Fortnum and Mason Christmas Decorations: The Facade, the Clock and the Atrium

Fortnum & Mason has had more than 300 Christmases on Piccadilly, and it still starts Christmas at the front door. After dark the whole shop front is lit red like an advent calendar, with greenery in the windows and a clock above the entrance where two figures bow to each other on the hour.

This guide covers the Fortnum and Mason Christmas decorations as a whole: the front of the shop, the clock, the windows, the atrium and the Christmas shop on the first floor. The windows get a new scheme every year, so I keep the year-by-year detail in a separate guide.

Fortnum and Mason Christmas Decorations at a Glance

Outside, there are three things to look at: the red facade with its numbered windows, the clock above the door and the windows at street level. Inside, there is the atrium installation and the Christmas shop. Looking is free.

The decorations go up in the first half of November and stay until early January. The shop closes on Christmas Day, but the windows stay lit.

The Facade Turns Into an Advent Calendar

After dark the front of the shop at 181 Piccadilly is washed in red light. Gold numbers sit in the windows like the doors on an advent calendar, and each window is framed with greenery.

In my photo the red reaches the top floor, and a street lamp stands in front with people gathered at street level. Go after dark. By day the building is brick and glass, and the effect only works once the lights are on.

The Clock Above the Door

The clock above the main entrance was commissioned in 1964. It weighs more than four tonnes and has 18 bells, cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

At the top of every hour, two four-foot figures of William Fortnum and Hugh Mason come out and bow to each other. At Christmas they bow above a facade glowing red. Piccadilly is busy, so watch from the pavement.

The Windows Change Every Year

The street-level windows are the part that changes. Each Christmas has a new scheme, and my Fortnum & Mason Christmas Windows 2025: Full Guide takes the 2025 windows one by one: unicorns, narwhals and the mice in red coats.

The 2023 theme was Where Christmas Comes Alive. The windows showed Christmas Eve scenes, with Fortnum's own tea caddies, bottles and cakes waking up before the big day.

One window was a dresser of pale blue tea caddies around a golden clock, with paper streamers across the red carpet below.

In another, small bottles and wrapped parcels climbed a white staircase towards a gold chandelier, with a decorated tree beside it.

A third was a pale teal room, with a tiered gold stand of small boxes on a wooden table.

The Atrium Inside the Shop

The decorations carry on indoors. In 2023 the atrium staged the Dance of the Piccadilly Puddings: Christmas puddings hanging in the air above the shop floor.

The photo looks down from an upper balcony, with the puddings in front of the crowd at the rail and the red floor far below. In other years the atrium has held a tall Christmas tree dressed with ribbons and tiny hampers.

The Christmas Shop on the First Floor

The Christmas Shop is on the first floor, with festive food, decorations and hampers. The hampers are a Fortnum's tradition of their own.

You can walk through the whole shop without buying anything. My guide to visiting Fortnum & Mason has more on the building, including whether you can just walk in.

What Else Is Near Fortnum's at Christmas?

Burlington Arcade is across Piccadilly. Jermyn Street, just behind Piccadilly, is lined with shirtmakers. Fortnum's is also the start of my route through Christmas in St James's, which takes in Lock & Co and the gingerbread house at The OWO. For the rest of the West End, my ranking of the best Christmas lights in London covers the streets and squares.

Visiting Fortnum & Mason at Christmas: Practical Notes

📍 Where: Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER

⏰ Opening: Hours change in December, so check the Fortnum & Mason website before you go.

📅 Open days: Decorations go up in the first half of November and stay until early January. The shop closes on Christmas Day.

🎫 Admission: Free to look at the facade, the windows and the atrium. The Christmas Shop is open to browse.

🚇 Getting there: Green Park and Piccadilly Circus are the nearest stations, both on the Piccadilly line.

☕ Food: Afternoon tea is served in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon on the fourth floor.

📷 Best time: After dark, once the red lighting is on.

🗺️ Nearby: Burlington Arcade, Jermyn Street, St James's Church and St James's Park.

The moment to look for is the top of the hour. Two four-foot figures come out and bow to each other, with the red numbered windows glowing above them.

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