January in London is cold, grey and dark by late afternoon, but it is also one of the calmest months to visit: the festive crowds leave after New Year, the sales are on and the big museums are at their quietest. Expect daytime highs of around 8°C and plan your days indoors.
The month starts with a bang, with the Mayor's fireworks on New Year's Eve and a big free parade through the West End on New Year's Day. After the first weekend, schools go back, office workers return and the tourist sights empty out. Some seasonal attractions close or shorten their hours, and a few landmarks use the quiet weeks for maintenance.
If you can live with short days and the chance of rain, January rewards visitors who like museums, theatre, pubs and shopping. This guide covers the weather, what is on, what is shut and how to make the most of a winter trip in 2027.
January 2027 at a glance
- Bank holiday
- Friday 1 January 2027 (New Year's Day)
- Average high / low
- 8.4°C / 2.7°C (Met Office, Heathrow, 1991-2020)
- Rainy days
- About 11-12 days with at least 1 mm of rain
- Main event
- London Parade, 1 January, 1pm-4.30pm, free to watch
- School holidays
- London schools return on Monday 4 January 2027
- Clocks
- GMT all month; no clock change
January weather in numbers
At Heathrow, January has the lowest average daytime maximum of the year, and its nights are almost as cold as February's. The Met Office long-term averages below come from the Heathrow weather station on the western edge of the city, so conditions in the centre can differ slightly.
| Measure (Heathrow, 1991-2020) | January average |
|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum | 8.4°C |
| Mean daily minimum | 2.7°C |
| Days with air frost | 6.8 |
| Hours of sunshine (whole month) | 61 |
| Rainfall | 58.8 mm |
| Days with at least 1 mm of rain | 11.5 |
In practice that means damp, chilly days rather than deep cold. The bigger issue is light: the sun sets around 4pm at the start of the month, so sightseeing that depends on daylight, such as parks or viewpoints, needs to happen before mid-afternoon. Our page on London's weather through the year compares January with other months.
New Year's Day: a parade and a bank holiday
The year opens with the Mayor of London's New Year's Eve fireworks by the Thames, which are ticket-only; see our guide to New Year's Eve in London for how the tickets work. The next afternoon brings the London Parade, the event long known as the London New Year's Day Parade.
For 2027 the organisers list the parade on Friday 1 January, from 1pm to 4.30pm, along Piccadilly, Regent Street, St James's, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. Watching from the pavement is free. Marching bands, dancers, floats and teams from the London boroughs take part. Paid grandstand seats are sold on the official London Parade website, with ticket holders admitted from noon.
New Year's Day is a bank holiday, so treat it like a Sunday. Many shops open shorter hours, some restaurants close, and a few attractions shut completely: the National Gallery, for example, is closed on 1 January, while Tower Bridge opens later than usual, at 10am. The Congestion Charge is not charged from Christmas Day up to and including the New Year's Day bank holiday. Our guide to bank holidays and opening hours explains what to expect.
The parade route cuts through the busiest part of the West End. Expect road closures and bus diversions around Piccadilly, Regent Street and Whitehall, and check TfL's status pages before you set off; walking is often quicker. If you have a flight or train on 1 January, allow extra time and avoid crossing the route in the afternoon.
The first days: festive leftovers
The Christmas season does not end on 1 January. Several winter attractions run into the first weekend of 2027 and then close:
- Hyde Park Winter Wonderland runs until 3 January 2027. Entry needs a timed ticket, and on-the-day prices are higher than booking ahead.
- Hampton Court Palace includes its "Winter Palace" programme in tickets until 3 January 2027.
- Kew Gardens keeps short winter hours, 10am to 3.15pm, until 3 January; off-peak prices apply until 31 January (from £17 online for an adult).
London schools are on holiday until Friday 1 January and return on Monday 4 January 2027, so the first few days are still busy with families. From the second week, the city feels noticeably calmer. For the full festive picture, see our guide to Christmas in London and our month guide to London in December.
Bargain hunting in the January sales
The winter sales are a London tradition. Many shops begin reductions around Boxing Day, and discounts often deepen through January as stores clear stock. The biggest concentration is on Oxford Street and Regent Street, while the big department stores hold sales of their own.
Prices in shops already include VAT at 20%, and visitors can no longer reclaim VAT on goods bought in shops in Great Britain; the only tax-free option is when a shop sends the goods straight to an address outside the UK. On Sundays, large shops in England may open for only six hours between 10am and 6pm, so the shopping day is shorter. If you want designer labels at lower prices, our guide to outlet shopping near London covers the options outside the centre.
Quiet galleries and a brand-new museum
January is the month when London's museums feel most spacious. After the first week, weekday mornings in the big national museums can be pleasantly uncrowded, especially compared with the summer and the school holidays. Most of them cost nothing to enter: our list of free museums in London covers the British Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, the V&A and many more.
