people clearly aren’t art fans, because if you like to spend your days traipsing around London’s galleries, it’s a genuinely dismal time of year. There’s no cheer here: literally every single commercial gallery in London will be closed over the Christmas period, so if you were hoping to catch Jeff Wall at White Cube or Takashi Murakami at Gagosian in the lull between festivities, you are out of luck. But London’s big art museums and institutions definitely are open, which is perfect if you’re the kind of person who thinks the brutality, trauma, pain and violence of Francis Bacon sounds like an escape from the family. Here, we’ve handily compiled a list of London’s biggest art galleries, what their Christmas opening hours are and what exhibitions they’ve got on. Merry Christm-arts.

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.

What’s more Christmassy than visiting Santa’s grotto? Going for a pint or two with the man in red in his favourite boozer, of course. Humbug, an immersive Christmas dive bar, allows you to do just that – and join Mr Claus in rounds of games, sing-a-longs, live performances, storytelling and more. It’s all threaded together with a mission to cheer a weary Santa up and help him rekindle his Christmas spirit. Humbug’s 2024 return will include a shrine to the queen of Christmas Mariah Carey, a beer can bowling alley, a grotto and cabaret from the venue’s regular cast. Saving the festive season never sounded so fun.

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.