From glittering light displays to cultural showcases — discover what makes London shine during the darker days of November.
As autumn fades and winter creeps in, London transforms into a vibrant hub of celebration and creativity. November 2025 promises an eclectic mix of events — from Diwali festivals and Bonfire Night fireworks to the city’s much-anticipated Christmas light switch-ons. The capital’s cultural calendar is brimming with blockbuster theatre productions, world-class art exhibitions, and seasonal pop-ups that bring warmth and energy to the chillier days. Ice rinks, festive markets, and gourmet winter pop-ups begin to take shape across the city, offering the perfect prelude to the holiday season. Before December’s frenzy begins, immerse yourself in the best of what London has to offer this November — where tradition meets modern festivity in dazzling style.
1. Catch super-cool artists around the city at Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival is gearing up for another edition, with a jam-packed schedule of eclectic live music encompassing everything from avant-rock and post-punk to psych-pop, UK rap and deconstructed dance music.
This year’s line-up features Aussie psych King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Royal Albert Hall on November 4 and French electronic pop artist Oklou at the Roundhouse on November 7, followed by American experimentalist artist Laurie Anderson the next night. Of course, you’ve still got a plethora of other venues getting involved with shows at Colour Factory, KOKO and the Dalston Takeover with Panchiko, Indigo De Souza, underscores and Jay Som.
Watch this space for more acts who will no doubt be on your Spotify Wrapped come December 2026. It’s basically the place to be if you consider yourself a music fan with a finger on the pulse.
2. Watch the London skyline light up with fireworks on Bonfire Night
Of all of the UK’s winter traditions, there’s nothing like gathering in a park in the nippy nights of early November to watch a pile of flaming wood and fireworks piercing the sky. Bonfire Night – aka Guy Fawkes Night –might sound strange to those unfamiliar with it, but it’s a great British tradition and one of the highlights of the second half of the year.
London puts on a plethora of Bonfire Night and fireworks displays, some on 5 November itself, but most on either the weekend before or after, so you can really make the most of the fun. And these days, fireworks displays are about more than bonfires and colourful skies – it’s now the norm for events to boast funfairs, food stalls and more. Click through to check out our guide the biggest and brightest firework displays in London this November.
3. Watch London’s Christmas lights get switched on
Even if you’re the biggest Scrooge, you can’t deny that London looks pretty magical once the Christmas lights have been turned on and tinsel-covered trees greet you at every turn.
London starts to fill up with Christmas light displays in early November each year, with Oxford Street’s decorations leading the charge, followed by countless local displays across the city as December hits full swing. Many of the biggest shopping streets mark the occasion with big switch-on events featuring musical entertainment, celebrity guests and special offers across local restaurants, bars and shops. Click through for more details.
4. Start your Christmas shopping at festive markets around the city
Some people start prepping for Christmas before the first autumn leaf has fluttered to the ground. But if you hang on a little, you’ll be rewarded with a shopping experience to savour, as you shop for one-of-a-kind gifts in a festive market.
In the winter months running up to Crimbo, the capital becomes home to tons of wintry fairs, stacked with stalls selling unique pressies from small businesses and independent designers that you’d never find in the big shops online or off. They’re perfect for browsing as the big day looms and a good excuse to treat yourself to Christmas snacks and mulled wine as you tick gifts off your list.
You’ll find everything you need to make someone’s Christmas Day memorable at London’s pop-up markets, from ceramics and plants to pressies from around the world. Be sure to bookmark this page, because we’ll be adding more markets around the city as they’re announced.
5. Do some doodling at The Big Draw Festival
The world’s biggest celebration of drawing is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the theme ‘Drawn Together’ in 2025. Taking place across the UK, and the capital, the month-long extravaganza will have everything from family-friendly doodle sessions, to sketching workshops held at London landmarks. There are also spray painting workshops, ‘sketchwalks’ and kids’ colouring sessions taking place across the city. Check the Big Draw’s website for the full programme.
6. Be one of the festive season’s first visitors to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
Each year, Hyde Park gets transformed from pretty park to a dazzling, snow-covered, Alpine-themed, 350-acre festive funscape. One of the largest Christmas events in the UK, Winter Wonderland returns for its eighteenth year in 2025, and is expected to welcome around 2.5 million visitors over six magical weeks.
As you make your way around the space, you’ll find fairground rides, a child-friendly Santa Land (including a Santa’s Grotto, where presents lie in wait) and traditional Christmas markets where you’ll be able to buy gifts for all your loved ones, which has been freshly extended for 2025 with the addition of premium, artfully lit shopping spot Luminarie Lane.
Other highlights include circus shows from Cirque Beserk, which take place three times each evening, the biggest outdoor ice rink in the UK and an ice sculpture exhibit that’s been freshly reimagined as a ‘Mystical, Mythical Fantasy World’, featuring a Real Ice Slide and ice sculpting workshops, after which you can warm yourself up later with frothing steins and steaming cups of mulled wine at the German-style Bavarian Village.
The queues can get pretty long, so we recommend booking your tickets in advance. Plus, there’s so much to explore that you need to leave a fair bit of time; it tends to take about three hours to make it round the whole site. Make sure you wrap up warm, too!
7. Check out a slew of great new London restaurants
For some reason, this November is a bumper month for new openings. If you’re a pizza-head then there are new branches of Ria’s and Napoli On The Road set for Foubert’s Place and Wardour Street in Soho, while old school Knightsbridge Italian Sale e Pepe is opening a second seafood-forward site, Sale e Pepe Mare, at The Langham hotel by Oxford Circus.
Ivan Orkin from Netflix’s Chef’s Table also opens Ivan Ramen, his first London restaurant, this month in Farringdon, while Maset, a classy coastal French restaurant, launches in Marylebone. Want something even more glam? Then Belmond’s festive lunch kicks off this month, offering a five-course meal served on a vintage train that pootles around the most scenic parts of Kent. Click through to find out more.