There is something new for 2027, too. The London Museum's new home in the former Smithfield General Market, in West Smithfield, opens on 28 November 2026 with free galleries, so January is one of its first full months. Expect interest to be high in its early weeks. Read our guide to the London Museum before you go.
For the dark evenings, theatre is the obvious answer. The West End keeps playing through January, and our guide to cheap theatre tickets explains the official on-the-day ticket booth in Leicester Square and other ways to pay less. On a wet day, our list of rainy-day ideas helps too.
What is closed or reduced in January 2027
Winter is maintenance season. Before you build a day around one sight, check that it is open. These closures and limits were known when we checked in September 2026:
| Attraction | Situation in January 2027 |
|---|---|
| London Eye | Usually closed in January for annual maintenance; check the official site |
| Buckingham Palace State Rooms | Summer opening only; from October to May only selected dates for small guided tours |
| Royal Mews | Closed; the 2026 season ended on 1 November |
| Kensington Palace | Open, but the Queen's State Apartments are closed until spring 2027 |
| Hampton Court Palace | Open; the Mantegna Gallery is closed until spring 2027 |
| Kew Palace (at Kew Gardens) | Closed until spring 2027 |
| Dover Castle | Weekends only from 4 January to 14 February 2027 |
If the London Eye is closed, the free viewing galleries and rooftop terraces elsewhere in the city are a good substitute on a clear day. And if you had hoped to see the palace interiors, our Buckingham Palace guide explains what you can still see from outside, including the Changing of the Guard.
Day trips in winter light
Short days make long day trips harder, but some work well in January. Windsor Castle is open from 10am to 4.15pm in winter (last admission 3pm) and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan an early start. Stonehenge is open 9.30am to 5pm and charges its lower off-peak prices on weekdays in winter; it is closed only on Christmas Day.
Kew is another good choice. The glasshouses give you tropical warmth on a cold day, and Kew Gardens is cheaper in its off-peak season, which runs until the end of January.
Tube caps stay frozen through January. TfL's daily caps for the Tube and rail, such as £8.90 for Zones 1-2, are frozen until March 2027. Buses changed on 1 November 2026, when the single fare rose to £1.85 and the bus daily cap to £5.55, so check that you are using the new figures.
What to pack for a London January
Dress for cold and damp rather than extreme cold. Layers work best, because you move between chilly streets and warm museums, shops and Tube carriages.
- A warm, waterproof coat with a hood; umbrellas struggle in wind.
- Waterproof shoes with good grip for wet pavements and occasional frost.
- Gloves, a hat and a scarf, especially for evenings by the river.
- A light jumper you can take off indoors.
- A power bank: cold weather drains phone batteries, and you will use your phone for maps and contactless payments.
Is January a good month to visit London?
It depends on what you want. January suits visitors who want museums without the crowds, theatre, pubs and shopping, and who are happy to do most things indoors. It is less suited to first-timers who want long days in the parks, river views at sunset after work hours, or the big royal interiors, several of which are closed.
Once the New Year period is over, demand for hotels usually falls, so it is worth comparing prices for mid-January dates. Our month guide to London in February covers the next few weeks, when Lunar New Year and the school half-term change the picture.
Frequently asked questions
How cold is London in January?
According to Met Office averages for Heathrow (1991-2020), January has a mean daily maximum of 8.4°C and a mean minimum of 2.7°C, with frost on about seven days. Rain of at least 1 mm falls on around 11 or 12 days.
What is on in London on New Year's Day?
The London Parade (formerly the London New Year's Day Parade) runs on 1 January 2027 from 1pm to 4.30pm through Piccadilly, Regent Street, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. It is free to watch from the pavement; grandstand seats are sold separately.
Is the London Eye open in January?
The London Eye usually closes for annual maintenance in January. Check the dates on the official London Eye website before you plan around it, and consider a free viewpoint instead.
When do the January sales start in London?
Many shops start their winter sales around Boxing Day, 26 December, and reductions usually continue through January. Each store sets its own dates, so check the websites of the shops you want to visit.
Are London museums open in January?
Yes. The big museums are open throughout January, except on some bank holidays; the National Gallery, for example, closes on 1 January. Most national museums are free, and weekday mornings after the first week are usually quiet.
Sources
- Met Office - Heathrow climate averages 1991-2020 (checked September 2026)
- London Parade - 2027 location and timing (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - UK bank holidays (checked September 2026)
- Islington Council - Term and holiday dates (checked September 2026)
- London Museum - Smithfield opening 2026 (checked September 2026)
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Tickets (checked September 2026)
- Mayor of London - MD3517 fare changes (checked September 2026)