At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season
London in January — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
London in January offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for budget travellers & shoppers. Expect temperatures of 3–8°C, around 12 days of rain, and low crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around £80–140 for mid-range travellers. Rooms are easy to find last-minute and hotel prices stay noticeably softer through the season.
Contents14 sections
#Weather in London in January
London in January averages 3–8°C (37–46°F) with around 12 days of rain, and crowds are low.
| Measure | January in London |
|---|---|
| Daytime high | About 8°C / 46°F |
| Overnight low | About 3°C / 37°F |
| Wet days | About 12, mostly light rain |
| Sunrise | About 8:06am at the start of the month |
| Sunset | 4:02pm on the 1st, 4:47pm by the 31st |
| Crowds | The quietest month, once the holidays end |
Figures are Met Office 1991–2020 averages for central London.
What that actually means for your trip:
- Daylight is the real constraint. There are about eight hours of it at the start of the month, so outdoor sightseeing has to fit between mid-morning and about 3:30pm. By the last week the evenings are noticeably lighter.
- It is damp rather than freezing. Frost is common on clear nights and the odd snow flurry is possible, but most days sit between 3 and 8°C under grey cloud with light rain on and off.
- The first week and the rest are different. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park closes on 3 January, the school holidays end around the 5th, and from then on London's big museums are as quiet as they get all year.
- Everything important is indoors and much of it is free. The national museums and galleries charge nothing for their permanent collections, which makes a grey month far easier to fill than it sounds.
Is January a good time to visit London? For museums, theatre, food and value, yes. Hotel rates are near their lowest of the year, the sales run through the month and the galleries are calm. The price is short, dark afternoons and a good chance of grey weather on most days, so plan the city from the inside out.
#What to Do in London in January
New Year's Day and the first week
London's New Year's Day Parade marches through the West End every 1 January, from Piccadilly past Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall towards Parliament, with marching bands from across the world. Watching from the pavement is free.
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland stays open until 3 January 2027, and the ice rinks, Somerset House's among them, usually run into the first weeks of January before closing for the year.
The free museums in their quietest month
The British Museum, the National Gallery, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Tate Modern and Tate Britain are all free for their permanent collections. In January, after the school holidays, rooms that are packed in August are calm enough to linger in.
The National Portrait Gallery, reopened in 2023 after a three-year refit, sits beside the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square.
MimeLondon (9 January to 6 February 2027)
The London International Mime Festival ran every January from 1977 to 2023, and older guides still send you to it.
Its directors now run MimeLondon, which carries on the same idea: wordless theatre, circus, puppetry and visual performance at venues across the city.
The 2027 festival runs from 9 January to 6 February, and tickets are far cheaper than the West End.
Canary Wharf Winter Lights
Canary Wharf's free Winter Lights trail fills its squares and waterfronts with light installations for about two weeks in the second half of January; the 2026 edition ran from 20 to 31 January, from 5pm to 10pm. The 2027 dates are announced nearer the time. It is outdoors, so pick a dry evening.
Burns Night (Monday 25 January)
Scotland's night for its national poet is widely celebrated in London, with haggis, neeps and tatties, whisky and the "Address to a Haggis" read aloud. Many pubs and Scottish restaurants run a Burns supper; book a few days ahead.
Walks for a dry day
When the sun does come out, use it.
The South Bank walk along the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge takes in the London Eye, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market, and it is almost all car-free.
Greenwich makes a half-day: take the Thames Clipper or the DLR, climb the hill to the Royal Observatory for the view back over Canary Wharf and the City, then eat pie and mash on the way back.
On the north side, Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath has one of the protected views of St Paul's, and on a frosty morning the heath is at its most beautiful.
Solo Travellers
Spend a morning at Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, free to enter: an architect's house packed with antiquities and paintings, including Hogarth's series A Rake's Progress.
Then walk to Somerset House and the Courtauld Gallery for Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.
