London’s Christmas markets are opening early in November 2026, with the first stalls already trading while the city’s big lights are still being switched on street by street. The Southbank Centre Winter Market opened on Monday 2 November 2026 and runs to Monday 4 January 2027, according to Visit London and Tourli, which checked the organiser’s dates on 2 November. It is free to enter, with artisan stalls and street food along the river, and it is the market that sets the pace for the rest of the city. Trafalgar Square’s Christmas Market opened on Friday 6 November 2026 and runs to 5 January 2027, according to Visit London, with the famous Norwegian Christmas tree at its centre. The tree itself is lit at a ceremony on Thursday 3 December, a separate date from the market opening. Winter by the River at London Bridge City opens on Tuesday 10 November 2026, the day after this post, and runs to 3 January 2027, with free entry and paid curling, according to London Bridge City, the organiser.
The big one still to come
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, London’s biggest Christmas fair, opens on Thursday 19 November 2026 and runs to Sunday 3 January 2027, every day except Christmas Day, according to Visit London and Tourli. Entry is £1 off-peak, £5.50 standard and £8.25 peak, booked for a one-hour arrival slot, and each £25 pre-booked online on rides, attractions, passes or meal deals unlocks one free entry. The fair has more than 100 wooden chalets, food and bars, fairground rides, shows and the UK’s largest outdoor ice rink, according to London for Cheap. Other markets follow in the same week. Old Spitalfields Market’s festive season begins on 11 November, Covent Garden’s Christmas celebrations begin on 12 November, with its lights switching on the same day, and Kingston Christmas Market opens on 12 November, according to LondonYaar. Greenwich Market lights up with a lantern parade on Wednesday 18 November, and King’s Cross has a new free Winter Market in Granary Square from 26 November, according to Tourli.
Why November, and what it costs
The early opening is a deliberate pattern, not an accident. Most of London’s markets are free to walk around, with charges only for rides, rinks and some food, while Winter Wonderland is the exception that needs a timed ticket. The Winter by the River date is confirmed by the organiser, London Bridge City, which lists the market as opening on Tuesday 10 November 2026 and running to 3 January 2027. The Southbank, Trafalgar Square and Winter Wonderland dates, by contrast, agree across Visit London and Tourli. For anyone planning a visit this week, Southbank and Trafalgar Square are already open, Winter by the River opens tomorrow, and the full festive map fills in over the next ten days.
