What changed
London's Busiest Shopping Street Goes Traffic-Free for Christmas 2026
From 26 October the central stretch closes to buses, taxis and bikes. What that changes for a bus seat, a black cab and a walk under the lights.
London Christmas Lights Blog
Short answers to the questions people ask before an evening under the lights. What changes now the big shopping street is closing to traffic? Top deck or bottom? Planning a tour of the West End Christmas lights? The fares sit side by side there.
Start with the change on Oxford Street if you are choosing between a bus, a cab and a walk, then the deck question if you have settled on a bus. The other three go deeper: the Norwegian tree in Trafalgar Square, the lights with children, and the City streets behind A Christmas Carol. Longer planning pieces are in the guides.
On the bus
Upper or Lower Deck on a London Christmas Lights Bus
Which buses promise you a top-deck seat, which do not, how cold it gets up there, and where to sit for the photos.
The tree
London's Norwegian Christmas Tree: A Gift Every Year Since 1947
Why Norway sends a spruce every winter, how it is chosen and felled, why its lights hang straight down, and what happens to it in January.
Families
London's Christmas Lights with Kids: Ages, Seats and Stamina
Age limits, booster seats that London taxis do not carry, how long small legs last on a walk, and the evenings that suit a family best.
Dickens
A Christmas Carol in the City of London
The taverns, courts and coffee houses behind the story, and how to walk them in the dark of a December afternoon.
The practical answers are in the visitors guide and the FAQs, and every tour is compared on London Christmas Lights Tours.