Upper or Lower Deck on a London Christmas Lights Bus

The whole reason to see the lights from a bus is height. From the top deck you look straight into the displays hung across the street, not up at them. But not every bus promises you a seat up there, and on a December night the top deck is cold. Before you book one of the London Christmas lights bus tours, check what it promises.

Which buses promise the top deck

The open-top Routemaster is a 1960s bus, and its fare includes a top-deck seat. Seats are first come, first served, so a seat upstairs is yours, but not a particular one. It costs $29.69 per person for 75 minutes.

The open-top night bus from the wheel is open upstairs and covered below. Its own booking page does not sell a deck, so board early for the choice of seat. The operator sells the upper and lower decks as separate options on some of its booking pages; if yours offers the choice, it is worth taking.

The vintage double-decker is a restored bus about 50 years old. Its listing is plain that the upper deck is not promised. It also warns that, in exceptional cases, a closed-top vintage bus or a coach may be used instead. It leaves from Gate 0 inside Victoria Coach Station and runs 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on traffic.

How cold it gets on top

Very. Travellers who sat upstairs say so before they say anything else. One, on a third ride, said to bring layers, blankets, hats and gloves. Another, on the bites bus, wished for small knee blankets. A third called it a little cold at night, and the lights beautiful.

A moving bus adds wind to the winter air. Dress as if you will stand still outside for an hour and a half, because you will. That means:

• a warm hat that covers your ears;
• gloves you can work a phone screen in;
• a scarf, and one more layer than you think;
• a blanket, if you can carry one.

When the lower deck is the better seat

Choose downstairs if it is raining, if you have a baby on your lap, or if someone in your party feels the cold. You still see the lights through the windows, just from lower down. On the open-top night bus, children under 5 ride free on a lap without a seat. On the vintage double-decker, infants also sit on laps.

Neither of those buses is wheelchair accessible, nor is the bites bus. If someone in your party uses a wheelchair, a black cab from your hotel is. Travelling with children has its own post: the lights with children.

Where to sit for photos

Upstairs, near the front, gives you the long view down the street under the lights. The sides give you the shop windows. Whichever you pick, the bus is moving, so:

• turn off the flash, which only lights up the rail in front of you;
• use your phone's night mode and hold still against the seat back;
• shoot at the junctions and in traffic, when the bus is slow;
• take the wide shots, and leave the detail to a walk.

What each street hangs, and which are worth a photo, is on the lights street by street. A gallery of the displays is on the gallery.

Pick a departure after dark

None of these buses prints its departure times on the listing; you choose one when you book. The top deck only pays off once the sky is dark and the displays glow. In the week of 26 October, when the street closes, the sun sets at 4:46pm and it is dark by about 5:21pm. By the week of 14 December the sun is down at 3:52pm and it is dark by about 4:32pm.

So in December almost any evening departure is in the dark, and an early one is warmer than a late one. In early November, pick a departure after half past five. Length matters too. The Routemaster runs 75 minutes, the night bus 60 to 90 and the vintage double-decker up to 2 hours 10 minutes in traffic, and every extra half hour on an open top is colder than the last. If you are unsure how you will cope with the cold, take the shorter ride and sit upstairs for all of it.

What the bus will not do this year

From Monday 26 October 2026 the central stretch of Oxford Street is closed to buses, between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. So no bus can take you under those lights this season, whichever deck you sit on. A bus can still cross the street at a junction.

The vintage double-decker also warns that on some evenings it will not use Regent Street because of traffic-free events. If a particular street matters, walk it. What the closure means for every kind of tour is in the traffic-free street explained.

So, upper or lower?

Upper, if it is dry and you are dressed for it. That is the view you pay for. Lower, if it rains or you have small children or anyone who hates the cold. If the top deck is the whole point, book the Routemaster, which promises it, and board early on the others. Whichever bus you choose, arrive 15 minutes before it leaves; how to get to each stop is on the visitors guide.

Three more buses, three kinds of top deck

London Christmas Lights Tour by Vintage Bus Open Top

A 1960s open-top Routemaster for 75 minutes, a top-deck seat promised, from outside the Grand Hotel by Charing Cross.

From $29 per person

Check Availability

London Christmas Lights Tour by Vintage Double-Decker Bus

A restored vintage double-decker from the coach station at Victoria, with a live guide; the upper deck is not promised and the ride runs up to two hours.

From $43 per person

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London: Christmas Lights & Bites Tour

Tea, coffee or hot chocolate and festive snacks on a vintage bus for about 90 minutes, from stop 40B on the Embankment.

From $59 per person

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