London in November 2026: Weather, Events & Things to Do

November is a quieter month, and it is one we genuinely enjoy: London swaps autumn for Christmas, and it is one of the best-value windows we send visitors to. Daytime highs sit around 11°C with overnight lows near 5°C, the clocks have already gone back, and we watch the city answer the early dark with light trails, ice rinks and switch-ons. The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run rolls out of Hyde Park at daybreak on Sunday 1 November, Bonfire Night falls on Thursday 5 November, the National Service of Remembrance is held at the Cenotaph on Sunday 8 November and the Lord Mayor's Show fills the City on Saturday 14 November. Christmas at Kew opens 13 November and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland from 19 November. English schools are in term time all month, so we have found queues at the London Eye and the Tower of London are the lowest since spring. Every date and figure below is one we've checked ourselves.

Yes, if you want the festive city without the December price tag. We think of November as the official start of the festive season: winter markets, ice rinks and light switch-ons arrive while crowds stay well below peak summer. On our own November trips we've found average temperatures sit between 8°C and 12°C.

Why You Should Visit London in November

Much of the seasonal calendar is free to watch: the Veteran Car Run leaves Hyde Park at daybreak on 1 November, and the Lord Mayor's Show parades through the City on 14 November at no charge. The EFG London Jazz Festival runs 13 to 22 November. Then the festive layer arrives: Skate at Somerset House from 11 November, Christmas at Kew from 13 November and Winter Wonderland from 19 November.

What to Watch Out For

Daylight is short and shrinking: London loses 1 hour 26 minutes across the month. November is Heathrow's wettest month on the 1991 to 2020 averages, at around 67mm across roughly 11 rain days. Crowd pressure clusters on Saturdays: the Lord Mayor's Show on 14 November, and rugby at Twickenham on 14, 21 and 27 to 29 November.

We find November weather cool, damp and dim rather than cold. Daytime highs hover just above 11°C, easing towards single figures by the final week, with overnight lows near 5°C. It is the wettest month of the year at the nearest London climate station and the second-dullest for sunshine, and we always pack for rain rather than cold.

Average temperature: around 11°C daytime high and 5°C overnight low (52°F to 41°F), with roughly 3 air-frost nights across the month

Rainfall: around 67mm spread across roughly 11 rain days, with about 71 hours of sunshine for the whole month

Sunrise on 1 November 2026: 06:53. Sunset: 16:33 (daylight 9 hours 39 minutes, Greenwich Mean Time)

Sunrise on 30 November 2026: 07:42. Sunset: 15:55 (daylight 8 hours 13 minutes, Greenwich Mean Time)

What to Wear in London in November

Warm and waterproof beats stylish and thin. Base layer, jumper, insulated coat, and an outer layer that actually sheds rain. Waterproof shoes matter most. Add a scarf, gloves and a hat for after-dark light trails; museums, theatres and the Tube run warm.

November's royal calendar is dominated by Remembrance, with The King leading the service at the Cenotaph on Sunday 8 November. Otherwise the palaces are in winter mode: the State Rooms are closed and the Royal Mews season ends on 1 November.

Buckingham Palace State Rooms are closed throughout November 2026. The summer self-guided opening ran 9 July to 27 September 2026; outside that season the Palace opens only on selected exclusive guided-tour dates, and none were on sale for November at the time of writing.

The King's Gallery at Buckingham Palace stays open through November. Its exhibition Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style runs to 18 April 2027. Adult tickets from £22, under-5s free.

The Royal Mews ticketed season ends on Sunday 1 November 2026. To see the Gold State Coach and the working royal stables, that is the last day. Adult tickets from £18.

Changing the Guard runs on its winter pattern. King's Guard change days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with troop movements from about 10:45 and the guard change at 11:00. Free to watch.

The King's Life Guard at Horse Guards changes at 11:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the Duty Officer's Inspection at 11:00 on Saturday and Sunday and a dismounted inspection at 16:00 daily.

There are no bank holidays in England and Wales in November 2026. The previous was the summer bank holiday on Monday 31 August 2026; the next is Christmas Day on Friday 25 December 2026.

In our experience, November is the best family-attraction month of the autumn. English schools are in term time throughout (half-term ended 30 October 2026 and the Christmas holidays start 21 December), so we consistently see the weekday queues at their lowest since spring.

• London Eye: the shortest queues of the season fall on November weekday mornings. Book around 15:30 to catch sunset and the lit skyline in one rotation; sunset is 16:33 on 1 November and 15:55 by the 30th.

• Christmas at Kew: the 3km trail takes over two hours, so it suits over-5s better than toddlers. Entry runs 16:20 to 22:00 on selected dates from 13 November.

