Southbank Centre Winter Market
Photograph: Steven Okonkwo for Time Out
Photograph: Steven Okonkwo for Time Out

The best Christmas markets in London for 2025

Ditch department stores and wrap up all your Christmas shopping at London’s best festive markets and fairs for 2025

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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. While many markets will require you to think about gift-getting weeks in advance, there are still options for those who thrive on last-minute chaos, too. 2025 dates for most markets haven't yet been announced, but check back nearer the time for details.

Recommended: Our complete guide to Christmas in London.

Amazing London Christmas markets

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Hyde Park
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The rides, rink and performances might make Winter Wonderland, but that’s not all there is to Hyde Park’s big festive takeover. In the Scandinavian-themed market square, you’ll find a more peaceful escape, with quaint huts housing stalls selling gifts and trinkets to give your loved ones (or yourself). Live music from the bandstand will soundtrack your shopping, and after, you can take a rest at the fire pit to much on some meatballs and waffles and other market staples.

Opening Dates: November 14-January 1

Best For: Heightening your hygge

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • South Bank

Every winter the Southbank Centre turns the banks of the Thames into a frosty wonderland, full of little wooden Alpine-style cabins selling gifts, warming drinks, and snacks. You’ll find huts serving up truffle burgers, duck wraps, mulled wine, Dutch pancakes, churros and many more tasty morsels to nibble on while you look through gifts, jewellery and decorations made by independent craft traders. Once you’re done browsing, snuggle up at pop-up king Jimmy Garcia’s riverside venue Fire And Fromage, where you can snaffle all you can eat raclette, sip on seriously decadent hot chocolates, and even toast your own marshmallows round a cosy fire pit. 

Opening Dates: November 3-December 26

Best For: Indulging in some really nice snacks while you browse

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Peckham

If you’re struggling to find the perfect, unique present for a loved one, the Christmas Independent Ceramics Market is bound to have the answer. The annual fair brings together over 150 ceramics makers, from students to established artists, all selling their distinctive wares in one space. Browse stall after stall of cups, sculptures and more and keep your eyes peeled for that special treasure. The market will make things more festive with a sound system to soundtrack your shopping, plus mulled wine and seasonal food to keep you refreshed on your search.

Opening Dates: Sunday December 14

Best For: Stunning ceramics and sculptures

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  • Stoke Newington

Need to buy something for that friend who always has the most on-point decor and an eye for unique and chic trinkets? Head to the North London Makers’ Market, a veritable treasure trove for all things arty and aesthetically pleasing. Over 60 artists, designers and makers will be showcasing their wares at this special festive edition of the monthly Stoke Newington market, so there’ll be plenty of opportunity to pick up the perfect goodies.

Opening Dates: December 14-15

Best For: Aesthetic homeware for those with an eye for design

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Peckham

The DIY Christmas Art Market is a veritable jamboree of potential gifts – either to give to friends and family, or to treat yourself with. As well as art prints and risograph and screen prints, the market will have t-shirts, patches, comics, tote bags, ceramics, zines and independent publications on its stalls, ready to be wrapped up and put under the tree. Sample the eclectic creativity with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie to really ramp up the festivities. 

Opening Dates: December 7

Best For: Finding true one-off gifts

  • Things to do
  • Rotherhithe

Given that their nation is home to Lapland, is covered in snow for half the year and boasts a healthy population of wild reindeer, it’s no surprise than the Finns love Christmas. You can expect plenty of festive feels at this always-popular annual Christmas Market at Rotherhithe’s Finnish Church. Browse traditional Finnish toys, design pieces, Christmas cards and plenty of Moomin memorabilia before tucking into barbequed food, cinnamon buns and salmon sandwiches, all washed down with a glass of steaming glögg. 

Opening Dates: November 28-30, December 5-7

Best For: Edible gifts more memorable than a tin of Celebrations.

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  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Chelsea
Chelsea Physic Garden Christmas Fair
Chelsea Physic Garden Christmas Fair

Given this market is held at the Chelsea Physic Garden, it makes sense that’s a top stop on the seasonal fair circuit for picking up some lush new plants and botanical gifts. But with over 100 stalls, there’s so much more on offer here, too, including jewellery, decorations, textiles, fancy toiletries and quirky gifts from indie designers. There’ll also be plenty of treats on offer to keep you sated while you browse, including mulled wine, hot choccies and other festive goodies.

