See Beautiful Decorations in The West End at Christmas

The West End in London is one of the busiest shopping districts in the UK. On Oxford Street alone, there are half a million visitors a day, making it one of the busiest shopping streets in Europe. As well as Oxford Street, go to places include Piccadilly Circus, Soho, Chinatown, and Leicester Square. If the hustle and bustle of the West End isn’t for you, then I’d stop reading here…

If you love the West End, it’s a great place to visit all year round, as there’s always something new and exciting happening here!! Whether it’s a new shopping opening, a new West End musical, or getting bite to eat at that new restaurant, there’s something here for everyone. One of the best times to come is during the Christmas period to see the festive lights, as well as do your Christmas shopping. The different lights such as the stars and angels on each street are honestly amazing!

The festive lights experience

During the Christmas period, the streets of the West End are lined with Christmas lights. If you’ve already done your Christmas shopping at Westfields, then that’s not a problem. Take the time to walk around the different streets, while of course taking loads of photos!

To have the full festive lights experience, I would start at Oxford Street to see the light curtains and decorated store fronts such as Selfridges and House of Fraser towards Regent Street. Then walk down Regent Street to see the angel decorations (and the odd horse carriage) towards Piccadilly Circus. It’s worth noting the angel decorations look incredible at sunset when they glow warm- orange amongst the cream buildings and orange sky.

Piccadilly Circus was packed, which is the case on most days. It didn’t have many Christmas decorations, though the massive billboard looked incredible both at sunset and night. From there, then walk down to Waterloo Place, which is where the festive lights experience ends… Don’t forget to also check out Jermyn Street too. If I’ve missed any other good places, let me know in the comments below.

The giant Christmas tree at Waterloo Place

My favourite places to see the decorations had to be Regent Street and Waterloo Place. At Waterloo Place, there was a giant Christmas tree with red baubles on it. And on the top of the tree, there was a star, which was like the cherry on the cake… In some ways, the tree signifies the end of the festive light experience in the shopping district, before you choose to either go towards Trafalgar Square, or Buckingham Palace…

Like the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ decorations on Regent Street, I think the Christmas tree looked great amongst the cream buildings and orange sky. This was the chance to take some fantastic photos. If you’re lucky, the sun will be behind the Guards Crimean War Memorial, making it appear to glow.

The shop fronts had decorations too

Many of the shops had their own festive decorations too. For instance, House of Fraser on Oxford Street had a curtain of lights on their store front. It was also lined with mini Christmas trees, which looked incredible at sunset! But one of the winners had to be the Cartier Store, which was decorated with a giant red ribbon. Some of the other watch stores had Christmas displays too, with a Little Red Riding Hood one which caught my eye.

When can you see the Oxford Street Christmas Lights?

The Oxford Street Christmas Lights are first switched on towards the end of November by different celebrities each year. In 2019, celebrities who performed were Joy Crookes and Ms Banks at Topshop and the Nike Store, respectively. The lights remain until 6^th January, in accordance with the tradition of taking festive decorations down on the Twelfth Night.

Verdict

Overall, if you’re looking to have the festive experience in Central London, then the best place to go is the West End. The streets are lined with beautiful decorations, which you can see in their full glory after sunset. Out of all the streets, my favourite ones had to be Regent Street and Waterloo Place.

While in Central London during the Christmas period, don’t forget to also check out the Christmas lights at Canary Wharf, and visit Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. If you’re feeling peckish, while not grab a quick bite to eat from Chinatown too.

Directions to the West End: