The most festive winter pop-ups London has to offer

Museum of Architecture's Gingerbread City

Marvel at the detail, admire the steady carving and try not to salivate too much over each sugary figurine of the Museum of Architecture's Gingerbread City. The exhibition has moved to Westfield shopping centre this year where it's running for a month with gingerbread house-making workshops on specific dates.

The Queen's Masquerade at Queen of Hoxton

The rooftop bar at Queen of Hoxton sounds a little more Nightmare on Elm Street than cosy Christmas this year. Following on from last year's ski-themed pop-up, this winter it's transporting visitors to Gothic Venice with its Queen’s Masquerade Winter Terrace. Bring your own mask and be entertained around a roaring fire.

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 2023

There's plenty to keep little fingers and toes warm at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland this year. Visitors can glide over the glittering ice rink, explore the magical ice kingdom, get the adrenaline flowing watching daring stunts from Cirque Berserk and Zippos Christmas Circus, or hold a warming hot chocolate in the Bavarian Village. Unleash your inner artist with in ice sculpting workshop or tuck in at new-for-2023 dining experience Le Chalet Fondue.

Secret Cinema presents: Wishmas

The blockbuster family event of the season, Wishmas is an immersive, 60-minute walk-through experience running on the premise that you’re in the land where your wishes take flight. Characters introduced along the way include Wishkeepers, Robins and Father Christmas, and there are plenty of themed rooms to nose around too. It comes from immersive experience pedigree too: former Punchdrunk mastermind Elgiva Field and the team behind Secret Cinema are bringing it to life.

Kingdom of Winter, ExCel London

No need to wrap up too warm for this one, but come with a reserve tank of energy: Kingdom of Winter is a vast, new Christmas-themed complex that sounds a little like an indoor Winter Wonderland. It boasts alpine stalls, fairground rides, an ice rink and, wait for it, an ' Instagrammable ice expedition'.

Flavour and Some, Battersea Power Station

Craving culture over kitsch? Book ahead for Flavour and Some, an immersive experience where communal dining meets playful dance. Born out of supper clubs, it's the passion project of Company Wayne McGregor alumnus Eileih Muir and chef Adam Thomason. Expect something atmospheric, multi-sensual and intriguing.

Miracle at the Henrietta Hotel

Adopted from NYC, Miracle is now a firm favourite among London's Christmas pop-ups. Hidden away on the mezzanine floor of the Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden, Miracle is a 70s-themed homage to kitsch festive décor (stockings hung, fairy lights strung), offering a nostalgia-fuelled space to hunker down and escape your troubles.

The bar serves an array of festive concoctions, each made interesting with a decadent and unusual twist – be it a rogue ingredient or novelty glassware. Highlights this year include the Christmapolitan: Wheatley vodka, elderflower, Carpano dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary and absinthe mist. Or for something a little frosty, try a Snowball Old Fashioned: Buffalo Trace bourbon, gingerbread, aromatic and wormwood bitters, and orange essence.

Deck the Halls at Pergola Paddington

Raucous rooftop bar Pergola Paddington has the energy of a lively après-ski bar all year round, but never more so than in the run-up to Christmas, when it morphs into an alpine-themed hall complete with snow-dusted pines, fairy lights and gluttonous Christmas fare. Look forward to festive foods and dizzying drinks set to steer you thoroughly off-piste.

Winterland, Fulham Alpine Club

Neverland in Fulham has once again swapped its sandy beach and sunny palms for a snowy alpine village. Guests can cosy up by fire-pits, in fur-lined cabins or ski-lift bubbles, then play a round of shuffleboard, darts or beer pong. Chilly? Duck into the Forest Bar for a mulled wine, hot gin or boozy hot chocolate, and if you find you have a bit of fire in you yet, stick around for DJ sets. There’s plenty of delicious street food to tuck into, from fondues and baked Camembert to sourdough pizzas from a wood-fired oven.

Christmas at Kew Gardens

Now in its 11th year, Christmas at Kew is an annual fixture of the festive calendar, boasting a dancing laser show, a fire garden and glittering waterside reflections among its attractions. This winter, it's set to glow with over one million glittering lights, not to mention the presence of Father Christmas.

Jimmy's pop-up: Fire and Fromage, Southbank

London's Southbank once again plays home to its very own alpine-themed ski lodge this winter, courtesy of pop-up entrepreneur Jimmy Garcia. Situated on the river along the Queen's Walk, the lodge plus its cluster of neighbouring snow globes return with a theme of Fire and Fromage, inviting diners to cuddle up around fire-pits, chewing on hunks of bread layered with raclette and toasting their own s’mores. Your cockles will be warmed in no time – and did we mention there’s mulled wine on arrival?

The Lost Estate presents The Great Christmas Feast

Immersive entertainment connoisseurs The Lost Estate have revamped their sell-out winter dining experience, The Great Christmas Feast, taking over a sprawling venue in west London to conjure Dickensian cocktails, theatre, live music and, of course, a multi-course feast.

Skylight winter season, Tobacco Dock

Wapping's highest party playground has been frozen over again this year, welcoming back its rooftop ice rink, cosy igloos, winter games and more. Practise your spins and twirls, then hunker down with a steaming bowl of rooftop raclette and celebrate the post-pandemic joy of dunking carbs into a communal cauldron of cheese again. Expect an array of festive tipples too.