"Hooameye have you actually ridden in a London taxi on Christmas day?"
Yes, 2 years ago, wasn't too difficult, a lot easier than trying to get a taxi in Minneapolis over thanksgiving!!

There's always the Boris Bikes, and with no busses and little other traffic, it's the perfect day to cycle in London. If it's not raining or snowing, that is how I would spend Christmas day in London.

If you do need a taxi, try Atlas Cars, they are great. Not sure if they work on Christmas day though.

funny how London is dead as a door nail on Xmas Day but Paris is hopping with zillions of folks out and about strolling around - many cafes and small stores are open and even some museums - in London probably even the churches are closed.

I did notice on Coronation Street that pubs are indeed open or at least some of them on Xmas Day so that could be an option as well.

True, Patrick, about Paris.

and
>>in London probably even the churches are closed<<

Ha!

"funny how London is dead as a door nail on Xmas Day"

An infallible guide to someone out of touch with Britain in the 21st century.

People who live in London might not mind terribly but for those visiting, the fact that London is virtually shut down on Christmas day might be a surprise. No taxis, no buses, no theaters, nothing is open really.>

flanner - not the only one who thinks that I guess Sarastro is completely out of touch as well?

And several others above say the same. Me I don't know I am just parroting folks who I think know.

So London hops on Christmas Day - why are there no tubes, taxis, buses, etc.

Are McDonalds open?

"but for those visiting, the fact that London is virtually shut down on Christmas day might be a surprise."

Thankfully we haven't become the 51st state just yet, I still, like many have a (probably unpopular) view on Sunday trading.

My local was open on Christmas . . of course, Opening hours were in force when I live there

I'm just returned from London, where we had a wonderful time, in spite of the fact that we had to curtail our program greatly. Both of my daughters are academics and arrived with their laptops and unfinished end-of-the-semester grading to do. After that, they wanted to sleep late every day, and one of them learned just before the trip that she was expecting twins! I plan to post a trip report, but here I'll reply to some of the suggestions I got and give some ideas on how things worked out.

We didn't get to Duxford, and the only museum we visited was the Victoria & Albert, which was certainly very interesting, especially to my granddaughter, who loved the historical fashions exhibit. Wind in the Willows was wonderful, and was enjoyed by all, except one daughter who was not well enough to go. Another highlight was the Lessons and Carols service in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve, and we also enjoyed the Baroque concert at St. Martin in the Fields on Boxing Day.

Maybe London is not completely shut down for Christmas, but it's certainly very shut down compared to cities in Italy, where museums are closed on Christmas Day, but open on Christmas Eve and St. Stephen's (Boxing to you) Day, and there is at least some limited public transportation running in Italian cities on Christmas Day. Also, in Italy, there are lots of people who aren't totally plastered walking around outdoors on Christmas Day. (Flanneruk seems to think that only Americans notice things that seem somewhat unusual in the London.)

Our apartment near Victoria Station was ideal. The weather was mostly good, although one day there was heavy rain and gale-force winds; this was the day we went to the Tower of London, and the weather was pretty much the same the last time we were there. Oddly enough, for most of the time we were there, it was warmer in England than in Le Marche, where we live.

I made the mistake of scheduling the Harry Potter walk for Boxing Day, which was not a brilliant idea, since one of the main attractions was off limits because King's Cross Station was totally closed that day; I had made sure that trains were running on Boxing Day, but it hadn't dawned on me that one major train station might be completely closed. Except for one, all of the shops recommended on the walk were closed. Also some of the charming streets that were featured in the films were full of trash, beer bottles, piss, vomit, and even human excrement, the last of which I was fortunately able to keep my granddaughter from noticing. We ran into an organized Harry Potter tour while we were out, and I was just glad I hadn't paid anything for one of those on that particular day. My granddaughter was happy with the walk, all things considered, and that's what counts. However, it would have been much better planned for a different day, maybe the 24th, which is the day we went to Winter Wonderland.

Winter Wonderland had been a bit oversold to me, but it was fine for my granddaughter, who managed to run through a great deal of money in a very short time. (For the convenience of children there are ATM machines everywhere you turn.)

I did almost no shopping, except for groceries. I was too busy organizing everything, cooking everything, and cleaning up everything. This is one of the big disadvantages, from my point of view, of staying in an apartment rather than in a hotel, although with a group of six, a hotel is much more practical.

My husband and I visited some medieval churches and went to the British Library the day before the others arrived. We passed through King's Cross Station, where there was a branch of Fortnum & Mason, and where I bought a few things, including a pot of Stilton cheese, which might have been overpriced, but was very delicious. I also stocked up on tea while I was in London, as in Italy there isn't a great variety of good tea.

My granddaughter absolutely loved London and wants to live there when she grows up. Since London is one of my favorite cities in the world, I was very happy to share this experience with her.

>>Also some of the charming streets that were featured in the films were full of trash, beer bottles, piss, vomit, and even human excrement,<<

If you think that was bad you should see New Years Day in London (or then again, perhaps not).