With the spotlight on London's Victorian history following the launch of Disney's A Christmas Carol, there is a great line-up of events and activities in the City this winter. Seasonal markets, carols, festive entertainment and ice-skating, provide something for everyone. Highlights are listed below but check out our event diary for more extensive listings. You can also download our Christmas in the City leaflet.
Christmas shopping
Pick up stocking fillers at three festive sales: the Red Cross Christmas Market (1 Dec) at Guildhall, The City Christmas Fair at Drapers’ Hall (7 Dec) and the Dickensian Fair at Leadenhall Market (1-24 Dec). You can late-night shop at Leadenhall too (25 Nov-22 Dec) or splash your cash at the glitzy night out Festive Luxury at the Royal Exchange (10 Dec).
Entertainment
Two-part comedy Mad Kings and Englishmen plays at the Bridewell Theatre (until 20 Nov) and you can see stilt-walkers and street magicians at Circus Week at Leadenhall (16-19 Nov). Over at the Barbican, Boy Blue Entertainment perform their high-energy street dance show Pied Piper – A Hip-Hop Dance Revolution (10 Dec-3 Jan) and artists such as Richard Hawley sing at an evening of macabre festivity, Twisted Christmas (15 Dec).
Children and family
The City has plenty of Dickens-themed events to keep children entertained. At Museum of London there are storytelling sessions and workshops, whilst at the Tower of London kids can experience both medieval (27-31 Dec) and Victorian (12-13 Dec) Christmases. Tower Bridge provides a spectacular setting for Storytelling (5-6, 12-13 and 19-22 Dec) and the City libraries (5-21 Dec) have a busy programme of festive fun.
Carols and seasonal music
There are plenty of carol services in the City – download our handy diary to find out what’s on when. At the Barbican the Raymond Gubbay Christmas Festival (19 Dec-3 Jan) will whet your yuletide appetite with a selection of famous faces, carols and classics whilst St Paul’s Cathedral provides a magnificent backdrop to Handel’s Messiah (3 Dec). And if you’re feeling the festive pinch, there’s the City of London Festival's free winter concert series (19 Jan-31 Mar) and the Spitalfields Music winter performances (9-12 Dec).
Festive lights and trees
See the City light up at two switch-on events – the Lord Mayor at Leadenhall Market (20 Nov) and the Lady Mayoress at Bow Lane (26 Nov).
Ice skating
There’s nothing like falling flat on the ice to get you in the festive spirit, so get your skates on at Broadgate Ice Rink (14 Nov-7 Mar) and Tower of London Ice Rink (21 Nov-10 Jan).
Walks and tours
Discover Charles Dickens’s world on guided walks The City’s Christmas Carol (4 Nov-3 Jan) and Victorian Christmas in the City (3 Nov-10 Dec). Or you can find out more about the great scribe yourself by downloading this self-guided walk Dickens’s Magic Lantern. Lastly, on the Tower of London’s Twilight Tours (4 Nov-24 Mar) you’ll hear some spooky stories.
Poetry, literature, talks and workshops
Get your historical fix this winter – alongside the range of talks at Museum of London (14 Nov-16 Dec), there are Christmas with Dickens (8-16 Dec) events at Guildhall Art Gallery, two City libraries and the London Metropolitan Archives as well as a fascinating line-up at Bishopsgate Institute (10 Nov-8 Dec).