Couples
January is when London's hardest tables open up. Restaurants that were booked out in December take bookings a week or less ahead, and many run set lunch menus. Follow dinner with a same-day theatre ticket from the TKTS booth in Leicester Square, or a late set at Ronnie Scott's in Soho.
Families
The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in South Kensington are free and each can fill a day. From the second week of January, after the school holidays, they are far calmer.
The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is ticketed but lets you back in free for a year.
At Kew Gardens, the Victorian Palm House and the Temperate House are warm, humid and green on the greyest January day, and the gardens are at their emptiest.
Groups
Book a Sunday roast for the table in a pub with a fire, the best thing to do with a cold January afternoon in London.
In the evening, the Comedy Store off Leicester Square and the 99 Club run stand-up through the week.
#Getting Around
From Heathrow, the Elizabeth line runs straight through central London, the Piccadilly line is slower and cheaper, and the Heathrow Express reaches Paddington fastest.
Gatwick has the Gatwick Express to Victoria and Thameslink through London Bridge and St Pancras; Stansted and Luton connect to Liverpool Street and St Pancras.
In the city, tap the same contactless card or phone you pay with at home, or use an Oyster card; daily caps stop you paying more than about £8.90 a day in Zones 1 and 2.
A bus ride costs £1.85 from 1 November 2026, and the Hopper fare lets you change buses free within an hour. TfL's next annual fare change is due in March 2027, after your trip.
#Budget & Costs
| Travel style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | £60–80 | Hostel dorm, free museums, pub meals, daily transport cap |
| Mid-range | £140–200 | 3-star hotel, two meals out, a theatre ticket or a paid sight |
| Luxury | £400+ | 5-star hotels at close to their lowest rates, fine dining |
After the first week, January is one of the cheapest months of the year for a London hotel.
Costs worth knowing:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Bus ride | £1.85 from 1 November 2026 |
| Daily cap, Zones 1–2 | About £8.90 |
| National museums | Free |
| Pint in a central pub | £6–8 |
| Service charge | Often 12.5%, added to the bill |
- The free museums are the saving. A week of world-class collections can cost nothing but the bus fare.
- Theatre is cheapest on the day. TKTS and the theatres' own day seats beat advance prices for most shows in January.
- Set lunches beat dinners. The same kitchen, often at half the price.
#Food & Dining
January is when London eats warm:
- A Sunday roast in a pub, beef or lamb with Yorkshire puddings and gravy.
- Pie and mash with liquor, the East End classic, at Goddards in Greenwich.
- Curry: the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane, or Dishoom, where the famous queues are at their shortest.
- Haggis around Burns Night on the 25th.
Borough Market by London Bridge is the city's great food market; go on a weekday morning, when the stallholders have time to talk and you can taste your way round. Restaurants push set lunch menus and deals through January to bring diners back after Christmas.
For a long, warm afternoon, book afternoon tea: sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and cakes, served from about 2pm at the grand hotels and department stores. At the famous addresses it often costs £60 or more a head and needs booking, but in January tables are far easier to find than before Christmas.
#Nightlife
West End theatre is at its most available in January: shows that sold out over Christmas release seats, and the TKTS booth in Leicester Square sells discounted same-day tickets.
For music, Ronnie Scott's is London's most famous jazz club; for clubbing, Fabric in Farringdon runs through the winter.
Many Londoners do Dry January, so midweek pubs are quieter than usual and alcohol-free drinks are on every bar.
#Shopping
The January sales start on Boxing Day and run through the month at Selfridges, Harrods, Liberty and John Lewis, as well as the Oxford Street chains. Weekday mornings are calmer than weekends.
For something to take home, Hatchards on Piccadilly, London's oldest bookshop, and the independent shops of Marylebone High Street reward a slow browse.
#Culture & Etiquette
- Stand on the right on Tube escalators, and let people off before you get on.
- Queue. At bus stops, bars and shop counters, Londoners notice.
