Just a short plane ride away, a weekend in London at Christmas time can take a variety of shapes. From strutting through West End on your way to a show, to strolling through Libertys, Harrods, Spitalfields Market and Covent Garden, you'll never be lost for something to do in London in December.
Here, however, is another option: an art, fashion and food-filled itinerary that will show you the best of London at Christmas.
From ice skating in the stately environs of a neoclassical palace and carols in a historic landmark, to immersive exhibitions and boundary-pushing food that shows you what makes the city unique, you'll find plenty here to show you a different take on London.
See and do:
Ice skating at Somerset House
Stumbling across Somerset House at night, after the rain threw me off course and into a discussion about different types of cold, encapsulated everything that is remarkable about London at Christmas. By day, the neoclassical palace overlooking the Thames houses fascinating exhibitions, but by night the majestic building is lit up, transformed into a stunning backdrop for the courtyard ice rink.
As well as that, there are exhibitions to stroll through such as The Missing Thread, an examination of black British designers, food and drink stalls and live Swiss music sessions.
Slots run from 9am to 10pm, with each session running for 45 minutes, and tickets cost £8 for children and £11 for adults.
Where: Strand, London WC2R 1LA.
Gucci COSMOS
When this glamorous exhibition opened earlier this year, the launch party was attended by everyone from Paul Mescal to Salma Hayek. If the queue of visitors this month was anything to go by, it's still drawing the fashion set in droves.
The exhibition delves into the Italian fashion house's archives, offering an immersive take on fashion. Upon arrival, guests are met at an elevator where a concierge explains that by travelling in the lift, they are also travelling through the timeline of the brand.
The beguiling exhibition includes everything from labyrinthine tunnels and sleeping giants in Tom Ford-era Gucci suits, to an otherworldly all-white garden of Eden which examines the use of floral motifs in the brand's work.
Tickets cost £18 for adults, £10 for concession tickets, while child and accessibilty tickets are free.
Where: 180 Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1EA.
Synchronicity
Around the corner lies a very different exhibition, though organised by the same team. Housed in the basement of an office block, Synchonicity is the latest project by UVA, United Visual Artists, a London-based collective headed up by British artist Matt Clark. They combine modern technology like light, sound and code installations with traditional mediums to create truly bewitching and evocative works.
It features eight large installations, from a software-driven optical instrument that creates a visual representation of itself, to an unsettling kinetic sculpture affixed with a spotlight that spins in the darkness, as though seeking visitors out. A truly unique experience.
Tickets cost £20 for adults and £15 for concession tickets, while child and accessibilty tickets are free.
Where: 180 The Strand, London WC2R 1EA.
St Paul's carol service
Located in the heart of the city, St Paul's Cathedral is a monumental sight, towering over the surrounding buildings, its candlelit windows glowing dimly in the dark. A hugely significant building in the history of the city, it also holds free carol services throughout the Christmas period.
Some are ticketed while others aren't, and among the performances are family carols, Sankta Lucia - a Swedish Christmas service - and Benajmin Britten's famed Ceremony of Carols.
Afterward, warm up with festive treats from the food stalls outside, or grab a hot chocolate and continue your wandering through the twinkling city.
Where: The Chapter House, St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD.
Tate Modern
You can easily spend the day weaving through the rooms of this striking modern art gallery, not to mention it's an ideal way to warm up between sightseeing and shopping. Housed in the former Bankside Power Station, a monumental dark brick building overlooking the Thames, and opened in 2000 it has become a beacon for art lovers and fans of a fabulous selfie alike.
If you, too, love a fabulous selfie as well as immersive art, book ahead for the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room exhibit: a dazzling mirrored room filled with lights. Elsewhere, you'll artworks by Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon in the 'Capturing the Moment' exhibit, a reflection on the relationship between painting and photography.
Entrance is free and exhibitions vary in price.
Where: 53 Bankside, Bankside SE1 9TG.
Christmas Market at Trafalgar Square
Okay, so it's not the sprawling markets of Austria, Germany or Switzerland, and it mightn't have the most unique stalls out there, but what says 'Christmas' more than sipping a mulled cider* or hot chocolate and tucking into a freshly grilled bratwurst in Trafalgar Square?
Overlooking the iconic fountains and the Norwegian Christmas tree, an annual gift from Norway to the UK that serves as a thank-you gift from Norway to the UK for the support provided during World War II and has done so since 1947, it's a bustling mix of food stalls, artisanal producers and Christmas music.
Open from 11am-9pm, entry is free.
Where: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London WC2N 5DN.
Eat:
With so much to see in just 72 hours, you'll need to stay well fueled. Yes, you could spend your trip gobbling up mince pie after mince pie like Bridget Jones after a break-up, but why not make the most of the varied cuisine on offer in this diverse city? The Christmas pudding will be waiting for you at home, anyway.
Gloria
Part of the Big Mamma restaurant group, renowned for their extravagant dining rooms, expressive recipes and pasta dishes served in a massive wheel of cheese, Gloria is a typically sumptuous restaurant in Shoreditch.
Inspired by 70's Capri-style cuisine and decor - think heavy curtains, colourful plates, plush patterned furnishings; very season two of The White Lotus - this all-day trattoria is best known for its towering lemon pie, topped with a domed wedge of bruleed meringue.
Is it the most authentic Italian fare you'll ever have? Possibly not, but its dishes - such as lemony riostto with clams and langoustines, pistachio-topped burrata and silky lamb ragu - were bright, fun and indulgent enough that, for two hours, you'd be fooled into thinking you were on your own romantic Sicilian holiday.
Where: 54-56 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3QR.
Pachamama
Right across the street is another transportive restaurant, the Chinese-Peruvian fusion spot, Pachamama. Although their dinner service, comprising of set menus filled with their best loved dishes as well as an a la carte service, is worth a visit alone, I opted for brunch in their atmospheric, plant-filled dining room.
Though small plates are currently ruling the roost in London hot spots, there's no pressure to share when it comes to brunch here. They offer a range of sweet and savoury waffles, made from sweet potato, quinoa or buckwheat and charcoal, and topped with fixings you'd eat a bowl of on their own: fried chicken with salsa, whipped tofu, Peruvian chocolate ice cream.
Star of the meal, however, were the crispy-on-the-outside-creamy-on-the-inside sweet and sticky aubergine. If the team released a cookbook I'd buy it just for that recipe.
Where: 73 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3HU.
The Humble Grape
It can't be all crispy aubergine and gooey burrata all the time - you're in London at Christmas after all! At this time of year you'll find plenty of spots serving mulled wine but choosing the right one can be a challenge.
I happily did the leg work to sniff out a winner at The Humble Grape. With six wine bars across the city, I chose the Liverpool St location, a cosy and intimate bar, walls lined with shelf upon shelf of wine and the smell of charcuterie boards whafting out the door.
Theirs is the platonic ideal of mulled wine: smooth, fruity, with a perfect blend of festive spices and a whisper of orange peel. Their meat and cheese boards were also generously plated up.
Where: 8 Devonshire Row, London EC2M 4RH.
*Always drink responsibly
