Latest / UK Travel Planning / London in November 2026: What’s On + Travel Tips

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London in November 2026: What’s On + Travel Tips · UK Travel Planning

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Christmas lights go on, bonfire night, fireworks light up the parks, and a gold coach rolls through the city at the end of a three-mile procession.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you're visiting London in November, this is what's on, what to book and what to pack.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Tracy from UK Travel Planning, and this is London in November.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hi and welcome to our monthly London bonus episode brought to you by our sister brand, London Travel Planning, and this month by City Cruisers.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, Doug and I are two Brits who know the UK and London inside out, and every month we go through what's actually happening in the city so you can plan around it.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get started.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with the weather because us Brits love talking about the weather, and I'm a bit of a statistics nerd too.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: The average is for November in London, a daytime high of around 12 degrees, that's 54 degrees Fahrenheit, and a low of about 7, so 45.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Rain on roughly 10 days of the month, so 1 in 3, exactly the same as October.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is that it's noticeably cooler though, and it's damp rather than freezing.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Snow in London in November is rare.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what the Met Office is actually saying at the time I'm recording this, the long range outlook has early November, more settled and drier, especially in the south and east, with chilly nights and some morning fog, and then into the middle of the month, a better chance of it turning unsettled again with more frequent spells of rain and some windy days.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Past that they can't see yet, so check the long range outlook the week before you fly.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that catches people out in November isn't the cold, it's the dark.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The clocks went back on the 25th of October, so at the start of November, the sun sets at around half past four, and by the end of the month, it's just before four o'clock.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably dark by half past four.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can still get around nine and a half days of daylight at the start of the month and a bit over eight by the end.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: So there's plenty of time, you just have to plan it.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So out do outdoor things in the morning, then do museums, galleries, afternoon tea, and theatre in the afternoon and evening, and of course the lights look their best after dark.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So what should you pack?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'd recommend: a warm, waterproof jacket, not your heaviest winter coat, because the tube and museums are heated to the point where you'll be peeling it off, and it is easy to overheat.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Believe me, I know.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Layers, like Charlie said in the last few months, dress like an onion.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: A jumper over a t-shirt and the jacket on top so you can take a layer off indoors.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Also take a day pack with you to store them in.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Waterproof, comfortable shoes.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I always say comfy shoes are the time are the key at any time of year, and in November, make sure that they're waterproof too.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: A hat and gloves for the second half of the month are essential, especially if you're going to be out for an evening looking at the lights.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And a small fold-up umbrella or raincoat in your bag, take with you every day.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, key dates.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now there are a handful of dates that change the feel of the city in November, so get these in your diary.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Bonfire night is Thursday, the 5th of November.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: As we say, remember, remember the 5th of November.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: So on the 5th of November 1605, Guy Fawkes was caught in the salas under Parliament with gunpowder, ready to blow them and the king up.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Ever since we've marked it with bonfires and fireworks and celebrated the entire event.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: The big London displays are on the weekend after, so Alexandra Palace on Saturday the 7th at 8 o'clock and Sunday the 8th at 6 o'clock.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Sunday is earlier, so it's a family-friendly event.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Battersea Park also runs on both nights too.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Remembrance Sunday is Sunday the 8th of November.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: The service is at the Cenotaph on Whitehall with the two minute silence at 11 o'clock and the Royal Family lay in Reeves.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need a ticket, but the spots along Whitehall are gone well before 10, and Westminster and Embankment stations are heaving that morning.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And on Wednesday the 11th, Armistice Day, the whole city stops for two minutes at 11am.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Shops, stations, offices.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you've never seen it, it is quite something.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now the Lord Mayor's show is Saturday the 14th of November.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's 800 years old, this, and it's completely free.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord Mayor rides in a gold coach dating from 1757 with around 6,500 people, 250 horses, and more than 50 floats, from Mansion House past St.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Paul's to the Royal Courts of Justice, setting off around about 11.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And this year there's something new.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: For 400 years, the show was on the river, and in 2026 it's back there.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord Mayor leaves Westminster by boat in the morning with a flotilla, passes under London Bridge, and then joins the procession.