10 of London's Best Christmas Light Displays

London does Christmas lights properly, and every year it's tempting to just default to Oxford Street and Regent Street and call it done. Worth resisting that urge – some of the best displays in the city are the ones fewer people bother to seek out.

Here are ten spots worth the detour this December, all photographed on my own walks around the city.

1. Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange's grand columned facade gets a genuinely elegant seasonal dressing each year – restrained rather than flashy, which suits the building. Worth pairing with a walk past the Bank of England next door.

2. Somerset House Ice Rink

Somerset House's courtyard turns into an ice rink every winter, ringed with fairy lights against the Georgian facade. Even if you don't skate, it's one of the nicest courtyards in London to walk through after dark in December.

3. Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall's Victorian arcades are handsome any time of year, but the Christmas lighting strung through the ironwork and glass roof makes it worth a special trip. It's also usually far quieter than the big shopping streets.

4. Carnaby Street

Carnaby Street tends to go bold with a different overhead light installation each year, and it's always worth checking what they've done. It's a five-minute walk from Oxford Street but feels like a different, more playful occasion entirely.

5. Sloane Square

Sloane Square's Christmas market and lights give Chelsea a cosier, more villagey feel than its usual polish. Good if you want lights with a bit of festive market atmosphere – mulled wine included.

6. Bishopsgate Plaza

Bishopsgate Plaza's Christmas tree is a newer addition to the City's festive lineup, but it's grown into a proper photo stop. Combine with the Leadenhall Market visit above since they're a short walk apart.

7. Chanel, New Bond Street

New Bond Street's luxury flagships compete every year to have the most striking Christmas windows, and Chanel's is consistently one of the best – understated, well-lit, and genuinely elegant rather than overdone.

8. Cartier, New Bond Street

A few doors down, Cartier's festive lighting is warmer and more jewel-toned, and the whole stretch of Bond Street is worth walking end to end after dark for the cumulative effect of all the flagship windows lit up together.

9. Dior, New Bond Street

Dior's window displays tend to go all-in on a specific theme each year, and they're worth a slow look rather than a quick photo and move-on – there's usually a lot of detail worked in.

10. Harrods

No list like this is complete without Harrods. The Knightsbridge windows and the in-store Christmas shop are a whole outing in themselves, and the building's own festive lighting on the Brompton Road facade is worth seeing after dark too.

Best done on a weekday evening if you want to avoid the worst of the crowds – weekends in December get genuinely packed on all of these, Bond Street and Harrods especially.

*All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.