Trafalgar Square Christmas Market 2026 & Tree Lighting Date

Londoners have spent years mocking the shape of Norway’s annual gift, calling it sparse, droopy and a national embarrassment, and they still turn out in their thousands to watch it light up. That contradiction is the real draw of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Market, where the stalls play second fiddle to a spruce that has been making the crossing from Oslo by sea since 1947.

Trafalgar Square Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Expected, based on previous years
Market dates: 15th November 2026 to 5th January 2027
Tree lighting: 3rd December 2026
Last checked: August 2026

Update: Last year’s dates were announced in October. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of changes.

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Visit London.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: The terrace in front of the National Gallery, at the top of the steps on the north side of Trafalgar Square.
Opening times: 11am to 9pm.
Christmas Day: Closed.

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended tour: Westminster tour and changing of the guard.
Public transport: Charing Cross is the closest station, with Leicester Square and Embankment both under five minutes on foot.
Parking: Please take public transport to help limit congestion.
Where to stay: Haymarket Hotel is 3 minutes from the square.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free.
Tree lighting ceremony: 3rd December at 5pm to 6:30pm.
Carol singing: Nightly beneath the tree through most of December, run by charities collecting for their own causes.
Santa: Yes.
Ice skating: Somerset House (11 minutes walk).

Dietary Options

Vegetarian: Yes, across most food stalls.
Vegan: Limited.
Food specialities: Raclette, bratwurst, mulled wine and mulled cider.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.
Pet-friendly: Yes.

The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree

The tree is a Norwegian spruce, usually over 20 metres high and somewhere between 50 and 60 years old, chosen from the forests around Oslo months or even years ahead. Norwegian foresters call the chosen one the queen of the forest. Recent trees have been named and put to a public vote.

When the Tree Arrives

It is felled in November at a ceremony attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the Mayor of Oslo and the British ambassador to Norway. From there it travels by sea, then by lorry, and a specialist rigging team raises it in the square with a hydraulic crane. It usually goes up in the first few days of December, when the annual grumbling begins about how flat it looks after ten days in transit.

The Lighting Ceremony

The switch-on falls on the first Thursday of December, which makes it 3rd December in 2026, and it is free to attend. Expect carol singing and poetry readings, and expect it to be busy well before the lights come on. The tree is dressed in the traditional Norwegian style, with vertical strings of energy-efficient bulbs rather than baubles, which is the source of most complaints that it looks bare.

What Happens Afterwards

The tree stands until just before Twelfth Night, then comes down in early January to be chipped and composted into mulch. If you want to see it without the crush, come on a weekday morning after the ceremony week has passed.

Convenient Hotels

Staying near Trafalgar Square offers easy access to festive events and nearby attractions such as the National Gallery and Covent Garden. The West End, known for its theatres and dining options, is also within walking distance. I recommend the Haymarket Hotel in this area.

Recommended Tours

This Westminster tour and changing of the guard is a great place to start.

For something different, try this Secret Old London walking tour or this hugely popular London food tour.

Read my complete guide to the Christmas markets in London.

Head outside the capital to visit some of the Best UK Christmas Markets.

Visitor Feedback

What Visitors Loved

• The setting does the heavy lifting. Visitors consistently rate the view across the square and down Whitehall towards Big Ben as the best thing about the market.
• Carol singing is the highlight for most people, with choirs performing nightly beneath the tree and a brass band on weekends.
• It works brilliantly as a stop rather than a destination, paired with the National Gallery or the National Portrait Gallery a few steps away.
• The tree lighting ceremony is genuinely free and genuinely moving, and visitors who make the effort to attend rarely regret it.

Common Complaints

• It is small. Around 40 stalls means most visitors are done in under an hour, and several arrive expecting something on the scale of the German markets.
• Food prices draw the loudest criticism, with bratwurst priced at around £11, repeatedly compared unfavourably to what the same sausage costs in Germany.
• The stalls are close to identical to those at Leicester Square and Covent Garden, so doing all three in a day feels repetitive.
• The tree decorations divide people every single year. Londoners, in particular, find the plain vertical lights underwhelming compared to other cities.
• Some food and drink stalls are card only, which catches out visitors carrying cash.

Food Specialties

• Raclette: melted Swiss cheese scraped over potatoes, the best value hot food on the terrace.
• Bratwurst: the staple, though prices around the £11 mark draw regular complaints.
• Mulled wine: served from the small bar at the centre of the stalls.
• Mulled cider: the more British option, spiced apple served hot.
• Mince pies: traditional sweet pastry, and one of the few genuinely local items here.
• Churros: Spanish pastry with hot chocolate for dipping.
• Crepes and waffles: the standard sweet stalls, identical to those at Leicester Square.
• Roast chestnuts: sold in paper cones near the steps.

Gifts and Stocking Fillers

• Norwegian knitwear: jumpers, hats and gloves, the one category that nods to the Oslo connection.
• Wooden carvings: hand-carved olive wood pieces, including bowls and serving boards.
• Ornaments: hand-painted and glass-blown decorations, though prices run high for what they are.
• Jewellery: small independent makers, better value than the baubles.
• Glassware: a handful of stalls selling handmade pieces.