24 October, 2023
Stall order
London has plenty of Christmas markets to choose from, but none have such a spectacular backdrop as Christmas by the River, on the south bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. With the City of London's skyscrapers directly opposite, along with the Tower of London and Tower Bridge itself, it's less enclosed than other Christmas markets, with a wide range of stalls and places to eat and drink. The market runs through December to 2 January.
Framed fame
The Dutch artist Frans Hals was celebrated in his lifetime for his brilliantly swaggering portraits, and a major new exhibition at the National Gallery brings together 50 of his finest works - including the legendary Laughing Cavalier, which has never before left its home at the Wallace Collection. Hals' paintings, which introduced a fresh, more relaxed style of portraiture to the world, offer a fascinating insight into the 17th-century Netherlands, and demonstrate his spectacular command of technique. Until 21 January.
Memorable melodies
One of the most architecturally striking 18th-century churches in London, St John's Smith Square also boasts one of the finest acoustics, making it a very popular music venue - and each December it hosts a Christmas Music Festival, which this year runs from 8 to 23 December. The festival includes everything from choir concerts to a Baroque Hannukah and a Jazzical Christmas Extravaganza, as well as screenings of the classic animated children's film, The Snowman, accompanied by a live soundtrack.
Novel idea
On a quiet Georgian street in Bloomsbury stands the Charles Dickens Museum, where the author of A Christmas Carol lived from 1837 to 1839. A museum since 1923, it was in this house that Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist, and it's furnished as he would have known it, with many of his own possessions. During December the award-winning actor and writer James Swanton brings A Christmas Carol to life, with live readings between 13 and 23 December.