Skip to main content

Top 5 Places to Visit in London This Christmas

With less than a week until Christmas, thousands of people across the people are rushing frantically about, grabbing anything in sight that could possibly pass as a viable present to give someone. I am one of these many thousands of people.
I've bought one present so far. And I can't even remember what it is (to be fair, I did buy it over two months ago for my brother but that is literally all I can remember, so I have nothing to go by when searching for it. His next Birthday present instead, perhaps?).
So, if you're like me and are finally heading out to do that dreaded Christmas shopping in London, why not visit some of my top 5 places to go at Christmas in London?

1. Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park 
Photo from www.royalparks.org.uk
I went to this place for my Birthday (Birth-mas is a thing, you know) and you truly cannot visit a Christmas-ier place. With adorable little German market stalls selling everything from waffles to woolly socks, festive funfair rides and a spectacular ice rink (which seems to be booked-up before the beginning of December every year, by the way) surrounded by over 100,000 lights, Winter Wonderland is definitely the place to be if you're yet to feel that it's the season to be jolly. I recommend visiting earlier on in the day as I went at about 6:30pm and had to queue for 40 minutes to get in.
www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com; until 4th Jan 2015

2. Oxford and Regent Street
I can't remember the last year that I didn't visit these two famous streets to check out the Christmas lights. Teamed up with a hardcore shopping session, this is probably the most productive place to be if you're lacking inspiration for those presents. Even if I did outgrow Hamleys about 10 years ago, this and a trip to Abercrombie & Fitch (on Burlington Gardens, off Regents Street) never fail to keep me entertained.
Lights until 6th Jan 2015

3. Harrods, Brompton Road
Photo from www.starsandroses.co.uk
Another place I love going to at Christmas is London's most luxurious shop, Harrods. Yes, pretty much everything is well out of my price range but the price on the labels of the items there never fail to amuse me (a £35,000 purse, anyone?) and the lights outside the shop are a stunning sight. I highly suggest taking a trip to the Ice Cream Parlour here as the ice creams served are incredible. Be aware that we're talking Harrods ice creams here, not just normal ice creams, so the average ice cream is about £12.
www.harrods.com

4. South Bank
If Winter Wonderland seems a hassle to get to, South Bank also has many German market stalls (these stalls are arguably even more adorable than Winter Wonderland's!) and an ice rink where you can 'Eyeskate'- yup, it's directly behind the magnificent London Eye. South Bank is one of my favourite places to go at any time of the year but, at Christmas, it's just a little bit more special.
www.southbanklondon.com; Eyeskate until 1st Jan 2015

5. The Paddington Trail
Photo from www.luluguinness.com
This year, to celebrate the release of 'Paddington', 50 different statues of everyone's favourite bear have been placed across London for you to find. Each one has been designed by a celebrity, including Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Bear), Boris Johnson (The Bear of London) and David Beckham (Golden Paws). My personal favourite is Jonathan Ross's Futuristic Robot Bear... Why not do the trail and choose your favourite bear?
www.visitlondon.com/paddington; until 30th December




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"I Cry When I Laugh" - Jess Glynne - Album Review

Not many artists can say that they've had five number ones before releasing their debut album but one 25-year-old can. Known for featuring in the song of 2014 ‘Rather Be’, Jess Glynne has come a long way since her rejection from The X-Factor ten years ago. Her album, ‘I Cry When I Laugh’, retains the dance vibes she has become renowned for from her singles, but also experiments with softer sounds, notably on album track ‘Take Me Home’. Citing her influences to include Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin and Frank Ocean, the album diverts away from the typical pop regime, with elements of R&B featuring in the tracks. For the album, the London girl palled up with fellow British artist Emeli San d é  t o collaborate on “Saddest Vanilla”- an appropriate name choice for a song so lackadaisical. Despite the docile pace of the song, this track stands out- for all the wrong reasons. I can appreciate the fact that Glynne wanted a mix of tempos on the album but the dreary track merely ...
Post a Comment
Read more

12 Problems Only People with Glasses Will Understand

17th May 2008. The day my dreads became reality: I got my first pair of glasses. I'd seen it coming for a few months prior to it, but there was still a part of me clutching on to the idea that perhaps my eyesight was just blurry because of the side effects of some peculiar, undiagnosed illness I'd had. Yeah, I was pretty desperate. However, just because the optician tells you to start wearing glasses, that doesn't mean you to have to, right? ...Wrong, but that's what I did anyway, up until late 2012, when it got to the stage where I felt like my grades were being affected by my near-sightedness.  Don't get me wrong- I don't have anything against glasses-wearers; in fact, I genuinely do believe glasses can look sublime. It's just the hassle of wearing them that frustrates me to this very day. If you forget your glasses, you're completely, and utterly, stuck. Every activity you attempt to complete at work that day becomes 19842 times more d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Accomplishments.

Summer is well and truly over. In fact, it had ended over a month ago, but only in the past week have I fully accepted that the weeks of going out in just a t-shirt and shorts are finished for the year. To say that my summer was an adventure would be an understatement. Interrailing across Europe, flying out of the continent for the first time and getting a place at university... These past three months have been simply unbelievable. As I closed that Mathematics exam paper for the last time on 24th June 2016, I had little idea that my summer would be the whirlwind that it was. One week on, and I had flown to the Netherlands for the beginning of eighteen days of walking 30,000 steps a day, train journeys and simply incredible sights. Four weeks on, and I had flown to New York City for, undoubtedly, my greatest holiday. Five weeks on, and I had flown inter-continent to the Sun State of Florida. Seven weeks on, and I had received my A-Level results, which I was fortunately absolute...
Post a Comment
Read more