If you don’t plan on sleeping through the first day of 2023, here’s our suggestion on what to do in London on New Year Day. 

1 New Year’s Day brunch at Decimo at The Standard, King's Cross

Another one for the start of the year, Decimo’s New Year’s Day brunch comes with some of Chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’s best loved Mexican and Spanish-influenced brunch dishes such as baja tacos, huevos a la flamenca and gambas rojas tortilla, as well as tunes by DJ Harv and a cracking view of London.  

Service: 12pm-4pm 

Address: The Standard Hotel, 10 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EG

Website: decimo.london

2 New Year’s Day Proms, Barbican 

Barbican’s New Year’s Day Proms, is a good call whether you’re feeling a little dusty from the night before or fresh as a daisy. An accessible classical concert, listen to well-known pieces of the likes of Land of Hope and Glory, the finale from Swan Lake, and Nessun Dorma.  

Time: 2.30pm 

Tickets: From £18.50 & includes a drink 

Address: Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS

Website: barbican.org.uk

 

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3 Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 

Catch this Christmas carnival one last time before it winds down on December 2. There’s ice skating, markets and a 45m ice slide, as well as the Magical Ice Kingdom, made with more than 500 tonnes of ice and snow that comes with a life-sized unicorn and an ice palace. Visitors can also sit at a bars made of ice and try their hand at ice sculpting. 

Dates: Until January 2, 2023 

Times: 10am to 10pm 

Address: Hyde Park Serpentine Road W2 2UH 

Website: hydeparkwinterwonderland.com 

4 New Year Parade 

Rug up and head central to catch the London New Year Day Parade as it marches by. The fanfare starts at Piccadilly and snakes through the West End along Regent Street St James’s, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. As always you’ve got a plethora of community groups, artists, musicians and school groups bringing colour and cheer to the first of January.  

Time: 12pm – 3.30pm 

Website: lnydp.com

5 Go Ice skating 

It’s your last chance to live out your Torvill and Dean fantasy on one of London’s festive outdoor ice-skating rinks before the pack down for the season. Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, closes on January 2, while most of the others wrap up on January 8, 2023. To work out where you want to go, here’s our guide to London’s best.  

6 Go To A Museum 

Many museums open on January 1, so why not make the most of a quiet day and head to one of the usually crowded big ones? Tate Modern has a Cezanne exhibition on, while the treasure trove of the natural world, the Natural History Museum has several exhibitions, including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award, and Lost Rhino, an installation on extinction, technology and conservation. The Science Museum’s Science Fiction exhibition is a collision of fantasy and science, while London Transport Museum will also be open and is good for kids.  

7 Go For A New Year Dip 

For an invigorating start to the year, plunge into wintery water at the Hampstead Heath ponds – you can go men’s, ladies’ or mixed. You must book a spot beforehand and you can check the water temperature on the Hampstead Heath Twitter account (@cityCorpyHealth). There’s also Parliament Hill lido, which is open air, always open and comes with a sauna.  

Opening Times: 7.30am-2.30pm 

Address: Hampstead Heath N6 6JA; Parliament Hill Lido, Gordon House Road, NW5 1LT 

Website: cityoflondon.gov.uk

8 Go For A Walk 

Work off the festive season while you enjoy some of London’s green spaces. Try one of the Royal Parks, because they are always great for a stroll (you can even go on a horse and carriages ride through Hyde Park, if you’re allergic to walks), amble along the Thames at Southbank or down Chiswick way, or take this self-guided walks that will take you past some of the city’s great sights, when there’s less of a crowd about. 

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