Carnaby Street switches its Christmas lights on earlier than anywhere else in London.
The 2026 switch-on is Wednesday 4 November, which is before Bonfire Night and a fortnight before Oxford Street usually bothers. If you want the lights without the December crowd, the first three weeks of November are the entire answer.
The thing most people walk past
Kingly Court is three floors of restaurants, off the middle of Carnaby Street, and a large number of people shop the street without ever noticing the courtyard it opens onto.
It is a covered courtyard with dining on three levels, which makes it the most weather-proof place to eat in Soho and the obvious answer when you want to sit down without booking anything.
Our Soho restaurants page covers the proper bookings nearby.
It is pedestrianised, which is the real point
Carnaby Street and the lanes around it are closed to traffic. That sounds minor until you have spent an hour on Oxford Street, where you are negotiating buses, cyclists and a pavement that was laid for a smaller century.
The difference in how an afternoon feels is bigger than the difference in what the shops sell, and it is the reason to start here rather than finish here.
What is on it
A mix of international names and British brands rather than a department store line-up: Sephora, Charlotte Tilbury, MAC Cosmetics, Barbour, Birkenstock, Abercrombie & Fitch, RIXO, Farm Rio, Eastpak, PURESEOUL and TALA.
The street turns over quickly, which is part of its character. Recent arrivals at the time of checking: K-Way at 26 to 27, KOOKAÏ at 37, EDIKTED at 52 to 55, Eastpak at 35, TALA at 3 to 4, and an OMNES pop-up at 10.
Treat any list of shops here, including this one, as a snapshot. The addresses stay; the names on them do not.
Where it sits
Between Regent Street and Soho, closest to Oxford Circus.
Liberty is at the top of the street, which makes the two one walk rather than two trips. Our Liberty page covers its hours, including the extra hour it runs from late November.
Oxford Street is two minutes north, and Soho starts at the other end of Kingly Street.
How to plan it
For the lights: from 4 November, and go in November rather than December.
To eat: Kingly Court, three floors, no booking needed for most of it.
For a calm afternoon: start here, not on Oxford Street, because this part is pedestrianised and that one is not.
With Liberty: do both, since they are the same five minutes.
Carnaby Street
- Address
- Carnaby Street, London W1F, between Regent Street and Soho
- Nearest
- Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus
- Hours
- By shop. The street itself is pedestrianised and open at all times
- Booking
- None
- Price
- Free to walk
- Standing
- A pedestrianised shopping street with Kingly Court, three floors of restaurants, opening off it
How to get in
The Christmas lights switch on Wednesday 4 November 2026, earlier than the rest of the West End. Liberty is at the top of the street.
Where to go next
Liberty is at the top of the street and Oxford Street two minutes north.
The Soho restaurants cover dinner, and London at Christmas covers the rest of the lights.
Questions we get asked
When do the Carnaby Street Christmas lights switch on?
Wednesday 4 November 2026, which is earlier than Oxford Street and before Bonfire Night. November is the quietest time to see them.
What is Kingly Court?
A covered courtyard off Carnaby Street with three floors of restaurants. It is the easiest place to eat around Carnaby without booking, and a lot of people shop the street without realising it is there.
Is Carnaby Street pedestrianised?
Yes, Carnaby Street and the lanes around it are closed to traffic, which is the main practical difference between shopping there and shopping on Oxford Street two minutes north.
What shops are on Carnaby Street?
A mix of international and British names rather than department stores: Sephora, Charlotte Tilbury, MAC Cosmetics, Barbour, Birkenstock, Abercrombie & Fitch, RIXO, Farm Rio, Eastpak, PURESEOUL and TALA among them. The line-up turns over quickly.
Where is Carnaby Street?
Between Regent Street and Soho, closest to Oxford Circus, with Liberty at the top of the street and Soho beginning at the far end of Kingly Street.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 243 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
