The case for Christmas in a flat, not a hotel

Christmas Day is the one day of the year when London's public transport stops completely, and most restaurants are either shut or booked up months ahead. An apartment with a proper oven and a dining table turns what could be a problem into the best day of the trip, which is most of the argument for spending Christmas in one.

Everyone under one roof

Family Christmases fall apart over bedrooms and bathrooms. A hotel booking for three generations means three or four rooms down a corridor and nowhere to sit together except the bar, whereas an apartment gives you a sitting room to gather in, a table to eat at, and doors that shut.

About half the residences we list have three-bedroom apartments, and a smaller number go to four bedrooms or more. Those big flats are exactly what sells first for Christmas week, so if there are six or eight of you, book before the autumn's out.

What shuts on the 25th

There are no Tube, bus or national rail services in London on 25 December, and only a limited service on Boxing Day. Taxis run, but they're scarce and expensive. Museums, galleries and nearly all the shops are shut, and so are plenty of restaurants, while the hotel dining rooms that do open for Christmas lunch are booked by early autumn.

That leaves two good options. You can cook, with the shopping done by the 23rd and an oven that can take a turkey (ask the residence the oven size before you arrive), or you can get a private chef in to cook for you in the apartment, which many residences can arrange if you ask early. Either way, a morning walk in Hyde Park or along the Embankment, roads almost empty, is one of the best things you can do in London all year.

The lights

The Christmas lights on Regent Street and Oxford Street go up in the first half of November, and the department store windows are unveiled around the same time. Walk them after dark on a weekday, because at December weekends Oxford Street is shoulder to shoulder by early afternoon.

Regent Street's lights hang in long arches from Oxford Circus down towards Piccadilly Circus, and they're best from the top deck of a bus heading south. Carnaby Street, just behind, does its own themed display every year, and the shops dress Mayfair's smaller streets. Oxford Circus to Piccadilly and back along Bond Street is about an hour on foot.

Covent Garden hangs its own decorations over the market building and puts a big tree up in the piazza. From there it's ten minutes' walk to the Strand and the ice rink at Somerset House, open from mid-November into January. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland runs from late November to early January, with rides, markets and skating; book entry slots for weekends, or better still, go on a weekday afternoon.

The dull bit of Christmas at home is the washing up, the laundry and the beds. A serviced apartment takes some of that off your hands, though how much varies: some residences include daily housekeeping, others weekly, and not many list a full maid service. Ask what happens over the 25th and 26th, when a lot of housekeeping teams work reduced hours. A dishwasher and a washing machine in the flat matter more over Christmas than in any other week, so check both are there before you book.

As for the weather, December highs average about 8°C, nights hover a couple of degrees above freezing, and it rains fairly often, while snow is rare. It's dark before 4pm, which is half the reason the lights matter so much, so pack for damp cold rather than hard frost.

Christmas and New Year are the hardest dates in London's calendar. The biggest apartments in Mayfair, Kensington and Knightsbridge go first, often by September, so if your family's dates are already fixed, there's no advantage in waiting.

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.