• Hyde Park Winter Wonderland: from 19 November, with a Santa Land ride area for younger children. Off-peak entry from £1 Monday to Thursday.

• Tower of London: the Crown Jewels and Yeoman Warder tours are indoor-friendly and genuinely quiet on November weekdays. Book the first slot of the day.

• Hampton Court Palace: the ice rink opens 20 November in front of the Tudor west front, alongside the kitchens, maze and state apartments.

• South Bank cluster: SEA LIFE London Aquarium, Shrek's Adventure! and the London Dungeon sit minutes apart beside the London Eye. The answer to a wet November afternoon.

• Free national museums: the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A are all free and all indoors, making South Kensington the best rainy-day postcode in London.

November is one of the cheapest months of the year to visit London. Hotel rates sit below both the summer and December peaks, there is no half-term, and much of the month's headline programming costs nothing.

• Free: the Lord Mayor's Show on Saturday 14 November. The full City procession is free to watch from the street, with no ticket required.

• Free: the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run departure from Hyde Park at daybreak on Sunday 1 November. Roadside and paddock viewing are open to everyone.

• Free: the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph on Sunday 8 November. No ticket needed to watch from Whitehall.

• Free: Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and the King's Life Guard ceremonies at Horse Guards, including the 16:00 dismounted inspection every day.

• Free: permanent collections at the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

• Free: Christmas lights switch-ons and the lit streets themselves, including Oxford Street, Regent Street, Covent Garden and Carnaby.

• Near-free: Winter Wonderland off-peak entry from £1 Monday to Thursday throughout November. Rides are charged separately, the market village is not.

• Money-saver: the London Pass covers from 100 London attractions on one digital pass, worth it for three or more paid attractions.

TfL runs a full winter service through November. Contactless and mobile pay-as-you-go work across the Tube, buses, trams, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line and National Rail journeys inside London.

Sunday 1 November: the Veteran Car Run closes roads around Hyde Park Corner and the A23 corridor through the morning. Take the Tube, not a car.

Sunday 8 November: Remembrance Sunday closes Whitehall, Parliament Square and Horse Guards Road from early morning. St James's Park is often the easier approach.

Saturday 14 November: the Lord Mayor's Show closes much of the City from mid-morning. Blackfriars and Farringdon are useful alternatives to Bank and St Paul's.

Saturdays 14, 21 and 28 November plus Friday 27 and Sunday 29: rugby loads South West Trains out of Waterloo. Allow an extra 45 minutes each way.

Children under 11 travel free on buses and trams at all times, and up to 4 children aged 5 to 10 travel free on the Tube, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line with an adult.

River travel: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers accepts Oyster and contactless, but river journeys do not count towards the TfL daily cap. Revised fares apply from 1 November 2026.

November hotel rates sit between the summer peak and the December festive surge, which we think makes it a good month to book a central location you would not normally afford. South Bank and Waterloo put you within walking distance of the London Eye, SEA LIFE and the Southbank Centre Winter Market, and it's the area we point first-time November visitors toward. Covent Garden and the West End suit theatre-led trips and sit beside the switch-ons and Somerset House's rink, at a premium. The City is quiet and cheap at weekends, with one exception: Lord Mayor's Show weekend on 14 November. Kensington works well for families we've stayed with, thanks to the free South Kensington museums close by.

Practical tips we rely on for November 2026, all anchored to confirmed dates and things we have checked in person.

• Check the Lord Mayor's Show date yourself: it is Saturday 14 November 2026, and several major listings have published 7 November in error.

• Book Winter Wonderland for a Monday to Thursday in November. Off-peak entry is from £1 and the park is still walkable, which it stops being in December.

• Book Hogwarts in the Snow the moment it opens on 14 November. Weekend slots sell out weeks ahead and there is no walk-up option.

• Pick an off-peak date for Christmas at Kew. Tickets are from £25.50 and the cheaper dates cluster in late November.

• Plan outdoor sightseeing before 15:00. Sunset is 16:33 on 1 November and 15:55 by the 30th, so rooftops and river cruises need to happen early.

• Do not plan around ice rinks that no longer exist. Ice Rink Canary Wharf is not operating this winter and the Natural History Museum rink has closed permanently.

About the author: The London Tickets Team We're a London-based team who book, visit, and re-check the city's attractions for a living. Between us we've logged hundreds of days on the ground, queuing at the actual Tube exits, eating in the markets, timing the sunset on the South Bank, so the recommendations here come from repeat visits rather than press releases. Every price, opening time, and "best for" call in this guide was verified in 2026, and we update it whenever something closes, moves, or starts charging. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.