The Christmas Lights Walking Tour is a 90-minute guided walk through the West End displays, from Piccadilly Circus up Regent Street and across Carnaby Street, Soho, Oxford Street, New Bond Street and Berkeley Square, past the Ritz to the windows of Fortnum & Mason. It runs from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, every day except Saturdays, at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm, and does not operate on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December. Groups are capped at 15 people. Adults £20, children aged 5 to 15 £15, students £17. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The lights you would walk past anyway, explained
Everyone ends up under the Regent Street angels at some point in December. The difference here is a guide who knows which display is which, where the best angles are and what the street looked like before the shops moved in. The route is a loop of the West End at its most lit: the angels of Regent Street, the themed installations of Carnaby Street and the lanes of Soho, the stars over Oxford Street, the boutiques of New Bond Street, Berkeley Square, the Ritz and, to finish, the window displays of Fortnum & Mason. You end back at Piccadilly Circus, which is a good place to be at 5:30pm, 7:30pm or 9:30pm on a December evening.
How it works
Meet outside the Criterion Theatre, 218–223 Piccadilly, W1J 9HR, 15 minutes before the start. Your guide wears a Golden Tours jacket and holds an umbrella, so you cannot miss them. The walk is about 90 minutes at an easy pace with stops for photos; wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather, because it is all outdoors. The tour is not wheelchair accessible.
Good to know before you book
Nothing is included beyond the guide and the walk: no shop or attraction entries, no food or drink. The three start times suit different plans: 4pm catches the lights coming on, 8pm has the thinnest crowds. If you would rather see the lights from a seat, the Christmas Lights Bus Tour covers a wider area on an open-top bus, and on 24 December there is the Christmas Eve coach tour.