- Check for a service charge. Many restaurants add 12.5% to the bill; if it is there, you do not need to tip again. Nobody tips at the pub bar.
- Chinese New Year is in February in 2027. It falls on 6 February, so the Chinatown celebrations come after a January trip.
#Essential Local Phrases
British English has a few words American visitors will not recognise at once.
| What you want to say | What Londoners say |
|---|---|
| The subway / metro | The Tube |
| An umbrella | A brolly |
| Standing in line | Queueing |
| The restroom | The loo |
| Sneakers | Trainers |
| A sweater | A jumper |
| A cookie | A biscuit |
| Dessert | Pudding |
| Two weeks | A fortnight |
| A cup of tea | A cuppa |
#Packing List
- A warm, waterproof coat
- Scarf, gloves and a hat
- Waterproof shoes or boots with grip for frosty pavements
- A thermal layer for cold mornings
- A compact umbrella
- One smarter outfit for theatre or a special dinner
- A contactless card or phone for the Tube and buses
- A foldable bag for the sales
#Backup Plans
If it rains all day: do a museum crawl in South Kensington, where the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum sit side by side and are all free.
If you want warmth and green: the Barbican Conservatory, a tropical glasshouse inside the brutalist estate, opens on selected days with free timed tickets; book in advance.
If you cannot face another museum: the BFI Southbank on the river shows films all day, new and classic, and its bar is a warm place to wait out the weather.
#Safety & Health
London is safe in January. Frosty pavements and wet steps are the main hazards on cold mornings. Pickpockets work the busiest Tube stations and Oxford Street during the sales, so keep bags closed.
NHS 111 gives medical advice by phone or online, and treatment in A&E is free to everyone in an emergency. Tap water is safe.
Emergency: 999; for non-urgent police matters, 101.
#What's New for January 2027
- Hyde Park Winter Wonderland closes on 3 January 2027
- MimeLondon runs from 9 January to 6 February, successor to the old London International Mime Festival
- London's bus fare is £1.85 from 1 November 2026
- Burns Night is on Monday 25 January
- Chinese New Year falls on 6 February, so its celebrations are after January this time
#About This Guide
By Harry Nara (founder of WhenToWander), updated September 2026 for January 2027. Climate figures are Met Office 1991–2020 averages. Dates and prices verified against:
- MimeLondon for the 2027 festival dates
- Visit London for New Year's Day in London
- Canary Wharf Group for the Winter Lights festival
- Transport for London for fares and caps
- Sir John Soane's Museum for opening and free entry
- Met Office for climate averages
For the rest of the season, see London in winter, and for the full-year picture, the best time to visit London.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is January a good time to visit London?
Yes — January is London's quietest and cheapest month for tourism. Hotel rates hit yearly lows, major museums have no queues, and the January sales offer outstanding shopping deals. The city is grey and cold, but genuinely peaceful after the Christmas rush.
What are the January sales in London?
The January sales start Boxing Day (26 December) and run through most of January. Selfridges, Harrods, John Lewis, and all major high street chains discount 30–70%. Oxford Street on the first day of sales is notoriously packed — shop online or go mid-morning on weekdays for a calmer experience.
Does Chinese New Year happen in London in January?
Sometimes. Chinese New Year falls between late January and mid-February, and London celebrates it in Chinatown and Trafalgar Square on the weekend after. In 2027 it falls on Saturday 6 February, so the celebrations come after a January trip.
How cold is London in January?
January is the coldest month — average daytime highs of 7–8°C, dropping to 2–3°C overnight. Frost is possible, snow is rare. Pack a warm coat, gloves, a scarf, and waterproof shoes. The cold is manageable and London's free world-class museums make indoor days easy to fill.
How much does it cost to visit London in January?
Budget-conscious travellers can expect daily costs of £80–140, covering accommodation, food, and local transport. Quieter periods usually push prices toward the lower end of this range.