Regent Street Christmas Lights 2026

Regent Street switches on its Christmas lights on Thursday 5 November 2026. To mark the evening the street closes to traffic from 17:00 to 21:00, leaving room to stop under the angels, with entertainment for all the family and in-store experiences, treats and offers from shops, restaurants and bars across Regent Street and St James's.

The 'Spirit of Christmas' angels have hung over the street since 2016, and for 2026 Regent Street has announced a new twist, with new details to discover on the night. More on Regent Street's switch-on plans for 2026.

The switch-on is the busiest night of the season. For a quieter look at the Regent Street illuminations, any weekday evening in November works just as well.

The angels hang over the whole of Regent Street, from Langham Place in the north to Waterloo Place in St James's, the stretch of the 'Spirit of Christmas' design. The red line follows them for 1.9 km, about 25 minutes on foot without stops, and the numbers run from north to south.

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1. All Souls Church, Langham Place. Where the lights begin, and the only surviving building on Regent Street designed by John Nash,consecrated in 1824.
2. Regent Street Cinema. In 1896 the Lumière brothers showed moving pictures here to a paying audience for the first time in the UK.
3. Oxford Circus. Regent Street crosses Oxford Street, which has Christmas lights of its own, at the Tube station.
4. Liberty. The department store on the corner of Great Marlborough Street, in a mock Tudor building made from the timbers of two ships.
5. Hamleys. The toy shop at No. 188, on the stretch of flagship shops south of Oxford Circus that also includes Apple.
6. The Quadrant. The curve of the street towards Piccadilly Circus, planned by Nash and rebuilt in Portland stone in the 1920s. Quadrant Arcade, Glasshouse Street and Swallow Street, just off it, carry Christmas decorations of their own.
7. Piccadilly Circus. Regent Street turns south here into St James's, by the Tube station.
8. St James's Market. Lights over the square and the Wishing Tree, which lights up with a contactless donation to the food charity The Felix Project. Jermyn Street, which crosses Regent Street here, is lit too.
9. Waterloo Place. The southern end of Regent Street and of the angels.
10. Leicester Square Christmas Market. The nearest Christmas Market, a few minutes' walk east of Piccadilly Circus.

The map is © 2026 Christmas Markets and can be shared and adapted under CC BY 4.0 with a credit to Christmas Markets and a link to this page. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles © OpenFreeMap. Walking route calculated on OpenStreetMap data.

The lights come on at 15:00 every day, on a timer, and look their best from dusk, which falls before 16:30 throughout the season. Weekday evenings are calmer than weekends, when Regent Street fills with Christmas shoppers, and far calmer than the switch-on night.

Two views stand out. From Oxford Circus, looking south, the angels line up along the straight stretch past Liberty and Hamleys. From Piccadilly Circus, looking north, they follow the curve of the Quadrant. Walking the whole street under every angel, from All Souls Church to Waterloo Place, takes about 25 minutes.

Carnaby Street, just east of Regent Street behind Liberty, switches on its own lights on Wednesday 4 November 2026. At Oxford Circus, Regent Street crosses Oxford Street, which brings back its star lights with new Harry Potter designs; its 2026 switch-on date had not been announced by 29 October 2026. Leicester Square Christmas Market, near Piccadilly Circus, runs from 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027.

All of them are in the guide to the Christmas lights in London, with a walking route between them.