Christmas and Boxing Day
Sep 13th, 2005, 12:24 PM
#2
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Smaller family run eateries will be closed. All shops except petrol stations, and maybe some food-shops will be shut.
Most restaurants will offer some sort of special menu. Hotels are the place to head for.
Most restaurants will offer some sort of special menu. Hotels are the place to head for.
Sep 13th, 2005, 12:28 PM
#3
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Even most of the British rail system shuts down those two days - not the London Tube, at least on Boxing day, but mainline trains - two years ago i was surprised that so few trains were running on 26th - the day the Brit upper crusts gave the hired help off after they slaved away on the family's Christmas Din the day before - and supposedly left them boxes with gifts in it. At least that's my understanding.
Sep 13th, 2005, 12:53 PM
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On Christmas Day, there are no tubes or buses in London (apart perhaps from some limited bus tours for visitors) and not much is open. On Boxing Day, there are tubes and buses but no other trains.
Sep 13th, 2005, 01:18 PM
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I did a walking tour on Boxing Day 2003, and I believe they operate some tours on Christmas Day. These tours are time and money well spent.
http://london.walks.com/
http://london.walks.com/
Sep 13th, 2005, 03:02 PM
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We are arriving in London on Christmas Day. I believe London Walks has walks even on Christmas Day. Other than that, most things I have looked into are closed on xmas.
However, while many things are closed on Boxing Day, many are not. As you think about your itinerary and where you would like to go, just go on the appropriate website to see whether it is open on Boxing Day. For example, London Eye is running and Madame Tussaud's is open, but British Museum is closed. Tube is not running xmas, but running (limited) on Boxing Day.
We are going to a football (soccer) match on Boxing Day.
Hope that helps. Good luck and happy travels!
However, while many things are closed on Boxing Day, many are not. As you think about your itinerary and where you would like to go, just go on the appropriate website to see whether it is open on Boxing Day. For example, London Eye is running and Madame Tussaud's is open, but British Museum is closed. Tube is not running xmas, but running (limited) on Boxing Day.
We are going to a football (soccer) match on Boxing Day.
Hope that helps. Good luck and happy travels!
Sep 13th, 2005, 03:13 PM
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I was in London during Christmas and Boxing Day. Don't even plan on having meals at any restaurant except a hotel.
Everything is closed as far as shopping is concerned. A day without shopping is a sad day!
What we did as an "activity" on Boxing Day(which ended up being a great "game plan" was take a day trip outside of London. We had gone to Warwick Castle and I think think it was combined with The Cotswalds.
I can't remember exactly which bus line offered the one day trip, but it worked out well considering our choices on that day.
There were 3 of us that went on the Special Bus, and I think we may have had reservations prior to going on the bus. It was not that long a trip, and the other people on the bus were probably assorted tourists like us.
I am sure the concierge at your hotel will have that information if that is of interest to you.
As a suggestion, make sure you have your dinner and possibly lunch reservations all set for both Christmas and Boxing Day as the special places are booked early.
My experience was that London "does shut down" on those 2 days.
Everything is closed as far as shopping is concerned. A day without shopping is a sad day!
What we did as an "activity" on Boxing Day(which ended up being a great "game plan" was take a day trip outside of London. We had gone to Warwick Castle and I think think it was combined with The Cotswalds.
I can't remember exactly which bus line offered the one day trip, but it worked out well considering our choices on that day.
There were 3 of us that went on the Special Bus, and I think we may have had reservations prior to going on the bus. It was not that long a trip, and the other people on the bus were probably assorted tourists like us.
I am sure the concierge at your hotel will have that information if that is of interest to you.
As a suggestion, make sure you have your dinner and possibly lunch reservations all set for both Christmas and Boxing Day as the special places are booked early.
My experience was that London "does shut down" on those 2 days.
Sep 14th, 2005, 12:40 AM
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London doesn't shut down, and it's a silly and downright unhelpful exaggeration to say so.
