A December Weekend in London

A short trip, deliberately

Not every trip needs to be a big production, and our December 2017 weekend in London was a good reminder of that. We stayed at citizenM Tower of London, a hotel brand known for compact, design-forward rooms rather than sprawling suites, and it turned out to be exactly right for a short city stay — everything we needed within a small, well-designed footprint, and a location that put us right at the doorstep of one of London’s most obvious landmarks.

Starting where you land

With the hotel sitting practically next to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the choice of where to start the weekend more or less made itself. The Tower’s centuries of layered history — royal residence, prison, treasury for the Crown Jewels — make it worth a proper half-day rather than a quick walk-past, and Tower Bridge alongside it gives one of London’s most photographed views for free, no ticket required. Starting a short trip right where the hotel places you is an underrated strategy: it means the first sightseeing doesn’t cost any extra travel time before you’ve even settled in.

Getting around by Underground

London’s Underground network is genuinely excellent, and for a short weekend trip it removes almost all the friction of getting between neighborhoods. It does get crowded, particularly during commuter hours, but even with that it remains one of the most reliable ways to cover a lot of the city without needing a car or relying on taxis. We found it simple enough to navigate on a first proper visit, with clearly marked lines and frequent trains meaning we rarely waited long between connections. A contactless card tapped straight through the gates without any need to figure out paper tickets in advance, which made hopping on and off between stops an easy, low-friction habit rather than something we had to plan around.

December specifically

Visiting London in December comes with its own particular character. Christmas markets and light displays are a genuine seasonal draw, adding a festive layer to the usual sightseeing that you wouldn’t get at other times of year. The trade-off is the weather and the daylight: days are short this time of year, and conditions are reliably cold and often wet, so proper layering and waterproof footwear matter more here than they might on a summer trip. We packed accordingly and were glad of it — nothing shortens a sightseeing day faster than cold, wet feet. Even with the cold, there was something appealing about London leaning fully into the season rather than fighting it — lit-up streets in the early winter dark, and a general sense of a city that knows exactly how to do a proper Christmas.

Picking priorities over coverage

A two- or three-day trip to a city as large as London really only allows for two or three priority sights rather than any attempt at comprehensive coverage. Trying to fit in everything London offers on a short weekend is a losing proposition, and we found it far more satisfying to pick a small handful of things — in our case, the Tower, the bridge, and a couple of nearby neighborhoods — and give them proper time rather than rushing between a longer list.

Why the location did a lot of the work

Looking back, staying right by the Tower of London shaped the whole weekend in a good way. It meant our first morning’s sightseeing required no real travel planning, and it gave us an easy anchor point to return to and set out from again for anything further afield. For a short trip in particular, a well-placed hotel does more heavy lifting than people often give it credit for.

Practical notes

If you’re visiting London in December, book indoor backup plans for at least part of each day given how quickly weather can turn, and don’t underestimate how early it gets dark — sightseeing plans built around daylight hours need to start earlier than they would in summer. A short weekend trip like this benefits from picking a hotel near whatever you most want to see first, since that removes a full day’s worth of transit planning before you’ve even begun.

[Editor’s note: add what this weekend actually meant to you both — the Christmas markets, the cold walk across Tower Bridge, whatever you remember most — and swap in your own photos when ready.]