’Tis the season for giving, so shop for presents, eat mince pies and sculpt ice at London’s liveliest markets. Below you can find a selection of the city’s best festive markets this winter.

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Best for: family fun

Illuminations light up Hyde Park each winter for Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, which runs until Monday 3 January 2022. Winter Wonderland is one of the largest of the capital’s festive markets, so if you plan on meeting friends or family there, meet them by the blue gate or risk never seeing them again.

The market is home to 100 chalets selling baubles, gingerbread and handmade crafts such as woolly socks and gloves. You can also order street food, although there are slim pickings for vegetarians.

In addition to the market, there are rides, an ice slide, ice bar, a marquee of ice sculptures and ice sculpting workshops, as well as the UK’s largest outdoor rink, which is lit up with fairylights draped from a bandstand in the middle.

So cold you can’t feel your fingers anymore? Then warm up with a hot chocolate by a log fire in a chalet, or head indoors to listen to live bands.

South Bank Winter Market

Best for: romance

South Bank Winter Market, between the Southbank Centre and London Eye, is another annual tradition for Londoners and visitors. Until Friday 24 December, you can shop at illuminated huts strung with fairylights that sell festive goodies made by independent creatives such as snowglobes, lanterns, chocolate and cheese. You can also eat fondue and toasties dripping with cheese, as well as truffle burgers, vegan duck wraps and pancakes.

Christmas in Leicester Square


Best for: theatre goers

Set in the middle of Theatreland, Christmas in Leicester Square runs until Monday 3 January 2022 in London’s West End. Bordered by theatres and cinemas, it also has its own theatre, in the form of a 1920s mirrored spiegeltent from Belgium. Watch Sleeping Beauty from Saturday 18 to Monday 20 December or Beyond the Christmas Cabaret on Monday 20 December then shop for presents from stalls selling sweets, gloves and lanterns.

London’s outdoor markets


Best for: late night shopping. 



Many of London’s year-round markets are open late for the festive season. The city’s oldest market, Borough Market, will be decorated with wreaths and lights and vendors will be selling mince pies and chocolates. You can also stock up on cheese from the Borough Cheese Company. Elsewhere, Greenwich Market in south London will have a festive atmosphere thanks to seasonal music, illuminations and stalls selling hot apple. Shop for handmade jewellery, eco-friendly homeware and photographs.

Book a winter escape to any of our hotels in The Carlton Tower Jumeirah to explore the best of the capital during the festive season, and discover exceptional festive moments.