This post provides you with a listing of the best Christmas-themed tours in London, including our pay-what-you-like Holiday Lights tour, Christmas bus tours, and even a Christmas bike tour!
This post has the 2023 dates where available.
Be sure to also check out our other London X-mas related posts:
This section will cover the more popular London Christmas walking tours you can take.
While some of these tours focus on holiday lighting displays, others are designed to take you back to the days of Charles Dickens's London in celebration of his classic tale A Christmas Carol.
Free Tours By Foot
Welcome to London’s first pay-what-you-like Christmas Tour!
This tour will take you down some of the cities’ most iconic streets to see world-famous Christmas lights and holiday displays.
Beginning in Covent Garden, your guide will lead you underneath sparkling lights, hanging wreaths, past stunning Christmas trees, and glorious ice-skating rinks.
Reservations: Click here to reserve.
You’ll learn some of Britains’ holiday traditions.
Find out what a Pantomime is, how Freddie Mercury helped decorate Carnaby Street this year, what Norway has to do with Trafalgar Squares’ Christmas tree.
Or learn why Shakespeare hated Christmas and why we have Prince Albert to thank for our obsession with holiday lights!
Join us as we walk through Bavarian Christmas markets, tread the cobbled streets of the beautifully decorated Covent Garden, and travel centuries back in time to uncover all of London’s Christmas season secrets.
Take in all that our city has to offer this Christmas with Free Tours By Foot!
Locations Visited
- Regent Street
- Carnaby Street
- Piccadilly Circus
- Leicester Square
- Covent Garden
Tour information
Reservations: Click here to reserve.
Where: Tour begins in Covent Garden. The exact location will be provided upon booking.
Duration: 2 hours.
When: Our tour runs every day but Tuesdays from the 23rd November to 24th December 2023.
Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it's done.
If you’re more interested in learning about the history of street art in this city, make sure to check our list of pay-what-you-wish London Walking Tours.
Christmas on the Southbank Tour
Visit the Christmas Markets and hear about the history of Christmas and feasting as we look at the origins of our festive food and the history of the Southbank area.
This walk will cover the amazing leisure area of the Southbank, from London Eye to London Bridge, but will include some Christmas twists.
There will be a chance to buy some Christmas food and mulled drinks as we go along our way!
What else you should know
It's a walking tour, but there's not a lot of distance involved. Having said that there are a small number of steps to climb throughout. Wear comfortable shoes!
You will need to pay for your own drinks during the tour! Note that many vendors are now only accepting card payments.
Includes:
- Southbank Centre Winter Markets
- Borough Market
- Christmas by the River at London Bridge City
- London Eye
- Big Ben
- Houses of Parliament
- River Thames
- National Theatre
- Gabriel's Wharf
- OXO Tower
- Millennium Bridge (Wobbly Bridge)
- Tate Modern
- Globe Theatre
- London Bridge
- Tower Bridge
Tour Information
Reservations: Click here to reserve.
Where: Jubilee Gardens near the London Eye. Use Google Maps by searching for 'Jubilee Gardens' (map)
Duration: 2 hours.
When: Dates of 2023 are yet TBD, but last year, tour ran every day but Tuesday from the 24th November to 24th December.
Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it's done.
The Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ Walk
For many people, the holiday season can’t really begin without enjoying at least one version of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.
This tour is specifically for this audience which provides a lot of interesting information about both the author and the times in which his novel was written.
As you walk through London, a professional guide in full Victorian-era attire will describe what the city once looked like during the time period when the characters of this story would have been alive.
While walking through some of the more historic areas of this city, you’ll see locations that may have inspired Dickens.
Tickets
- £12 per person
- Duration: 1 ½ - 2 hours
- Select dates: 9th, 10th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th and 29th Dec, 2023
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
This tour company recommends booking your tour ahead of time if you want to avoid missing out.
There are limited tours and spots, so don’t wait too long to purchase your tickets.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS BUS TOURS LONDON
There are a few different companies to consider, and they each give you the opportunity to see some of the most impressive lighting displays and decorations in the entire city.
If you’re interested in learning about the area as well, make sure to check out our post about London bus tours.
Tootbus Tour
This popular hop-on-hop-off bus tour company offers a special Christmas lights tour.
They used to go under the name The Original London Sightseeing Tour, but they are now known as Tootbus London.
Also, on Christmas Day, their hop-on-hop-off tour will be running. This is an activity worth considering since London will be very quiet on Christmas Day!
On both tours, you’ll see a variety of holiday lights on display at several notable locations such as Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Regent Street, and Trafalgar Square.
- Dates: 17th November 2023 - 30th December 2023
- Hours: Times vary by date, with the earliest tour at 16:00 and the latest at 19:30
- Tickets: Adults £29| Children £18
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
Big Bus Tours
In addition to their hop-on hop-off bus tours, this company also offers a special holiday tour which focuses on the areas of London which are lit up for Christmas.
While you're enjoying all the fabulous lighting displays on their open-top bus, you'll also have the opportunity to listen to festive holiday music.
Since this tour takes place after dark, it's a lot like their night bus tour, which means you won't be able to hop on and off whenever you wish. If you want that experience, consider a 24-hour ticket instead.
- Dates: Launches 1st December 2023
- Hours, durations and prices are yet to be announced.
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
Premium Tours
This company offers a somewhat unique Christmas lights bus tour in London. While other companies are using more modern buses, Premium Tours has vintage double-decker buses.
If you're feeling nostalgic for the types of buses they used to have in London, this is a great opportunity to relive past experiences while enjoying festive holiday displays throughout the city.
In addition to the trip down memory lane, this tour will also include live commentary from a tour guide providing information about the sights you'll see along the way.
- Dates: To Be Announced
- Hours: 4 pm and 7 pm
- Duration: 100 minutes
- Tickets: £39.00/Adults | £34.00/Children
- Free for children under 3
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
The London Bicycle Tour Company
At 3 hours in length, their Christmas lights tour is actually one of the longer holiday outings in the entire city.
During this trip, you will see notable landmarks such as Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.
- Tickets: £34.95 Adults | £28.95 Children
- Dates: 24th November, 2023 - 2nd January, 2023 (except Dec. 25)
- Hours: 15:30 daily
- Duration: 3 hours
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
In addition to visiting several historic sites, this London bike tour will also roll by several holiday markets such as the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park and Southbank Christmas Market.
Since you will be riding a bike, you’ll have the opportunity to get pretty close to most of the lighting displays featured on this outing.
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