Christmas In London: Dickens, Museums, Afternoon Tea, and Christmas Markets

In December 2022 Bob and I traveled to London to experience Christmas in England. There are pros and cons to visiting over the holidays. The winter markets are open and offering holiday treats and mulled wines, everything is decked out with lights and holiday decor, and restaurants offer unique holiday menus. On the downside, many shops, museums, and restaurants are closed some or all of the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and the weather was a bit drizzly.

Nonetheless, we had a terrific holiday in London and manage to pack quite a bit into our one-week stay. We stayed at a Premier Inn in the Blackfriars area in the City of London. This central location let us walk to everything we wanted to see.

• Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Walk
• Borough Market and the Tower of London
• Christmas Markets
• London Museums
• London Restaurant Highlights
• Other Sights and Lessons Learned

A Dickens Christmas Carol Walk in the City of London

• St. Paul’s Cathedral: The first stop on our walk is from the first chapter of “A Christmas Carol” where Dickens mentions St. Paul’s Churchyard shortly after he explains, “There is no doubt that Marley was dead.” Sitting atop Ludgate Hill, the highest spot in London, the Cathedral dome is one of the more prominent features on the London Skyline. The Cathedral is closed to visitors on Christmas Day but still worth a visit to admire the architecture and statues.
• Mansion House: Built in the mid-1700s, the Mansion house is the official residence of London’s Lord Mayor. Also appearing in the first chapter, Dickens includes the Mansion House in his description of holiday preparations.
• The Royal Exchange: Also appearing in the first chapter of A Christmas Carol, the Royal Exchange was built in the 16 century and was Britain’s first specialist commercial building. Today it operates as a shopping mall. At the top of the Exchange, you will find the golden Gresham Grasshopper weathervane, the crest of the Exchange’s founder, Sir Thomas Gresham. We found another Gresham Grasshopper on nearby Lombard street. This one dated back the 1563 and belonged to Gresham’s goldsmith.
• Simpson’s Tavern: “Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern.” It is believed this tavern was Simpson’s, established in 1757.
• Newman’s Court: Possibly the location of Scrooge’s Counting House. The exact location is not known but this court behind a narrow building and near a church bill fits the description. The Counting House pub across the street is not a Dickens location but a cool spot nonetheless.
• Leadenhall Market: Back in Dickens’s time, Leadenhall was a meat, game, and poultry market. We imagine this to be the market Scrooge referenced when he asked the “intelligent boy” to fetch the prize turkey. Today the market is a mix of shops and food vendors, 100% of which were closed on Christmas Day. The elaborate roof structure was added in the 1880s, well after the A Christmas Carol was written in 1843.
• Lime Street: If Leadenhall Market is the poulterer’s market then Scrooge’s residence was most likely on Lime Street.

Having visited the sites east of Blackfriars it was time to head west to check out the Middle Temple Hall area. Google Maps might have you entering this neighborhood via the riverfront, but on our visit, that entrance was locked. We did find one entrance open on Fleet Street across from the Royal Courts of Justice. Don’t despair if you see the closed door at Middle Temple Lane as we did, the open door was just down the street. Look for an door across from Chancery Lane.

• Middle Temple Lane: Cobblestone streets and gas-lit lamps make this road look like something right out of a Dickens classic. Not only has this street been a filming location for a least one version of A Christmas Carol, but many other movies and TV shows have used this iconic location.
• Middle Temple Hall: Not specifically mentioned in a Christmas Carol but mentioning it here because the Christmas decor wreaths and garland decorating the nearby street lamps made it feel like Christmas in Dickens’s London.

There are many other A Christmas Carol locations, these were the ones we could fit into our Christmas Morning walk. Walking around, looking for these literary locations was a lot of fun and I will try to incorporate such outings in future trips.

Jubilee Walkway to Borough Market and the Tower of London

Borough Market is London’s oldest and busiest market, dating back to the 11th century or earlier. Originally a wholesale market, today it is a food market catering to the general public. Over 8 million people visit the market each year. On a dreary London day, wandering into this place of vibrant colors and constant activity almost overwhelmed our senses.

The variety and quality of food available are fantastic. With over 100 vendors, you will find many specialty cheese and meat shops, an abundance of fresh, organic produce, artisan bakeries, and an incredible variety of fresh seafood and meats. There are plenty of restaurants, cafes, and food stalls when you need a break. Borough Market has independent shops as well offering clothing, art, kitchen supplies, and more. The market goes on and on, and around every corner, there is something unique to discover.

