AboutLondon Laura – November 2025
I love this time of year. Yes, it can be a bit chilly, but the daylight is scrumptious in autumn.
Did you try any of my recommendations from last month? The Lee Miller exhibition at Tate Britain has some great reviews.
Top Tip
And if I tempted you last month to try the three-month National Art Pass, I can also add that you’ll get sent a 50% offer for the first year if you buy an annual membership after the trial. So, yeah. I got that.
Christmas Lights
No, it’s not too early. (For the Americans, Thanksgiving is not a celebration here, so we don’t have that late November marker to pass first.) This is the month all the twinkling lights are switched on in London.
Oxford Street
When? Monday 3rd November
What? 300,000 twinkly, hanging stars are back for the first switch-on date this year.
Regent Street and St James
When? Thursday 6th November
What? It’s the 10th anniversary of the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ display (big angels).
Carnaby Street
When? Thursday 6th November
What? The display is called ‘All is Bright’. Using last year’s sculptural light forms hanging overhead, there’ll be lots of colours this year.
Covent Garden
When? Wednesday 12th November
What? The huge golden bells, baubles and mirror balls are back along with a Christmas tree in the piazza.
Old Spitalfields Market
When? Wednesday 12th November
What? Music and festivities start at 3pm with the switch-on at 6pm.
Leadenhall Market
When? Thursday 13th November
What? The new Lady Mayor of London will switch the switch. (Note, it’s the first time that title has ever been used.) Come back during the season as there is snowfall at 12pm and 6pm daily.
The Shard
When? Tuesday 25th November
What? These high-rise lights were designed by a member of the Shard’s housekeeping team who happens to be a keen abstract expressionist painter.
Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree
When? Thursday 4th December
What? The tree is an annual gift from Norway and is always lit up the first Thursday in December.
Those are the headliners but there are more London Christmas light switch-ons in neighbourhoods across the city.
What’s On The Month?
Apart from seeing the city looking all sparkly, you might want to go to the William Morris Gallery as the Women in Print – 150 Years of Liberty Textiles exhibition is already open.
The Charles Dickens Museum has lots of Christmas events for the season including a magic lantern show, live performances, and a family craft workshop.
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is opening earlier this year. From Friday 14th November, you can enjoy the rides, ice rink, big wheel, circus shows and more. (PS I work for Zippos Circus, so can recommend the Zippos Christmas Circus in the daytime and the Cirque Berserk Ignite! show in the evening for big kids and adults.)
Christmas at Kew is also back from Friday 14th November. It’s a lovely illuminated trail that usually culminates with an amazing light display over the water by the Palm House.
At Tate Britain, Turner and Constable opens on 27th November. It’s the first major exhibition to explore the intertwined lives and legacies of Britain’s most revered landscape artists: JMW Turner (1775–1851) and John Constable (1776–1837). Radically different painters and personalities, each challenged artistic conventions of the time, developing ways of picturing the world which still resonate today.
Wes Anderson: The Archives opens at The Design Museum on 21st November. This first retrospective exhibition of the work of film director Wes Anderson follows the evolution of his films from his first experiments in the 1990s to today, with over 600 items on display.
Art deco: the golden age of poster design opens at the London Transport Museum on 21st November. The exhibition route starts with the origins of the artistic movement, moves on to posters that capture the world of leisure and pleasure, and then explores its architecture and the role of architect Charles Holden who helped change the face of London with his remarkable designs for new Tube stations.
Enjoy!