7 Best Things to Do This Winter in London

The best things to do this winter in London really take advantage of the area’s festive spirit and local attractions. Whether you like to be warm and cosy indoors or prefer to brave the cold, you’re bound to make magical memories this season.

A winter holiday in <a href=“/go/england/london”>London</a> means crisp mornings wandering through royal parks, shopping streets dazzling with Christmas lights and twirling skaters on glistening ice-rinks. Book a winter hotel in London and prepare yourself for unexpected seasonal delights.

1. Outdoor Ice-skating

Fresh air and graceful gliding on the ice

Ideal para: Casais, Famílias, Aventura

Outdoor skating rinks spring up in London’s favourite landmarks each winter, so whether you’re a seasoned pro or a beginner, it’s time to lace up your skates. The stunning Hyde Park turns itself into a Winter Wonderland every festive season, and you can glide around their Victorian bandstand under a canopy of lights on their beloved ice rink.

For a party on the ice, head to Alexandra Palace. Though it’s open year-round, during the winter it transforms into a disco where you can dance to Christmas tunes underneath a bedazzled, towering tree. Alternatively, head to the spectacular Glide rink at Battersea Power Station. Three intertwining rinks offer plenty of skating fun alongside a view of the Thames.

2. Pantomime season

A British cultural tradition

Ideal para: Casais, Famílias, Vida noturna

Cries of ‘it’s behind you’ and ‘oh no it isn’t!’ can only mean one thing: the great British pantomime season has arrived. Theatre stages all over the capital fill with over-the-top dames, romantic heroines, dashing princes, wicked stepmothers and dastardly villains. You might spot a popular soap star or TV actor in a starring role as you cheer and hiss along with the audience.

Many of London’s outstanding theatres produce a grand-scale pantomime each year, including the London Palladium, the Alexandra Palace Theatre and the Dominion Theatre. Smaller productions can be just as fun though, so do check out the likes of the King’s Head Theatre, Greenwich Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre.

3. Window shopping

No ordinary retail experience

Ideal para: Casais, Compras

The major department stores around <strong>Oxford Street</strong>, <strong>Regent Street</strong> and <strong>Piccadilly</strong> entice shoppers with lavish window displays from the artistic to the downright dramatic. Look out for <strong>Selfridges</strong>’ high-tech exhibitions and <strong>Hamleys</strong>’ glittering world of toys, both of which provide incredible gifts if you’re holiday shopping.

Over in Knightsbridge, the windows of top department stores <strong>Harrods</strong> and <strong>Harvey Nichols</strong> draw the crowds, and might even put you in the mood for the popular post-Christmas sales. Wherever you shop, there’ll be plenty of spots to warm yourself up with a hot chocolate and a pastry before hitting the streets again.

4. A pint in a cosy pub

You can get a warm welcome and a hot meal

Ideal para: Casais, Vida noturna

Cocoon yourself on a cold winter’s day with a pint of ale in front of a crackling fire, made even better with a traditional pub lunch to fuel you up for the rest of the day.

Relax by the coals at award-winning <strong>The Star Tavern</strong> in west London’s fashionable Belgravia, or the country pub ambience of Hampstead’s 16th-century <strong>The Spaniards Inn</strong> after a brisk walk at Hampstead Heath. Rest your feet after shopping in the winter sales by the huge, chimney-less fire at the Grade II listed <strong>Cittie of York</strong>, not far from Oxford Street.

5. Christmas entertainment

The spirit of the season is all around

Ideal para: Famílias, Foto, Compras

A winter break in London wouldn’t be complete without a large dose of festive merriment. From early December, <strong>Christmas markets</strong> throng the South Bank, selling traditional wooden toys and hand-made jewellery in the shadow of the London Eye, as the smell of roast chestnuts wafts by.

Across the city, <strong>Hyde Park</strong> is transformed into a winter wonderland, full to the brim with live music and fairground rides. You’ll find the streets teeming with carollers and candlelit concerts can be found in the city’s churches and minsters. The weather might be chilly, but the wealth of entertainment in London will be sure to keep you warm.

6. Festive music

World-class music that feeds your soul

Ideal para: Econômico, Vida noturna

Winter festivities have always been accompanied by music, and London delivers in abundance. Seasonal performances like Handel’s glorious <em>Messiah</em> and religious arias ring out under <strong>St Paul’s Cathedral’s</strong> huge dome, and through <strong>Westminster Cathedral</strong>, where royalty and poets are buried.

Smaller settings can create an intimate ambience, so look out for free carol services at city centre churches like <strong>St Martin in the Fields</strong>. Winter concerts at venues like the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall are always popular, whether they’re big band performances or orchestral screenings of your favourite Christmas films.

7. New Year celebrations

Explosively good times

Ideal para: Casais, Famílias, Vida noturna

Welcome in the New Year with jaw-dropping fireworks on the margins of Thames River in Central London. When the clocks strike midnight, vivid sparks and patterns light up the sky and crowds serenade each other with jubilant renditions of Auld Lang Syne.

On the first of January, join the crowds to cheer the impressive <strong>New Year’s Day parade</strong>, a technicolour display of over 10,000 performers and marching bands weaving through London’s famous landmarks like Admiralty Arch and Parliament Hill. In January or February, vibrant dragon dances and fireworks light up Chinatown and Trafalgar Square for <strong>Chinese New Year</strong>.<

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