A brief history and guide to Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland is considered one of the largest festive celebrations in London. Here is a brief history and guide to the Christmas extravaganza.

History of Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland began modestly in 2005 as a funfair open-air market taking place during the Christmas period. It has since grown to be one of the largest extravaganzas in London now featuring ice skating, festive bars, live music, street food stalls, and roller coaster rides.

A handy guide to Winter Wonderland

The festival usually runs from November 19 to January 3, except on Christmas Day when it is closed. It usually opens between 10 am – 10 pm. It is located at the southeast corner of Hyde Park, one of the Royal Parks in London. The park has some of the most iconic landmarks and attractions, such as the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Speakers’ Corner and the Serpentine Lake. Users can access Winter Wonderland via the Brook Gate, or Hyde Park’s corner, which contains a sign directing visitors. There are tube stops nearby such as Marble Arch, Victoria, Bond Street, Knightsbridge and Green Park. Visitors can usually access Winter Wonderland for free during off-peak hours, but they will need to purchase tickets at peak hours.

What you need

Since Winter Wonderland is an outdoors event, it is best to layer up so you can stay warm. Winter Wonderland is child-friendly, presenting plenty of sites and activities for children such as fairground rides, an ice rink and a meet up with Santa. They also have a dedicated family entrance and a place facility to change babies’ diapers, facilities to warm bottles and food for babies and a dedicated space where the young one can relax away from the excitement of the extravaganza.

If you happen to be in London during the Christmas period, a visit to Winter Wonderland will be more than worthwhile.

Garry Knight, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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