Seasonal
The 6 Best Things to Do in London in January
January is London at its most honest: cold, low-lit and pleasingly empty. Our guide to the month worth staying in town for, from the free light trail at Canary Wharf to a proper Burns supper in Belgravia.
In short: our top picks are London's New Year's Day Parade, Canary Wharf Winter Lights and London Art Fair. 6 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
January gets a bad write-up, and most of it is deserved. The decorations come down, the bills come in, and the city spends a fortnight pretending it never touched a mince pie. But there is a quieter case for January, and once you know where to look it becomes the easiest argument in London to win. The crowds have gone home. Restaurant tables you could not get in December are suddenly yours. The light, when it shows up at all, is long and gold and brief, the kind that makes Hampstead Heath look like a painting and the river look like pewter. This is a month that rewards the people who stay. What follows is built to hold up year after year, not just this one: the annual fixtures that come round every January like clockwork, and the reliable cold-weather pleasures that never need a date in the diary. A free light trail through the docks. The art fair that opens the cultural calendar. A Burns supper done properly. A 16th-century pub with the fire lit. Dress for it, go early, and let everyone else stay indoors feeling sorry for themselves.
| Place | Area |
|---|---|
| London's New Year's Day Parade | West End |
| Canary Wharf Winter Lights | Canary Wharf |
| London Art Fair | Islington |
| Boisdale of Belgravia | Belgravia |
| The Spaniards Inn | Hampstead |
| The Glasshouses at Kew | Kew, Richmond |
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Editor’s choice
London's New Year's Day Parade
Why we pick itEvery 1 January since 1987, a two-mile procession of marching bands, dancers and vintage cars rolls from Green Park down through Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, starting at noon. It is free, it is gloriously daft, and it is the most reliable way to shake off the night before. Stake out a spot near Piccadilly early or pay for a grandstand seat if you want a guaranteed view.
Annual street parade
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Canary Wharf Winter Lights
Why we pick itFor a couple of weeks in late January the business district turns its towers and docks over to light artists from around the world, and the whole thing is free. You walk a trail of glowing, interactive installations after dark, which is exactly the sort of excuse the month needs to get you outside. Go on a weeknight if you can, wrap up properly, and finish with a hot drink somewhere on the estate.
Free outdoor light-art trail
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London Art Fair
Why we pick itThe fair that opens the art year, back at Islington's Business Design Centre in the third week of January with well over 100 galleries showing modern and contemporary work. It is browsable rather than stuffy, a good place to spend a grey afternoon among paintings, photography and sculpture whether you are buying or just looking. Book ahead, and pair it with lunch on Upper Street afterwards.
Modern and contemporary art fair
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Boisdale of Belgravia
Why we pick itBelgravia's self-styled unofficial Scottish embassy does Burns Night the way it should be done, every year around 25 January: a piper, the Address to the Haggis, live music and a proper multi-course supper of cullen skink, venison and the rest. The whisky list is serious and the room knows how to throw a party. Book well in advance, because the Burns week sells out and deserves to.
Scottish restaurant and Burns Night supper
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The Spaniards Inn
Why we pick itA 16th-century coaching inn on the edge of Hampstead Heath, with log fires, low ceilings and the kind of literary backstory that name-drops Keats, Byron and Dracula. In January it does exactly what you want a pub to do: warms you through after a brisk walk across the Heath. Do the walk first, ideally in that thin afternoon light, then claim a seat by the fire and stay put.
Historic pub with open fires
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The Glasshouses at Kew
Why we pick itJanuary is when Kew's glasshouses come into their own. Step out of the cold and into the Palm House, where it holds a tropical 18C or so among the towering palms, then on to the Temperate House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Outside, the Rock Garden's first snowdrops appear in late January. A warm, green afternoon in the depths of winter, and proof the season has its quiet pleasures.
Botanic gardens and Victorian glasshouses
Before you book
Layers do the heavy lifting in January: it sits around 2 to 8C, often damp, and the light fades by half four, so the good outdoor things are best done in the early afternoon. Winter Lights and the New Year’s Day Parade are free and need no booking, though the parade route fills early. London Art Fair and the Boisdale Burns supper both sell tickets in advance and are worth securing ahead. Kew and the pubs are happy to take you on the day. Check official sites close to the time for exact dates, as the third and fourth weekends shift slightly year to year.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
London's New Year's Day Parade is our editor's choice: Every 1 January since 1987, a two-mile procession of marching bands, dancers and vintage cars rolls from Green Park down through Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, starting at noon. It is free, it is gloriously daft, and it is the most reliable way to shake off the night before. Stake out a spot near Piccadilly early or pay for a grandstand seat if you want a guaranteed view. London's New Year's Day Parade, Canary Wharf Winter Lights and London Art Fair lead the guide, with 6 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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