For browsing makers’ stalls, the Curated Makers Christmas Market at Battersea Power Station is the market to head for, with Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Winter by the River at London Bridge City and the Covent Garden snowfall as the other stops of the season. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland needs an entry ticket for every visitor. Over in Covent Garden, the snowfall comes back to the West Piazza.
Is Hyde Park Winter Wonderland worth the ticket
Yes, if you plan when to go. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland sells standard and peak entry tickets. Everyone is searched on the way in. With a buggy or for step-free access, Green Park and Bond Street stations have lifts. Some ride queues close before the park does, so head to the rides first.
When is Winter by the River at London Bridge City open
Winter by the River is at London Bridge City, and it opens every day of its run apart from a day over the holidays, with shorter hours on the holiday evenings. For a sit-down meal afterwards, Camille is at the entrance to Borough Market.
Camille feels like a Lyon bouchon: a blackboard menu, natural French wines, warm light and mismatched bistro chairs. The two-course lunch prix fixe is the best-value way in. The daily fish comes from a day-boat supplier, so the species changes from one visit to the next.
Camille
Hours: Mon 17:30–22:00 · Tue–Sat 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:00 · Sun 12:00–16:00
Address: 2-3 Stoney St, London SE1 9AA
Where to browse a makers’ Christmas market
Battersea Power Station is the place to browse makers’ stalls. The Curated Makers Christmas Market is held at the power station and opens every day of the week, with longer hours on most days and an earlier close on one of them, so check the hours below before you set off in the evening.
What to see around Covent Garden’s market building at Christmas
Covent Garden brings back its snowfall on the West Piazza, so the square itself is the thing to see. For something sweet nearby, the lower courtyards of the market building hold a small bakery counter that is worth a stop before or after the snow.
Oliphant’s Ice Cream & Bakery is a small counter in those lower courtyards. They churn English-style ice cream on site and bake pastries in small batches through the day, with French butter and English flour. All-butter and plant-based pastries sit side by side on the counter, and the tables outside under the arcade stay calm through the morning until theatre traffic starts to fill the courtyard.
Oliphant's Ice Cream & Bakery
Hours: Mon–Fri 09:30–18:30 · Sat 09:30–19:30 · Sun 09:30–18:30
Address: Market Building, Unit 28 Lower Courtyards, London WC2E 8RE, UK
