London has long been a much-anticipated destination I've wanted to visit, and I've now been here a couple of times, with one of my visits being during the holidays! London is quite well known for its spectacular display of Christmas lights, so I thought I'd share some of my must-see places for those who may have limited time and can't see everything upon their visit.

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1. King's Cross Station

I'm a lover of transit stations and London's King's Cross is one to visit! This part of the station was completed in 2012 and is quite a stunning piece of architecture. During the holidays you'll find a big Christmas tree in the center of the concourse, with strung lights below the information signs. There's also changing LED lights, that are illuminated along the streel ceiling structure giving the concourse a very unique look as the colors change. My favorites are this warm tone pictured above as well as the blue that's used here. They're all nice but those two really worked well with my editing style! =)

If you're a Harry Potter fan then you'll notice this is the location for platform 9 3/4th's, which has a marking for that just behind where I'm photographing in the photo above on the lower level. The platform of course isn't a real one but you'll find the platforms to the left of this spot as well!

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2. London St. Pancras International

Adjacent to the above King's Cross Railway Station is St. Pancras Station. Throughout the train hall you'll see find lots of decorations along the lower portion of the concourse and with garland running along the perimeter of the upper-level portion.

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3. Harrods

Harrods is a very popular place in London and especially during the Holidays. Harrods has its standard lights but during the holiday's you'll find some extra additives, as the Gingerbread decorations by Dior. It's a very hard building to photograph and one you'd want to have an ultra-wide angle lens for. A lens not at least 16mm or wider will make it difficult to capture, but longer lenses from further away distances can give you a nice perspective of the front of the building along Brompton Road.

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4. Cartier, Old Bond Street

Every year the Cartier store on Old Bond Street has a beautiful Christmas display. If you can deal with the massive crowds that are usually out front then you'll enjoy this location and the neighboring buildings, too! Make sure you have a super wide angle lens for this location too. 14mm is the tightest lens I would use here!

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5. Regent Street/Piccadilly Circus

 This is probably the most popular location one can visit in London, Regent Street is always decorated in a majestic way for the holidays. Start at Piccadilly Circus and you'll find various streets with decorations to choose to go down to see a variety of decorations! Of all of them I feel Regent should be the last one you visit, saving the best for last!

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6. Battersea Power Station

This is a newly opened location, just in the latter part of 2022. This is the first time the public has been able to access the inside of Battersea Power Station, as it's not a mixed used development. There are two separate buildings that are connected and each one has a very different look! Not only are the insides beautifully decorated but so is the outside! You'll find various Christmas trees around the area and a skating rink that's on the back with a view of the River Thames.

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7. Covent Garden

Covent Garden is has a nice winter wonderland feel. The image above is from 2022, but there's a new display of decorations for 2023 that you should go and see! Venture out on the outside of here as well for even more beautiful decorations! One thing about London is that they're going to have displays after displays!

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8. New Bond Street

One of my favorite corners is New Bond and Brook Street, where you'll find the Fenwick department store with one of the overhanging crown displays in the middle of the street, perfectly aligned with the corner department store. Continue on New Bond Street and you'll find more overhanding displays that are beautiful to capture in photos (as seen above).

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9. Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum & Mason is one building I was very fond of to visit. On the outside you'll see the current year displayed with the beautiful colored lights on the building. From across the street, you're sure to capture some cool long exposures as buses pass along this street (as seen above).

There are numerous throughout London to visit to capture some beautiful holiday displays, but these are just some of my favorites that I'm sure you'll enjoy photographing and can capture some unique perspectives of on your own while visiting London!

MAP FOR ALL LOCATIONS MENTIONED

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[Updated: December 18, 2023]