Christmas at Kew, the UK’s original festive light trail, returns from 13 November 2026, transforming London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site into a spectacular after-dark celebration of light, nature and seasonal wonder. Showcasing new installations and world premieres, this unique seasonal event allows visitors to experience Kew Gardens in a new light. Tickets for the iconic Christmas trail are selling fast, but there’s still time to join the festive fun – several November dates are available and offer a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit.
Visitors will encounter 30 immersive installations, large-scale artworks, and atmospheric soundscapes, including new commissions from internationally acclaimed artists, alongside returning seasonal elements, creating a three-kilometre festive light trail around the Gardens. Visitors will encounter glowing tunnels, sculptural light works and choreographed moments that highlight both the landscape and the spirit of the season, blending spectacle with the beauty of nature by night.
New Adult-only evenings
For the first time, Christmas at Kew will introduce dedicated adult-only evenings on Thursday 3 December and Wednesday 9 December. Open to visitors aged 18 and over, the evenings offer a chance to experience the trail in an adult-only setting – perfect for festive celebrations with friends, colleagues or partners. With all the magic and creativity of the main event, these evenings offer a unique way to enjoy Christmas at Kew.
VIP Exploration Lounge Experience
Visitors can experience Christmas at Kew in style while taking a break at the VIP Exploration Lounge, located midway along the festive trail. Enjoy exclusive access on select nights only – with strictly limited capacity for an intimate, adults-only experience (18+). Your visit includes a complimentary drink of your choice, with a paid bar available for additional refreshments. Hosted inside Davies Exploration House, one of Kew’s horticultural glasshouses, this is a rare chance to relax and enjoy your festive treats from the food stalls in the dry and warm – soak in the surroundings before continuing your journey through the trail.
Anytime & Any Day Tickets
Back by popular demand, Anytime and Any Day tickets are returning this year, with options for adults and children. Limited Anytime tickets are available and provide entry only on the date selected, at any time. Any Day, Anytime tickets allow entry at any time on any day the event is open, with no need to choose a date in advance – offering maximum flexibility.
Early Quiet Access Sessions
Early Quiet Access Sessions return and are proving popular once again. Tickets are still available for 16 and 26 December, giving visitors with hidden or visual disabilities the chance to enjoy a calm, crowd-free experience and take in the sensory magic of Christmas at Kew. These sessions must be booked in advance.
World premiere installations
This year sees the world premiere of new installations and immersive artworks created exclusively for Christmas at Kew. At the Treetop Walkway, the Infinite Choir by Squidsoup will take the form of a sound and light installation that plays with space, and Drift, inspired by seeds carried on the wind by Studio Vertigo, will see illuminated spheres rising almost 2 metres into the air. A new work by French collective TILT features larger-than-life blooms programmed to music, and ITHACA studio is creating a new animated willow tree with light resembling water cascading from its canopy to the ground, drawing inspiration from Kew’s historic tree collection, which has not appeared on previous Christmas at Kew trails.
At the start of the trail, visitors will be welcomed through a festive gateway of oversized gifts, illuminated arches and a seasonal arrival moment featuring Father Christmas. Elsewhere, visitors will encounter festive details, including Candy Cane Lane, a Gingerbread Walk, life-sized Nutcracker figures and giant glitter balls. Surrounding Kew’s iconic Victorian glasshouse, the Temperate House, are brand-new towering monoliths by Squidsoup called ‘New Life, New Love, New Dawn’ that will lead to Pagoda Vista, set to light up the winter night. Looping around the glasshouse, the Skirt Trees will replicate the symbolic Nutcracker character, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and add sparkle to the Garden’s tree collection.
At the back of the remarkable Palm House, visitors will encounter a dynamic Neon Tree, one of Kew’s 11,000 trees, in the Botanic Gardens. Continuing the festive trail, visitors will encounter the TILT Animated Flower Garden, Light Rain and Sweetie Roundabout, providing a variety of festive experiences to capture and take in. The Palm House Pond display will return for 2026, with a new water fountain display across the Pond and on the adjacent lawn, showcasing giant chandeliers and rounding off the trail in style. Visitors can also learn more about the Palm House renovation project, with a bespoke series of projections telling the story of London’s living rainforest and the vital need to conserve it for future generations.
Festive favourites
Alongside a host of new artistic commissions, visitors can once again enjoy the much-loved experiences that have become synonymous with Christmas at Kew. Returning favourites include the majestic Christmas Cathedral, inviting guests to wander beneath its glowing arches, and the atmospheric Fire Garden, where dancing flames will create a mesmerising contrast to the winter night. Elsewhere, the sparkling Pealight Tree returns, decorated with thousands of twinkling lights by Kew’s expert arborists, the Tree Gang, and the neighbouring Bubble Walk featuring bubbles of all shapes and sizes bursting in the night sky.
Food and drink
A range of festive food and drink options will be available throughout the trail, including seasonal street food, warming winter treats and indulgent festive favourites. Visitors can enjoy everything from toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate to savoury bites and, for adults, mulled wine. The Botanical Brasserie will offer festive menus for those looking to make an evening of their visit.
Retail
Visitors are welcome to stop by the Victoria Plaza Shop, located near Victoria Gate, which offers a range of new and exclusive items, including festive treats such as the Lucy Loveheart mugs and tote bags, cocktail advent calendars, and Christmas cheeseboard chutneys, as well as stocking fillers like Kew’s midnight palm print drinking bottle, Henry Moore keyrings, Kew botanical baseball caps, and Winter at Kew jar candles, all available to purchase. It provides an opportunity to secure Christmas presents early or to take something home to remember the time in the Gardens. Kew Members receive a 10% discount upon purchase.
Sandra Botterell, Executive Director of Marketing and Commercial Enterprise at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “There’s no doubt that Christmas at Kew is a firm favourite of the seasonal calendar, and the experience this year promises to be just as enchanting as always. With a freshly designed route, and a spectacular selection of new installations for 2026, we’re very excited to be welcoming visitors to Kew Gardens to enjoy the beauty of nature by night once again.”
Supporting Kew’s mission
Every ticket purchased for Christmas at Kew helps to support RBG Kew’s mission to create a thriving planet powered by plants and fungi. As a world-leading scientific organisation and conservation charity, Kew is working to understand and protect plant and fungal diversity, helping tackle biodiversity loss and address some of the most urgent environmental challenges facing our planet. By visiting Christmas at Kew, guests directly support this vital work and help safeguard nature for future generations.
