London Christmas Lights Guided Tour With Christmas Music
A guided walk with festive music on headphones, on foot along the shopping street that is closed to traffic this season.
From $51 per person
Check AvailabilityBest Time to See the London Christmas Lights
The best time is a weekday evening in the last week of November or the first week of December, from about 4:30pm. If you are choosing dates for London's Christmas lights, here is the season week by week, the hour it gets dark, and when the crowds build.
The season in one line
The displays come on through the first half of November, the tree goes up in early December, and everything stays lit into early January. You can see lights for about nine weeks. The 2026 switch-on dates are not published yet; in 2025 the first came on on 1 November and the last big one on 13 November.
Week by week, November to early January
Sunset is for central London, on GMT all season. Properly dark means civil dusk, about 40 minutes after sunset, when the lights stand out against a black sky.
| Week | Sunset | Properly dark | What is on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week of 26 October | 4:46pm | 5:21pm | Oxford Street goes traffic-free; few displays up yet |
| Week of 2 November | 4:33pm | 5:08pm | The West End displays come on (1-6 November in 2025) |
| Week of 9 November | 4:21pm | 4:57pm | Covent Garden, Bond Street and Leadenhall follow (12-13 November in 2025) |
| Week of 16 November | 4:11pm | 4:48pm | Kew's trail opens on 13 November; in 2025 every big display was lit by now |
| Week of 23 November | 4:03pm | 4:41pm | Winter Wonderland is open; Chelsea's trail opens on 25 November |
| Week of 30 November | 3:57pm | 4:36pm | Everything is lit; quieter weekdays |
| Week of 7 December | 3:53pm | 4:33pm | The Norwegian tree is lit about now (4 December in 2025) |
| Week of 14 December | 3:52pm | 4:32pm | Busy with Christmas shoppers |
| Week of 21 December | 3:53pm | 4:34pm | The busiest week; no tours on 25 December |
| Week of 28 December | 3:58pm | 4:38pm | Quieter; the lights are still on |
| Week of 4 January | 4:04pm | 4:44pm | Last days; Regent Street's 2025 lights ran to 4 January |
So the sweet spot is the week of 23 or 30 November: every display is up, dark comes before 4:45pm, and it is not yet the rush before Christmas.
What time it gets dark
British Summer Time ends on 25 October, so the clocks go back before the season starts. Sunset is earliest, at 3:52pm, around 12 to 14 December. From late November, any tour that starts after 4:30pm runs in full dark.
That matters most for a bus. A 4pm departure in late October starts in daylight, while the same time in December starts at dusk. On a walk, you can start a little earlier and let the dark fall while you are out.
Found your week?
Compare the lights tours by start time and length, and book the evening that starts after dark.
Weekday or weekend
Go on a weekday if you can. Saturday evenings in December fill the West End with shoppers, and a walk moves slowly through the crowd at Oxford Circus. Monday to Thursday, before about 6pm, is the calmest time on the pavement.
On the London Christmas lights bus tours, traffic matters more than crowds. The weeks before Christmas are the slowest, and one operator warns its route can run longer in heavy traffic. A black cab from the private London Christmas lights tours has the same traffic, but it can change the route round the worst of it.
Christmas week and New Year
Expect the week before Christmas to be the busiest. No product we list runs on 25 December, and travel changes over Christmas, so check your own journey back before you set out.
Between Christmas and New Year the streets are quieter and the lights are still on. It is a good time for a walk. The displays come down in the first week of January. For a day-by-day plan of the holiday itself, see Christmas week in London.
The Trafalgar tree and the switch-ons
The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is lit at a ceremony in early December; in 2025 that was Thursday 4 December. The street switch-ons are earlier, through the first half of November. The 2026 dates for both are not announced, so check a week or two ahead.
A switch-on evening draws a crowd, and one bus operator warns it may skip Regent Street on traffic-free event days. If you want to see the lights, not the ceremony, come a few days later.
The first week of Oxford Street without traffic
From Monday 26 October 2026, Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street closes to buses, taxis and cycles. It is the first Christmas with that stretch traffic-free, and the first changes are temporary, with more work into 2027.
The lights usually come on there in early November, so by the time they do, you see that stretch on foot only. A walk that goes along it, or your own stroll from Marble Arch, is the way; the London Christmas lights walking tours show which routes do.
Questions about timing
What is the best week to see the London Christmas lights?
The last week of November or the first week of December. Every display is up by then, it is dark before 4:40pm, and the crowds are thinner than in the week before Christmas.
What time should I go to see the lights?
From about 4:30pm in December, once the sky is properly dark. Before 6pm on a weekday the pavements are calmer than later in the evening.
Are the lights still on after Christmas?
Yes. The street displays stay lit into early January; in 2025 Regent Street's ran until 4 January. The streets are quieter between Christmas and New Year.
Do the tours run on Christmas Day?
No product we list runs on 25 December. Plan your tour for another evening, and check your own transport over Christmas.
When does Oxford Street go traffic-free?
From Monday 26 October 2026, between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. So from the start of the season, you see that stretch on foot.
Where these facts come from
Sunset and dusk are worked out for central London from the NOAA solar formulas. Switch-on dates are 2025's, from Time Out. The tree is the Mayor of London's, the closure is the Greater London Authority's, and the trail and fair dates are their organisers', checked 29 September 2026.
- When every major display turned on in 2025 (Time Out)
- The Norwegian tree and carol singing in the square (Mayor of London)
- Next steps to make the West End's main shopping street traffic-free (GLA release, 4 March 2026)
- The traffic-free date confirmed by the Mayor (FashionUnited, 29 September 2026)
- Christmas light trail dates, gates and prices (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
- Winter village and light trail in Ranelagh Gardens: dates and times (official)
- Winter fair dates and entry offers in the royal park (official)
Tours that suit a busy December
London: Christmas Lights & Bites Tour
About 90 minutes on a vintage bus with a hot drink and festive snacks, longer when the traffic is heavy in the weeks before Christmas.
From $59 per person
Check Availability
London Christmas Lights Private Guided Taxi Tour
Three hours in a private cab for up to six, the driver free to route round the worst of the traffic, finishing anywhere central.
From $411 per group (up to 6)
Check AvailabilityNext: see each display, street by street, plan the day with things to do at Christmas, or compare every tour on London Christmas Lights Tours.