London’s loveliest Christmas tree displays

Claridge’s Christmas tree never disappoints. Every year, a different fashion designer is enlisted to create something absolutely stunning and totally festive for the Mayfair hotel, and the results are always breath-taking. In recent years, Louis Vuitton, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jimmy Choo and Dior artistic director Kim Jones have all contributed designs, and this year it’s the turn of British designer Sir Paul Smith. Standing in a giant barrel adorned with his signature colourful stripes, Sir Paul’s maximalist tree is a riot of colourful baubles, ribbons and over 100 bespoke bird nests handpainted by the designer’s friend, British artist Nik Ramage. 

Like many of the city’s famous old hotels, Soho’s London Edition invites a different artist to decorate its Christmas tree each winter. This year’s design is a wonderfully kitsch, maximalist one created by designed Ashish Gupta. Camp and colourful, it features enormous quantities of tinsel collected by the Delhi-born, London-based designed over the years, an array of multi-coloured fairy lights shaped like chilis, stars and bunches of grapes.

It’s no surprise that a museum which houses such an impressive collection of art and design likes to get creative with its Christmas trees, with the V&A having enlisted the likes of Jasper Conran, Gareth Pugh, Alexander McQueen and Es Devlin to craft its Christmas displays in past years. Artist and set designer Anna Lomax is behind this year’s installation, ‘All Lit Up!’, a playful reference to the magnificent columns around the museum’s famous domed roof, incorporating bright white LEDs swirled into a tree-like shape.

London loves an experimental, abstract and creative take on the Christmas tree, and few of the 2024 offerings fit the brief more than this vibrant specimen in Granary Square. The canalside cultural hub has enlisted the help of award-winning light artist Liz West to create its winter installation, Flourescence, a stripy 10.7-metre tetrahedron that is, essentially, a very colourful cubist Christmas tree. As night falls, the striking sculpture is illuminated with UV lighting, making it visible across the square.

A different designer takes on The Connaught’s Christmas tree every year, giving their own twist on glowing evergreens – but always keeping things very tasteful. This is Mayfair, after all. In 2024, it’s the turn of Royal Academy artist Conrad Shawcross. Known for his mathematically intricate sculptures often incorporating geometric patterns, Shawcross who has decorated the nine-metre tall tree with 90 bespoke geometric lanterns. Crafted from aluminium and hand-painted with a silver coating, they emit a warm yellow light across Carlos Place.

St Pancras is known to get creative with its annual Christmas tree display, which has been made out of everything from handprinted books to over 2,000 cuddly toys in recent years. And 2024 is no exception, with the station having collaborated with Universal Pictures on a tree that celebrates the release of hotly-anticipated blockbuster musical Wicked. Inspired by the Emerald City, it features a series of domed turrets illuminated by tiny glowing windows. At the base of the tree you’ll find a series of immersive seating areas where you can relax while listening to songs from the movie, hear unique recordings from some of its stars, and peek inside the towering 11-metre creation to spy a to-scale miniature Land of Oz illuminated by a glowing yellow brick road. How cute!

There’s always something faintly Christmassy about Leadenhall Market, thanks to its Victorian architecture. It really comes into its own once festive season arrives. This year’s tree is a magnificent specimen, standing at 18 feet and decked out in a colour-changing LED display, baubles and more. Elsewhere in the market you’ll find a light tunnel illuminating Beehive Passage. 

Trafalgar Square’s Christmas tree is steeped in tradition. Every year since 1947, Norway has gifted Londoners with a classic Norwegian spruce as a thank you for Britain supporting the country during the Second World War. This year’s specimen stands at 20 metres tall, and was felled in Norway’s Forest of Grefsenkollen, and it’s classically decorated with strings of vertical lights that were switched on during a ceremony co-hosted by the Lord Mayor and the Mayor of Oslo. 

As lovely as it is to see London illuminated by twinkling fir trees and one-of-a-kind creations, we can’t help but wring our hands a little bit at the amount of waste produced by our penchant for a bit of festive sparkle. So it’s great when we get to see a tree that gets creative with borrowed and recycled materials, like the elegant tree that stands in the Royal Opera House’s foyer. Designed by artist Hugo Dalston, it makes use of 45 white tutus borrowed from the Royal Ballet’s archive, alongside reams of recycled tulle illuminated from the inside by a soft, warm light. From a distance, it looks like a classic Christmas tree covered in snow, while viewers can also get a good luck at the costume department’s craftsmanship from up close. 

Mayfair’s Mandarin Oriental always goes all out with its festive displays, so we’re not surprised that it’s opted for not one, not two, but three creative Christmas trees this year (and that’s not counting the small forest of tradition firs clutered round the entrance) In the restaurant you’ll find the Millenium Pine Tree, an installation Korean artist Lee Gil Rae that references resident chef Akira Back’s Japanese and Korean menu, while the hotel celebrates the 100th anniversary of has Montblanc, which has just round the corner, with a tree crafted from books sitting by the hotel’s desk. But our favourite of the bunch is a magnificent golden pine wishing tree found in the lobby. Created by the hotel’s florists, Lavender Green, it’s adorned with pinecones, baubles and dainty origami fans in reds, greens and golds. 

Not every Christmas tree you’ll see take over the capital this festive season is actually made of wood and fir. Just look at the Cutty Sark, which puts an innovative spin on the usual tree display. There are no spruces here, just a minimalist design of lights in the shape of a Christmas tree installed on the iconic tea clipper’s mast. Festive and fresh.

Covent Garden at Christmas is a magical place. The piazza glistens with twinkling lights, Christmas tunes echo out of nearby shops and stalls, and there’s nothing like sipping a hot choccie taking it all in. Capping things off, though, is the gigantic tree that takes centre stage in the piazza and this year will be no different. When we say gigantic, we really mean it – the tree clocks in at 55ft and is covered in more than 30,000 LED lights.

The Pan Pacific often takes a creative, abstract approach when it comes to its annual Christmas tree. But this year the Liverpool Street hotel has done away with the ‘conceptual’ stuff, attempting to outdo its peers with the sheer height of its traditional tree. Standing at a whopping 67 feet, it towers over the courtyard, festooned in 5,000 lights and over 800 red and gold baubles. Go big or go home!

Coal Drops Yard has gone pretty far out with its Christmas tree in the past, with previous designs having incorporated neon light bars, terrariums and even an infinity mirror room. But this year it’s leaving the gimmicks and modern takes on trees to other areas in London. Instead, the 2024 offering is a 50ft ‘traditional’ tree, elegantly decorated with simple strings of warm lights. It’s a classic for a reason.