See the gardens light up for an unforgettable after-dark festive trail of lights.

Christmas at Kew, a much-loved highlight of London’s festive calendar, has returned for its ninth year. This year’s trail features a host of firm seasonal favourites alongside pioneering new light installations, illuminating Kew Gardens’ UNESCO World Heritage landscape with vibrant bursts of colour and over a million twinkling lights. 

Fairy-tale meets fantasy in a world of singing trees, larger-than-life flora, ribbons of light, giant baubles, and a flickering Fire Garden. The Palm House leaps into life with a dazzling show of laser beams, jets of light and kaleidoscopic projections to much-loved Christmas classics.

Little ones can catch a glimpse of Santa and his elves at the North Pole village and enjoy a vintage fairground ride. Not so little ones can warm up with some mulled wine or hot chocolate and toast marshmallows around the fire. There's also an enticing selection of street food along the trail, from sourdough pizza to award-winning pies. Open between 5pm - 10pm. Tickets. 

This winter, Christmas at Kew incorporates spectacular new shows which will light the iconic Temperate and Palm Houses, as well as a first-time collaboration with Novak, the innovative video design studio. Using a selection of spectacular trees from Kew’s arboretum as their canvas, Novak will create a brand-new piece for Christmas 2021, using a stunning combination of video design, projection mapping and light to bring Kew’s archived botanical illustrations to life,alongside a host of heart-warming festive imagery.

Acclaimed creative house Mandylights will bring a brand-new installation to Christmas at Kew for 2021. Spheric, a fifteen-metre-wide dome of light covered in over 2,000 individually controlled LED pixels, sits on a reflective water pool, allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves in this unique mirrored illusion as they cross the lake. Set to a synchronised music track, Spheric promises to be an unmissable highlight of this year’s seasonal spectacular.

Sound and light artists Ithaca will return to Christmas at Kew for 2021, creating Aurora; a new and ambitious installation for Holly Walk which will illuminate the night sky for over 200 metres overhead, replicating the enchanting visual phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis. Visual Artist Amelia Kosminsky will also create a new work for this year’s trail.

Festive favourites

Immersing themselves in Christmas at Kew through the welcome wreath archway, visitors will encounter a botanical world filled with seasonal cheer and mood-boosting bursts of colour. Featuring thousands of fairy lights, the much-loved Christmas Cathedral returns for 2021, affording guests the perfect opportunity to capture this quintessential Christmas moment on camera.

Botanical treasures from Kew’s living collections will be accentuated along the route, allowing guests to explore new perspectives on nature, and reinforcing the essential part that plants have to play in all of our lives. Singing neon trees, sprawling branches illuminated with stars and seasonal festive projectionsilluminating Kew’s array of heritage trees all promise to enchant visitors this winter.

The 12 Days of Christmas will be brought to life with a vibrant rainbow tree illumination running along Syon Vista, and a spectacular Meadow of Light will burst into vivid life as visitors explore the magical seasonal surroundings of Kew at Christmas. The ever-popular Fire Garden also returns for 2021, alongside On the Wings of Freedom, a technicolour LED installation inspired by the unique transformative ability of butterflies.  The final stop of the trail, the panoramic Palm House finale will welcome guests with a series of stunning projections across the historic glasshouse and adjacent lake, set to a memorable soundtrack of much-loved Christmas classics.

To add an extra flourish to the Christmas at Kew experience, visitors can book a delicious traditional Christmas dinner at The Botanical restaurant, or simply pick up a treat from a selection of independent street food vendors along the route. Visitors can make for a very merry Christmas and indulge in a spiced cider, waffles, mulled wine, or hot chocolate to keep warm.

Enjoy our annual after-dark festivities with family and friends, as you discover sparkling tunnels of light, dancing waterside reflections, and trees drenched in jewel-like colour on your way to the panoramic Palm House light display.

Journey through the mesmerising flickering flames in the Fire Garden, spot larger-than-life illuminations and say hello to Father Christmas along the way.

Ideal For

A festive family night out