We picked up some steak and ale pies for lunch and then stopped to enjoy a mulled wine at one of the market restaurants. On a later trip, we picked up some meat, cheese, bread, olives, and fruit for a wonderful market lunch back at the hotel.

When we were done at Borough Market we continued on the Jubilee Walkway and spent some time at Christmas by the River market. We enjoyed another mulled wine, marshmallow-filled chocolate kisses, and the fantastic view of the Tower Bridge. We walked across the Tower Bridge and wandered around the Tower of London area, headed back to the hotel, and called it a day.

Christmas Markets and Christmas Lights

For more holiday spirit, there are Christmas Markets around the city and while we did not purposely seek them out we did not hesitate to visit when they were nearby. At a London Christmas market, you can find a variety of festive items such as Christmas decorations, handmade gifts, artisan food, festive crafts, and more. You will also find touristy items. The vendor booths feature holiday lights and decorations. Mulled wine is available at all of the markets and you are welcome to walk around with it while shopping. On this trip, we learned that we enjoy a warm mulled wine on a cold, winter day. The markets open up in November and run through early January. The map below shows some of the markets operating during our 2022 visit.

In addition to the markets, many London neighborhoods and businesses go all out on the holiday lights and decorations further setting the mood for the season.

London’s Famous Museums

For us, no trip to London would be complete without a trip to three of its famous Museums: The National Gallary, The British Museum, and The Natural History Museum. We booked no-cost tickets in advance for each for first thing in the morning. Those tickets put you in a separate, faster-moving line. Museums are closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The British Museum

The British Museum is dedicated to human history and culture. It was founded in 1753 and has become one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of artifacts and antiquities. The museum houses an astonishing 8 million works from all areas of human history and culture including Egypt, Greece, Rome, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

While there is no charge to visit the Museum there some are special exhibits that require paid admission. When we were there the Rosetta Stone was in the Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt requiring us to pay £18 each to see this bit of history.

The National Gallery

The National Gallery is considered one of the greatest collections of European art in the world. It houses over 2,300 paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries, featuring works from some of the most influential painters in art history, including da Vinci, Rembrandt, Raphael, and more. I loved the National Gallery – it has so many famous paintings that you can walk right up to see. There can be big crowds waiting to see the more famous works; we found if we walked away and came back later many times the crowds would be gone, they come and go.

The Natural History Museum

At the Natural History Museum, you can see a range of exhibits, including fossil collections, ancient artifacts, taxidermy animals, and interactive displays. On our visit, the Museum was packed and difficult to navigate with all the children so we did not spend as much time there as we had planned. The 1800s taxidermy display of over 300 unique hummingbird specimens was possibly my favorite thing there.

Shakespeare at the Globe Theater

We knew we wanted to catch a show while in London and rather than the musicals and such playing in the Theater District we opted to see Henry V at Shakespeare’s Globe. During the holidays the main theater hosts a Christmas production oriented more toward children. We walked to the Globe via the Jubilee Walkway along the River Thames.

Because we wanted to see Shakespeare we ended up at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse next door. This is a modern interpretation of Henry V – the modern parts work better in some places than others. The acting was excellent.

One disappointment is that your ticket to a performance at the Playhouse does not let you see the actual Globe Theater – you will need paid theater tour tickets for that.

London Dining Highlights

Our original plan was fish and chips every day but London has so much more to offer, especially during the holiday season when restaurants serve up festive holiday menus. Here are a few of our favorites from this trip. We are not sure what it’s like during non-holiday times, but for the holidays you will definitely want to make a reservation at least a day in advance if there is a spot you really want to try.

Festive Afternoon Tea at the Goring Hotel

The Goring Hotel is an iconic luxury hotel in London, established in 1910 by Otto Goring. We had heard it was one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite hotels so chose this for Afternoon Tea. During the Christmas season, the Goring offers a special Festive Holiday Team that includes Champagne along with the traditional offerings of finger sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, pastries, and cakes.

This was our Boxing Day (December 26th) activity, a good choice as many other businesses were closed. The tea was lovely, the service was good, and the fancy surroundings made for a special afternoon. The Goring Dress code is smart casual so ties are not required, however, you will want to dress up a bit to match the elegant surroundings.

Whereever you chose to have tea over the holidays book well in advance as the best places fill up quickly.

Christmas Dinner at the Cinnamon Bazaar

The Cinnamon Bazaar is a modern Indian restaurant offering contemporary dishes inspired by the bazaar market cuisine of India. Founded by Vivek Singh, the restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star for its imaginative and delicious food. Cinnamon Bazaar is also known for its signature cocktails.

