Covent Garden switched on its Christmas lights on Tuesday November 4, transforming the neighbourhood into a glittering spectacle for the festive season.
Thousands of twinkling lights once again adorn London’s biggest and brightest hand-picked Christmas tree, and illuminate the famous cobbled Piazza. The decoration scheme includes more than 150,000 sparkling pea lights, and a new arrival for 2014 – a giant 22 feet tall silver reindeer. The beautiful spectacle, designed by specialist design agency Sculptivate took three months to construct and can now be found covered in 1,500 pealights.
Every Saturday from November 8 until December 20, from 12pm-4pm, youngsters can pet a live reindeer at West Piazza or pose for festive selfies. Elsewhere on the Piazza, LEGO will unveil a spectacular Christmas scene on Thursday November 27 featuring Santa on his sleigh, made from thousands of the famous toy bricks.
Explore the Market Building to find the UK’s only luxury beauty boutiques by Burberry, Chanel and Dior, as well as unexpected and one-of-a-kind gifts in the Apple Market. Be among the first to visit new concept stores by Bobbi Brown and Clinique in the Royal Opera Arcade, or stop by the world’s largest Apple store for the latest must-have product. Visit King Street to browse the latest collections from contemporary fashion labels including Sandro and the newly-launched footwear emporium by Galeria Melissa. And head down to Henrietta Street to visit the first UK stores for Japanese menswear favourites Nigel Cabourn and The Real McCoy’s.
And if shopping works up your appetite, there are culinary treats for all palettes across Covent Garden including at The Ivy Market Grill. Day to night, Balthazar on Russell Street is also a firm favourite.
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