These things vary each year, and often aren't fully clear until quite close to the day. You might find it helpful to come back to this board later on if you're finding detailed information difficult to get. But to try to generalise:
- the information you've been given about travel is generally correct.
- many restaurants are closed on Christmas Day (and quite a lot on Christmas Eve night). But London's ethnic restaurants are mostly staffed by people from non-Christian backgrounds and many do therefore stay open on Christmas Day in those parts of the town where there's demand. They're often the kind of restaurants that come under concierges' radar, though, so you may find a walk round your hotel area will be a better way of finding out. But you will neither starve nor be forced to eat at the hotel (except for breakfast, where there won't be an alternative to the hotel.) A far larger proportion of restaurants open on Boxing Day
- Theatres don't perform on Sundays here anyway. They're almost all operating this coming Boxing Day
- As said above, virtually all shops close on Christmas Day, and not all sales in central London start Boxing Day, so not all shops re-open,. An awful lot of smaller, more interesting places stay closed. Some of the nicest, quirkiest, tucked-away places actualy shut up shop for the whole Christmas/New Year period, just like French or Italian restaurants in August. The best source for those open (which still amount to a lot more than the sum total of shops in most of the world's cities) is the Christmas/New Year edition of Time Out which always publishes a Christmas survival guide.
- The major churches are closed for tourist visits on Christmas Day, and have services only in the morning. Most open on Boxing Day for tourism, as do major commercial attractions like the Eye. Most of the really major public-sector attractions (like the museums and royal palaces) are closed both days.
The real reason for all this is that Christmas is this country's one real national holiday. So London gets virtually deserted. It turns into a completely different place. Given the increasing incidence of stunningly brilliant, crisp, wintry days, Christmas Day is the best day in the year to walk round the world's greatest city and really look at buildings, without busy people or impatient cars getting in your way. It's also a glorious day for driving round, even if you're ordinarily frightened of driving on the proper side of the road.
These things vary each year, and often aren't fully clear until quite close to the day. You might find it helpful to come back to this board later on if you're finding detailed information difficult to get. But to try to generalise:
- the information you've been given about travel is generally correct.
- many restaurants are closed on Christmas Day (and quite a lot on Christmas Eve night). But London's ethnic restaurants are mostly staffed by people from non-Christian backgrounds and many do therefore stay open on Christmas Day in those parts of the town where there's demand. They're often the kind of restaurants that come under concierges' radar, though, so you may find a walk round your hotel area will be a better way of finding out. But you will neither starve nor be forced to eat at the hotel (except for breakfast, where there won't be an alternative to the hotel.) A far larger proportion of restaurants open on Boxing Day
- Theatres don't perform on Sundays here anyway. They're almost all operating this coming Boxing Day
- As said above, virtually all shops close on Christmas Day, and not all sales in central London start Boxing Day, so not all shops re-open,. An awful lot of smaller, more interesting places stay closed. Some of the nicest, quirkiest, tucked-away places actualy shut up shop for the whole Christmas/New Year period, just like French or Italian restaurants in August. The best source for those open (which still amount to a lot more than the sum total of shops in most of the world's cities) is the Christmas/New Year edition of Time Out which always publishes a Christmas survival guide.
- The major churches are closed for tourist visits on Christmas Day, and have services only in the morning. Most open on Boxing Day for tourism, as do major commercial attractions like the Eye. Most of the really major public-sector attractions (like the museums and royal palaces) are closed both days.
The real reason for all this is that Christmas is this country's one real national holiday. So London gets virtually deserted. It turns into a completely different place. Given the increasing incidence of stunningly brilliant, crisp, wintry days, Christmas Day is the best day in the year to walk round the world's greatest city and really look at buildings, without busy people or impatient cars getting in your way. It's also a glorious day for driving round, even if you're ordinarily frightened of driving on the proper side of the road.
