January in London: resolutions you might actually keep

London's January highs hover around 7°C, nights get close to freezing, it rains a lot and it's dark by about half past four, so anything outdoors belongs in the morning and every plan needs an indoor fallback. The upside is that January is when the city is cheapest to enjoy, and with the right apartment most resolutions look after themselves: a few minutes from a park and the morning run happens, a proper kitchen and the healthy-eating pledge survives the first client dinner. If your trip could slip into February, it's barely warmer but noticeably drier.

Running routes, gyms and cold water

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens together are the obvious circuit. A loop of the combined perimeter is roughly 7km, flat, lit along the main paths and busy enough before work that you never feel alone, and Hyde Park opens at 5am. From Mayfair, Green Park and St James's Park string together into a shorter run past Buckingham Palace that fits nicely before a 9am meeting. Regent's Park's Outer Circle is the Marylebone equivalent, a little over 4km a lap on a road with a pavement the whole way round, while Holland Park is prettier and hillier, better for a slow run than a timed one. On a stay of more than a week, choose the apartment by how close it is to one of these rather than by the view.

Only about a quarter of residences have a gym on site, and pools are rarer still, so if daily training is the resolution, filter for it before you book rather than hoping for a hotel-style fitness suite. For something harder, Parliament Hill Lido on Hampstead Heath is open all year and unheated; January water is properly cold, and the regulars will tell you to start with a few minutes. Closer in, the Porchester Spa in Bayswater, London's oldest Turkish baths, has reopened after a multi-million-pound refurbishment. The timetable varies by day, so check which sessions suit you before turning up.

Eating well without the delivery apps

In January the kitchen is the real advantage an apartment has over a hotel room, and once it's stocked the evening question stops being which app to open. Marylebone Farmers' Market fills Moxon Street every Sunday morning with vegetables, fish and meat from growers within reach of the M25, and it's small enough to shop in 20 minutes. Borough Market by London Bridge is bigger and more of an outing, best on a weekday morning before the lunchtime queues for hot food. Cook double on Sunday, freeze half, and midweek looks after itself.

Plenty of Londoners do Dry January, so alcohol-free menus are no longer an afterthought in West End bars, and most places have more than one option if you ask.

Theatre, galleries and rest

January is also when Official London Theatre runs its New Year Sale, with West End tickets from £10 for many shows. Seats go on sale in early January and the best-value performances go within days, so know which shows you want before the sale opens; midweek is easiest for good seats. The national museums are free and at their emptiest on weekday mornings in January, after Christmas and before half-term, and one gallery a week seen properly is a better resolution than five rushed.

Rest is the resolution most travellers drop first, so put it in the diary like a meeting: an unhurried Sunday, a late breakfast cooked in your own kitchen, a walk with nowhere in particular to get to, and a late checkout on your final day if the residence can offer one.

London weather by month

July is the warmest month, averaging 23°C by day. July has the fewest wet days (9) and October the most rain (80 mm). For sightseeing on foot, June scores best on our combined warmth-and-dryness measure.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Rain	Wet days	Chance a 7-day stay sees a washout	Record high / low
January	8°C	2°C	74 mm	13	53%	16°C / -12°C
February	8°C	2°C	51 mm	10	43%	18°C / -8°C
March	11°C	4°C	45 mm	9	44%	23°C / -7°C
April	14°C	5°C	54 mm	10	44%	26°C / -3°C
May	17°C	8°C	54 mm	9	39%	30°C / -1°C
June	20°C	11°C	58 mm	9	35%	34°C / 2°C
July	23°C	13°C	52 mm	9	34%	34°C / 4°C
August	22°C	13°C	68 mm	9	37%	37°C / 4°C
September	19°C	11°C	62 mm	9	39%	29°C / 2°C
October	15°C	8°C	80 mm	11	47%	27°C / -2°C
November	11°C	5°C	76 mm	12	52%	18°C / -6°C
December	8°C	2°C	69 mm	12	50%	16°C / -8°C

Calculated NOAA GHCN-Daily observations at the Hampstead weather station, north London (records 1960–2015; averages from about 25 years per month). A wet day has 1 mm of rain or more.