Christmas Day in London 2021

Christmas Day, December 25th, 2021 is on a Saturday.

If you're spending Christmas Day in London, you need to do a little planning in advance as almost everything will be closed for the day, and there will be very little transportation - there will not be a London bus service, and the tube network or overland trains will both be 'offline'. Some private bus companies will operate special services.

So although it's actually quite pleasant wandering around an empty capital city, smiling at passers by (as opposed to the normal 'ignoring' them), you do need to think about the basics such as food. See our section on 'What's Open on Christmas Day?' below!

What's Open on Christmas Day?

Christmas is the most widely celebrated event in the British calendar, and although London is a multi-cultural melting-pot, most places will be closed. The largest exceptions are Chinatown in the heart of London, just south of Soho, as well as Southall in West London and Brick Lane in the East.

The majority of the larger hotels will be serving food and drink (note that some of the smaller ones may not so it's always wise to check ahead of time), and you'll also find many of the pubs are open for business.

All the main parks should be open, so there are plenty of places to take a walk. Our favourite is Hyde Park.

Or you can read one of our contributor's blog posts on A Different Christmas Day in London!

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You May Not Know

European Crusaders brought the mince pie back to England in the 12th Century. It was filled with meat, as well as fruits and spices. Although it has kept the same name, there is no longer any meat in a British mince pie. Well not normally.

If you're looking for information about Christmas in London 2021, then you're visiting the right site. And don't forget to read our blog. Obviously London is an amazing place for Christmas shopping, but it's also home to amazing parties, great carol singing and all kinds of festive fun. We know what to do in London at Christmas! Many London stores open late in the run up to Christmas, and some of the smaller boutique stores actually hand out free drinks and cakes to get everyone into the festive mood. The tradition of giving away glasses of mulled wine has almost disappeared in London due to a crackdown on serving alcohol from unlicensed premises!