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Very excited.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now this month's episode is brought to you by City Cruisers, and November is when the river comes into its own.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's quieter than summer, the light is low and golden in the afternoon, and once the sun's gone, the whole skyline is lit up.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Tower Bridge, the Shard, Parliament, and London Eye.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And you're looking at it from the water with a cup of tea in your hand or a drink rather than from a cold pavement.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: I say a cup of tea because the one I'd book is the afternoon tea cruise.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's 90 minutes from Tower Pier at half past three, so you're on the water as it gets dark, which in November is the best time to be there.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sandwiches, a warm scon with jam and cotton cream, full little cakes, unlimited tea and coffee, and commentary as you go.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now Sinead from our team sailed on it at the end of September as a guest of City Cruises, and she says she is very picky about her afternoon teas and has said it was one of the best she's ever had.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can read her full review on the London site.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And City Cruisers have given our listeners 10% off.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: The code is UK Plan 10 at checkout.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: You need to book and travel by the 31st of December.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's on the standard afternoon tea ticket, not the upgrades, and it doesn't cover the festive or special event cruises.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: The links, the first thing in the description.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Two more things in the river while I'm here.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you just want to get on out on the river for the day, their one day river pass is£9 at the moment.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: What a deal! That's hop on, hop off, Westminster, Greenwich, and in November that's the warmest sighting place to be in London.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're going to be here for Christmas Day or New Year's Eve, they run a Christmas Day lunch cruise and a whole set of New Year's Eve cruises with the fireworks from the water.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those sell out every year, so I'll come back to them in a minute when we talk about what you need to book ahead.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the question I get asked more than any other about November.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Will the Christmas lights be on?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, London does not wait for December.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: So let's give you this year's switch-on date.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Very excited about this.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Carnaby Street is Wednesday the 4th of November.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: The theme this year is press play on Christmas, all 1990s nostalgia.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Regent Street, the Angels, 300,000 lights, switch on on Thursday the 5th, with this entire street closed to traffic from 5 till 9 that evening.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And St.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: James's goes on the same night.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Covent Garden is Thursday the 12th.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Very exciting.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love Covent Garden at Christmas.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oxford Street is the one everyone's waiting on because this year the lights are Harry Potter themed, tied to the new television series that starts on Christmas Day.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the date hasn't been announced when I recorded this.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually the first week of November.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: But two things that are confirmed is that there's a new Harry Potter flagship shop opening on Oxford Street on the 4th of November.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And from the 26th of October, the stretch of Oxford Street from Selfridges to just past Oxford Circus is traffic free, which is the first phase of the permanent pedestrianisation.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the lights walk this year will be a lot nicer on foot.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: You will not have to contend with any traffic.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to see all the big displays lit arrive from the 12th of November onwards, the switch-on nights themselves are the most crowded evenings of the season.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So unless you want to see the switch-ons, I'd recommend going the night after.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a one-hour lights walk on the London site that takes in all of them with a free map and instructions available too.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Find the link below or in the show notes.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's on?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's far too much on in London to cover all of it here.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: The full list is in our events in London article.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: These are the ones I'd plan a day around.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas at Q opens on Friday the 13th of November and runs to the 3rd of January.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's the big light trail and I love it.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's closed on the 16th, 23rd, and 28th of November, so check the dates before you book.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: There are adult only evenings on the 3rd and 9th of December, so book it now because those December weekends are already going.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Ice rings.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now skate at Somerset House, the beautiful one in the courtyard, opens on the 11th of November and runs the 10th of January, and it's the one to book early.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Leicester Squares from the 31st of October, Battersea Power Station from the 6th, and the Queen's House in Greenwich from the 18th, and then Hampton Court Palace from the 20th.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now what about Christmas markets?
