Covent Garden Christmas Market 2026

Covent Garden station, on the Piccadilly line, is a one-minute walk from the Market Building on the estate's own figures. It has 193 steps up to the street, so use the lifts, and at busy times the estate suggests getting off at Leicester Square (Piccadilly and Northern lines), five minutes away on foot. Charing Cross is a six-minute walk and is the nearest main line station; Holborn (Central line) and Embankment are about ten minutes away, and Tottenham Court Road, for the Elizabeth line, about fifteen.

The estate names three car parks a short walk from the Piazza: the NCP on Drury Lane, Q-Park Chinatown and Q-Park Bedfordbury. It warns that street parking is limited, with most streets kept for residents' permits, and that the Congestion Charge applies on top of parking fees. TfL's charge is £18 a day if paid on the day or in advance (October 2026), 7am to 6pm on weekdays and noon to 6pm at weekends and bank holidays. The ULEZ charge of £12.50 a day (October 2026) also applies to vehicles that do not meet the standard.

The Piazza is cobbled and the buildings are listed, so it is not all level. The estate says the smoothest way into the Market Building is from Russell Street, where there are ramps, or from the bottom of James Street. There is a disabled toilet in Tavistock Court, beside Jubilee Market. The other public toilets are paid: £1.50 inside the Market Building and 50p by St Paul's Church on the West Piazza (October 2026). If you need help on the day, the security office is in Central Avenue inside the Market Building.

The Christmas lights are switched on on Thursday 12 November 2026, with the tree on the West Piazza and the bells and baubles back inside the Market Building. Skate at Somerset House, a short walk away on the Strand, runs from 11 November 2026 to 10 January 2027. Skate Leicester Square, which has Christmas market stalls around its rink, is open daily from 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027 except Christmas Day.

Covent Garden itself, Seven Dials, the Strand, Holborn and Soho are all within about ten minutes' walk of the Piazza. Bloomsbury and the South Bank, over Waterloo Bridge, are a little further but still walkable. Staying on the Piccadilly line gives a direct Tube to Covent Garden station.