Christmas in London on your own: an honest guide to the 24th, 25th and 26th
Christmas alone in London is better than it sounds. The city is at its emptiest and most beautiful, the parks are full of people walking off lunch, a surprising number of pubs open, and nobody minds if you eat at the hotel bar with a book. The two things you do need to plan are food on the 25th and transport, because there is none. Here is the honest version.
Christmas Eve: carols, markets, last trains
The 24th is the day London is still fully switched on, and then isn't. The Christmas markets on the Southbank and at Leicester Square are open until the afternoon or early evening; the West End is open for last-minute shopping until about 18:00. Carol services: St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul's, Westminster Abbey and Southwark Cathedral all hold Christmas Eve services (some ticketed, most first come first served, and the queues start an hour before). Midnight Mass at Westminster Cathedral is the big one. Eat early or book: many restaurants close at 21:00. The last Tube is around 23:00 and there is no Night Tube — if you are at a midnight service you are walking, or you have booked a car. See Christmas Eve last trains.
Christmas Day: what's genuinely open
Hotel dining
Almost every four- and five-star hotel serves Christmas lunch to non-residents. Book by early December. Solo diners are welcome and common; the bar is often the nicer option.
Pubs
A good number of pubs open from noon until about 15:00 or 16:00 — the ones that do are busy and friendly. Pub lunches are usually pre-booked; a drink is not.
Parks and walks
All the Royal Parks are open. Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park, Greenwich Park and the Thames Path are full of walkers by 11:00 and the light is wonderful.
The Serpentine swim
The Peter Pan Cup at 09:00 in Hyde Park — members only in the water, but everyone is welcome to watch.
Church
Every cathedral and most parish churches have Christmas morning services, and they are the easiest way to be among people.
Restaurants
A handful of Chinatown restaurants and some Indian restaurants open; a few chains in the big stations do not, because the stations are shut. Book anything you want to be sure of.
Full list and links on what's open on Christmas Day.
Boxing Day: sales, football, Sunday-service Tube
The 26th is a Saturday in 2026 and the city reopens with a bang: the sales on Oxford Street and at Westfield from 09:00, a full football programme, most museums and galleries open again, and the Tube back on a Sunday-level service. Most National Rail is still off, so day trips out of London are tricky. See the Boxing Day page.
Safety and getting around with no public transport
London on Christmas Day is very safe and very quiet. The practical issue is distance: the parks and the pub and the lunch may each be three miles apart, and walking is the default. For anything further — a lunch across town, a church service, a friend's flat — there are black cabs (few, expensive, not bookable) and pre-booked cars like ours (fixed price, booked by 20 December). Bikes: Santander cycle hire runs on Christmas Day and the roads are empty.
Budget: what a Christmas Day alone costs
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Christmas lunch at a hotel restaurant | £95–£250 per person |
| Christmas lunch in a pub | £60–£120 |
| A drink and a sandwich at a pub | £15–£25 |
| Walk in a Royal Park | Free |
| Church service | Free |
| Cross-town car (pre-booked) | £25–£45 fixed |
| Black cab across town on Christmas tariff | £40–£70 on the meter |
Arriving on 24 or 25 December
If you are flying in for Christmas on your own, land on the 23rd if you can. If it has to be the 24th or 25th, pre-book the transfer — on the 25th there is no train or Tube from any airport, and the taxi rank is long and expensive. Driver in arrivals with a name board, fixed price, and a quiet drive through an empty city. See Christmas Day airport transfers and the first-time-in-London arrival guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Is anything open in London on Christmas Day?
- Hotel restaurants, many pubs for a few hours, churches, parks and a small number of restaurants in Chinatown and elsewhere. Almost all shops, attractions and museums are closed, and there is no public transport.
- Is it safe to walk around London alone on Christmas Day?
- Yes. It is one of the quietest and safest days of the year, with plenty of people out walking in the parks and along the river during the day.
- How do I get around London on Christmas Day without a car?
- On foot, by Santander cycle hire, or by pre-booked car. There is no Tube, bus or train. Black cabs exist but are scarce and on the highest tariff.
Getting around on the 25th
No Tube, no buses, no trains on Christmas Day. If you want to reach a lunch booking, a church service or a walk on the other side of town, pre-book the car by 20 December.