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Southbank Centre Winter Market along the river opens on the 2nd of November, Trafalgar Squares from early November, and Kingston on the 12th.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: They're on until January and they're all free to wander around.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And new last year and back from the 25th of November is Chelsea Winter Village at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now for you Harry Potter fans, Hogwarts in the Snow at Warner Brothers Studio runs from the 14th of November to the 17th of January.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: The Great Hall dressed for Christmas and the castle model covered in snow.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's in the standard ticket, but November dates do sell out fast.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Theatre in November.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: November is one of the busiest opening months of the year.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Ian McCallan is playing Laliah, a new adaptation at the yard in Hackney Wick from the 17th of November.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 220-seat theatre and it's already sold out and it's returns and day tickets only now.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it is literally the hardest ticket in London to get this month.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: One Day the Musical from the David Nichols book opens at the Garrick on the 17th as well.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just remember take the shoes.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Exhibitions in November.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Agatha Christie at the British Library, which opens on the 30th of October with a typewriter, her notebooks, and a recreated Orient Express carriage.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And Van Eyck, the portraits at the National Gallery from Saturday the 21st.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: All nine of his known portraits in one room for the first time ever.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the one you keep asking me about, the Bayot Chapestry at the British Museum, is sold out for the rest of 2026 completely.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: The tickets for January to March next year went on sale on the 21st of October, and they've gone too.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're coming back in 2027, the April to July you're waiting for.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Doug and I are also waiting for tickets for that point, and those are released early in the new year.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: And her life in style, the Queen's Wardrobe exhibition at Buckingham Palace, runs the 18th of April, with January onwards your best bet for tickets.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're coming in December or over Christmas and New Year, these are the things that need booking in November or you'll miss them.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas Day and New Year's Eve on the river.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sydney cruisers run a Christmas Day lunch cruise from Westminster Pier with a traditional Christmas lunch in Carols on the Thames.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a Christmas Day sightseeing cruise available if you just want an hour on the water that day.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: On New Year's Eve, they run six cruises from Tower Pier all on the water for the fireworks at midnight, from the Stargazer, which boards at 10 so you can eat in London first, to the Glassroofed Celestial for families, the Galaxy Plus with a DJ and the Adult Sony Garla Dinner on the Diamond.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Mayers firework tickets for the riverside went on sale on the 23rd of October, and the first release sells out every year.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: So the boats are one of the very few ways left to see them from the river, and they also sell out every year.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've got guides to both the Christmas cruises and the New Year's Eve cruises on the London site.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: The summary of the keys at the Tower of London, December's tickets are released on Monday, the 2nd of November at 1 pm UK time on the historic Royal Palace's website, and they go very quickly, so set an alarm.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Christmas at Q, the December weekends, as I've said once already, I'll say it again.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure if you want to do it, book it.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hard walks in the snow for a December date.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: The theatre, if you want a particular show on a particular night, especially the week before Christmas, and restaurants for Christmas Day itself because most of London is shut, and the ones that are open on Christmas Day tend to get booked out by the middle of November.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want all of that in one place, we've put together festive London Planning Guide this year, the whole festive calendar, what to book and when, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, and a map for your phone with the lights walk, the markets, the rinks, the pubs, and the afternoon teas all pinned on it.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: The link is below, or if you're listening on the podcast, in the show notes.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a wrap on London in November.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you to City Cruisers for sponsoring this month's episode.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: The code again is UK Plan 10 for 10% off the afternoon tea cruise.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Book and travel by the 31st of December.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: For planning the trip itself, head to London, travelplanning.com, where you'll find our guide to visit in London in November and our full list of events in London in November with every date I've talked about.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you found this useful, do subscribe because I'll be back on Thursday, the 26th of November, with London in December, which will include Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and what London actually feels like in the festive season.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: But until next time, happy UK travel planning.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: For show notes and links, head to ukravelplanning.com forward slash London bonus November twenty twenty-six.