The Christmas Day menu is a fixed-price multi-course meal with some individual and some shared items. The food was delicious and the service was top-notch. Not only was the food delightful but the Bazaar Old Fashioned cocktail with coconut-washed bourbon, Indian Scotch, coconut palm sugar, and burnt cinnamon was just amazing.

Soup Dumplings at Leong’s Legend in Chinatown

London’s Chinatown is a vibrant and bustling area in the heart of the West End. London Chinatown dates back to the 1850s when Chinese immigrants arrived in the UK to work in the area’s diamond and linen industries. It is home to a number of restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses.

Leong’s Legend is a Taiwanese restaurant serving Taipei street food, plus spicy noodles & rice bowls.

Like many other restaurants in Chinatown, people were lined up out the door when we arrived. Leong’s Legend does not take reservations for parties of two as they have many tables that only seat two. If you have a bigger group, make a reservation. After about thirty minutes we were at our table. The food was outstanding, especially the pork and prawn won ton in spicy sauce; I would put that sauce on just about anything.

Fish and Chips at Fishcotheque

We tried fish and chips a few times on this trip but our favorite sport was Fishcotheque near the Barbican center. The restaurant’s focus is on sustainable seafood with fish delivered daily from Billingsgate Fish Market and British-grown Maris Piper brand potatoes. Super friendly service as well.

Neopolitan Pizza At Cinquecento in Chelsea

After our trip tothe Natural History Museum, we walked to Chelsea where we found Cinquecentro, a terrific Neopolitan pizzeria. They do all the right things for an authentic Neopolitan pizza: Dough is fermented for 48 hours, all ingredients are 100% Italian, and are all DOP ( Denomination Protected Origin). They use only San Marzano tomatoes in the sauce. Try the Montanara, a fried pizza – it’s on the starter menu but plenty big for lunch.

A Pint at The Blackfriar Pub

Located just a couple blocks from our hotel and near the Blackfriar Bridge, The Blackfriar is a traditional English pub with a bit of history and some amazing art. Originally constructed in 1875, architect Herbert Fuller-Clark remodeled the wedge-shaped building around 1905, with most of the internal decoration provided by artist Henry Poole and sculptor Frederick Callcott. The decor reflects the free-thinking arts and crafts movement in the sculptures, mosaics, and relics, all depicting jolly friars. It is a beautiful pub. We never managed dinner there because they were always so busy, but it was a fun spot for a pint.

Steak and Ale Pie – A new favorite

And finally, a food we didn’t know we liked so much: the steak and ale pie. This savory pie is made with steak, onion, and gravy with beer added to create a unique flavor. Then it is all baked in a shortcrust pastry. Here are our favorites in no particular order:

• Doggett’s Coat & Badge: Overlooking the River Thames in the Southbank neighborhood, Doggett’s offers a nice variety of traditional English pies and other pub classics. The Steak & Nicholson’s Pale Ale Pie holds a gold award from the British Pie Awards.
• Pieminister: Pieminister has restaurants throughout London but we found them at Borough Market where they offer take-away hot pies and bake-at-home pies. They have a wide variety from traditional steak and ale to more exotic choices like chicken tikka. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available as well. And they all have fun names like mock-a-doodle for the tofu chicken pie.
• Three Magpies: If you find yourself with a lot of extra time at Heathrow Airport (as we did due to a canceled flight) don’t hesitate to try the pies at this little pub on Bath Road. The Beef & Ale Pie with British beef and rich Ruddles Ale gravy in shortcrust pastry is another award winner; it holds the Best Pub Pie Champion & Gold Award from the National Pie Awards.

Other Things We Saw, Some Tips and Some Lessons Learned

Because we walked everywhere on this trip we were able to hit most of the must-see locations by just carefully planning our walks. You can find those highlights in the gallery below. We also wanted to share a few tips and lessons learned that didn’t fit elsewhere in this post.

• Make Reservations for the restaurants you really want to try: For example, we made a number of attempts to dine at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (where Dickens was known to frequent) and same-day reservations were never available. And we were not organized enough to plan more than a day ahead.
• If you want to enjoy a cocktail and the view at one of the Shard restaurants be sure to have a reservation (do you see a theme here?).
• Look for the blue plaques on the buildings – they will point out interesting historical things that happened in locations all around London.
• Take the Underground from the airport, it’s easy and inexpensive, and there were people around to help you figure out how it works.
• Big Ben is the name of the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, the actual tower is called the Elizabeth Tower. You can’t search for Big Ben on google maps. Expect a line if you want a phone of you at an iconic London phone booth in front of the tower.
• Don’t leave your umbrella at the Natural History Museum, Bob. (We were able to rent umbrellas at the hotel).