Photo by Ruth Gledhill on Unsplash
London Christmas lights 2026 switch-on dates
Most of the big displays are switched on in the first half of November. Carnaby Street goes first this year, on Wednesday 4 November, with a design inspired by the 1990s. Regent Street follows on Thursday 5 November, when the road closes to traffic for a free switch-on evening between 5pm and 9pm. Oxford Street, Covent Garden and the smaller streets around them light up through November too, so by the middle of the month the whole West End is glowing. The lights usually stay up until early January, which gives you weeks to fit a walk in.
Start at Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street is an easy place to begin. It sits a few steps east of Regent Street, and its display changes theme every year, so it always feels a little more playful than the grand lights on the bigger roads. The street and the lanes around it are pedestrianised, which means you can stop for photos without dodging buses, and the shop windows add extra sparkle after dark. Come midweek and you will have more room to stand back and take it all in.
Regent Street and its famous curve
Walk west onto Regent Street and the lights stretch high above the road along its sweeping curve down towards Piccadilly Circus. The display hangs across the full width of the street, so the best views come from the pavement looking along its length, and the bend near Piccadilly gives one of the classic Christmas photos in London. If you can, come on the switch-on evening of 5 November, when the road is closed to cars and the crowds spill out across the tarmac to watch the lights come on.
Oxford Street
Head north up Regent Street to Oxford Circus and turn right onto Oxford Street, the busiest shopping street in the city. Its lights run along much of its length above the road, and they look their best after dark when the department store windows are lit up too. Oxford Street gets very crowded on December weekends, so a weeknight is the calmer time to see it. Before you reach Tottenham Court Road, turn south down one of the side streets and you are straight into Soho.
Covent Garden and Seven Dials
If you still have energy, Covent Garden is a short walk east of Soho. The piazza puts up one of London's best-known Christmas trees every year, and the old market building is dressed for the season inside and out. Nearby, Seven Dials, where seven streets meet around a sundial pillar, strings its own lights over the junction. Both are easy to add to the end of the loop, and they round off the walk nicely before you head somewhere warm. If you are seeing a show afterwards, a pre-theatre dinner near the Prince Edward Theatre fits neatly between the lights and curtain-up.
Tips for seeing the lights
Go after dark, which in December means from about 4pm, and wrap up warm because you will be outside for a couple of hours. Weekday evenings are calmer than weekends, especially once the Christmas shopping rush starts. Wear comfortable shoes, keep your phone charged for photos and plan your route as a loop so you finish close to the Tube or somewhere to eat. The walk described here takes around an hour at an easy pace, and longer if you stop to browse the shops along the way. Followed by dinner, it also makes an easy date night in London in December.
Finish with dinner on Dean Street
When your feet need a rest, 40 Dean Street is a few minutes' walk from Oxford Street and Carnaby Street, which makes Soho an easy place to finish a tour of the London Christmas lights. We have been cooking Italian food here since 2009, and in December the room is candlelit and at its best. Warm up with fresh pasta, the lobster ravioli in shellfish bisque or the three-course Christmas menu, along with a glass from our Italian wine list. December evenings get busy, so book a table ahead and make dinner the last stop of your Christmas in Soho.