Opening Dates: November 27-29

Best For: Presents for the green-fingered person in your life

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Mile End

Hit up Urban Makers’ festive special for plenty of stocking-filler buying opportunities. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this Christmas, the market features 50 carefully curated, handpicked local and independent makers who will be manning stalls packed with homeware, textiles, accessories, jewellery, ceramics and original prints, all made with sustainability in mindOnce you’ve filled your bags tuck into festive street food, warming drinks and coffee. And for more information about the sellers at each event, have a look at the market’s website here

Opening Dates: November 29-30 and December 13-14

Best For: Giftds for your eco-warrior friend

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  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Kingston

There’s a Bavarian flavour to Kingston Christmas Market, so much so you might be fooled into thinking you’ve stumbled through a portal into Germany. As you shop its many stalls, you can keep you energy up with bratwurst and mulled wine or take a pit stop at the Bavarian curling lanes. Live music and Christmas carol singers will also soundtrack the activities to really get you in the mood for Yuletide.

Opening Dates: November 13 - December 28 (excluding Christmas Day)

Best For: Raising your festive spirit

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Chiswick

Chiswick’s Duck Pond Market returns for a festive special at the end of November, just in time for Christmas shopping without the danger of last-minute panic colouring your buys. The M.O. of this market is small businesses making artisan goods, so you’ll be sure to find some special gifts among the stalls here.

Opening Dates: November 30

Best For: Unique finds from ethical and sustainable businesses

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  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours
  • Fulham

Step into the historical world of Fulham Palace for its fifth annual Christmas fair for a taste of Crimbos past. There’ll be a grotto tombola, tuck shop full of festive treats, carols in the courtyard and a host of activities to take part in. The main attraction, though, is still the market itself, which celebrates small businesses and local traders. Shop til you drop as you peruse the handicrafts and fine foods up for grabs, then retire to the drawing room café for a well-earned glass of mulled wine.

Opening Dates: November 22-23

Best For: Handcrafted stocking fillers

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • City of London

There’s always something faintly Christmassy about Leadenhall Market, thanks to its Victorian architecture, and it really comes into its own when the festive season arrives, when twinkling lights and pretty Christmas trees return to the shopping arcade. In 2025, three pop-up markets offer an added incentive to visit. SoLo Craft Fair Christmas Market will happen on two Saturdays (Nov 16; Dec 7), offering handmade delights aplenty, and there's also The Vintage Furniture and Flea Christmas Market (Nov 24) for retro treasure hunters to pick up gifts with stories attached. 

Opening Dates: November 16 and 24, December 7

Best For: Taking some aesthetic pictures for Instagram as you browse

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  • Things to do
  • Marylebone

This traditional fair will help you have a very Scandi Christmas with its stalls selling all sorts of festive Swedish treats, gifts, and decorations. A pop-up café in the church hall will serve open sandwiches with meatballs and cheese and the Swedes' take on mulled wine: glögg. On Sunday, join a special short service at the church ahead of the market opening. 

Opening Dates: November 22-24

Best For: Scandi-themed treats

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Angel

Had more festive goodwill and cheer than you can stomach? The Satanic Flea Market’s (anti) Christmas special is the perfect antidote. As always, there’ll be a whole range of traders selling stuff from the darker side of life, like taxidermy, occult trinkets and even human skulls, plus other slightly more unusual goods than you might find at your typical Christmas market. It might not be the kind of place where you can get all your gifts sorted under one roof, but at least you won’t hear ‘Last Christmas’ or any other saccharine festive hits as you’re making your way around.

Opening Dates: December 14

Best For: Pressies for the witchy people in your life.

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  • Shopping
  • Markets and fairs
  • Trafalgar Square

South London’s SoLo Craft Fair will be taking up residency at one of central London’s most famous churches across two weekends in November for this festive market, where more than 90 independent makers will be offering unique, handmade Christmas gifts. And it’s not just shopping on offer; visitors can also get stuck into a free programme of creative workshops on everything from tea-blending to twis-tie floral design. The church’s crypt cafe will also be open, serving up cakes, sandwiches, salads and freskly baked pizzas to keep you fuelled up for a busy day of browsing. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully received. 

Opening Dates: November 22-23 and 29-30

Best For: Learning how to make your own gifts

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