This Christmas, bring friends and family, and step into an enchanted forest in the heart of Covent Garden. There’s something for everyone: festive cocktails to enjoy, overlooking the twinkling lights of Covent Garden; Nutcracker tours that reveal some of the secrets from the stage; and a magical winter wonderland for the whole family to enjoy.
Visit the Royal Opera House this festive season, and find our foyers transformed into a winter forest. There are magical creatures, fairies and characters from ballet and opera to find among the trees as you weave your way through. Can you find Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother watching over her, the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, the Lilac Fairy with her magic wand that protects Princess Aurora, and many more? Join us for a unique experience that the whole family can enjoy.
Across the month, the Royal Opera House will be serving festive drinks and whipping up seasonal sweet treats to get you in the holiday spirit. From Monday 5 December to Saturday 31 December, visit us at our Piazza Terrace Bar and Linbury Bar for a cup of mulled wine or cranberry and ginger Christmas mocktail. Desserts and delicacies will also be available at the Royal Opera House Café, Linbury Bar, Paul Hamlyn Hall Champagne Bar, Level 5 Bar, and Piazza Terrace Bar, with prices ranging from £3 to £6. Bring your friends and family and enjoy mince pies, fruitcake and shortbread that will certainly put you in the Christmas spirit.
In addition, from Monday 28 November to Friday 23 December, our newly relaunched Piazza restaurant will serve its first ever Christmas menu. Costing £65, it will include modern British dishes with a festive twist: celeriac soup with winter truffle and hazelnuts; Seven & Wye hot smoked salmon rillette with winter leaves; heritage beetroot salad with toasted pine nuts and pomegranate; bronze roast turkey with duck fat potatoes, glazed carrots, parsnips, pigs in blankets, creamed sprouts and cranberry; whole Dover sole with brown shrimps, lemon parsley butter, sprouting broccoli, and new potatoes; BBQ aubergine with chestnut puree, vegan feta, crushed green herbs, sprouting broccoli, and new potatoes; Christmas pudding cheesecake; dark chocolate and clementine verrine; hazelnut frangipane and mulled wine pear tart. Christmas cocktails will also be available in the Piazza restaurant from Monday 5 December to Saturday 31 December, with prices ranging from £12–£16. Treat yourself to a blood orange bellini or a gingerbread old fashioned. For groups of 8 or more, please pre-order to ensure your table is ready upon arrival.
No need to leave all the holiday fun to the chefs! Join us on Thursday 22 December and Friday 23 December, during the school holidays, for our Christmas tree biscuit-decorating workshops. These will be ticketed events held in the Royal Opera House Café, with sessions starting at 12noon, 12.30pm, and 1pm.
For those looking to immerse themselves in the artistic work of the Royal Opera House this winter, there are Family Nutcracker Tours, specifically designed for children aged 5–8. These 45-minute events unveil the origins of this beloved festive ballet, taking you and your children to see the costumes up close, experience the magic of theatre and learn how we make it snow on stage. This tour is a perfect treat for children excited about seeing The Nutcracker this Christmas. The tours will run from Tuesday 6 December until Friday 6 January, and cost £16 per adult and £14 per child.
Our Behind the Scenes: The Nutcracker Tour for adults is perfect for anyone who wants to know how to make a Christmas tree magically grow on stage, or what fake snow feels like. On this 1-hour tour, you will learn about the special effects in the ballet and hear about some of our stage secrets that make The Nutcracker such a beloved production. Tickets cost £26 and include a complimentary glass of mulled wine or £10 off dinner in the Piazza restaurant. Tours will be running from Tuesday 6 December until Friday 23 December.
No Royal Opera House Christmas would be complete without actually seeing The Nutcracker live on stage. This year, you can experience the production on stage and in cinemas. Performances on our Main Stage run from Tuesday 6 December to Saturday 14 January. The performance will also be broadcast live to over 900 cinemas worldwide on Thursday 8 December, with encore screenings running from Sunday 11 December. Tickets are on sale now.
