London is Europe’s best city for Christmas light displays as Regent Street and Covent Garden are named the top two places to see festive lights.
The annual ‘Brussels by Lights’ display in Belgium and ‘Christmas at the Botanics’ in Edinburgh are rated among the top five displays. Three other Christmas light displays in England’s capital rank in the top 10 – Oxford Street, ‘Christmas at Kew’ and Carnaby Street Christmas light displays make the festive season feel all the more magical as cities and towns across the globe light up with Christmas spirit.
New research from ferry and cruise operator DFDS finds Europe’s must-see light displays after analysing TikTok videos and views. The research reveals the 10 most popular Christmas light displays across Europe and the 10 most popular cities to see Christmas illuminations.
Number 1: Regent Street Christmas Lights, London 9 Nov – 2 Jan
Known for its annual display named ‘The Spirit of Christmas’, Regent Street is illuminated by 50 magical ‘spirits’, or as many call them, angels, over the iconic shopping street. Regent Street actually started the tradition of public Christmas lights across the capital after its first public display in 1954. See the angels in all their glory from 3pm to 11pm while they’re lit up until January 2nd.
TikTok Views 2,300,000.
Number 2: Christmas in Covent Garden, London 7 Nov – 3 Jan
New for 2023, visit the 40 gigantic gold Christmas bells complete with red bows, 12 dangling red baubles and eight mirror balls inside the Covent Garden’s market. That’s not all. Enjoy the glittering market ceiling, numerous illuminated wreaths, Christmas trees, and even hop in Santa’s sleigh for the perfect photo opportunity.
The self-proclaimed most festive neighbourhood in London lights up each year at Christmas with exaggerated and iconic displays that are a feast for the eyes.
TikTok Views 1,400,000.
Number 3: Brussels by Lights, Belgium 22 Nov – 31 Dec
An annual event since 2013 that decorates the city with bold, imaginative Christmas lights displays and decorations. Launched as ‘Shop by Lights’ in 2012, ‘Brussels by Lights’, as it’s now known, dazzles across the city of Brussels from late November. There are 168 shopping streets illuminated by 21km of lights that reflects each neighbourhood’s identity and retailers. Expect oversized glittering light bulbs, giant bauble installations, dangling snowflakes, and multicoloured illuminated paper birds decorated trees.
TikTok Views 510,200.
Number 4: Christmas at the Botanics, Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh features a magical botanical-themed light trail. TikTok Views 195,600.
Number 5: Oxford Street Christmas lights, London
Twinkling Christmas lights and decorations elegantly illuminate one of London’s most iconic shopping streets. TikTok Views 60,800.
Number 6: George Square Christmas lights, Glasgow
George Square in Glasgow is known for its impressive Christmas lights, featuring a large tree and colourful glowing displays that attract large crowds. TikTok Views 39,000.
Number 7: Bahnhofstrasse street/Lucy Christmas lights, Zurich, Switzerland
Bahnhofstrasse’s ‘Lucy’ Christmas lights named after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” dazzle above the luxe shopping street during the festive season. TikTok Views 27,000.
Number 8: Carnaby Street Christmas light, London
Each year Carnaby Street dresses the shopping district with a fun, colourful and elaborate display. Enjoy the vibrant ‘Carnaby Universe’ this year. TikTok Views 26,900.
Number 9: Colmar Christmas lights, France
Colmar is a picture-perfect fairytale town in northeast France boarding Germany. Each year the buildings are dressed to resemble gingerbread houses draped in Christmas lights and impressive decorations. TikTok Views 26,200.
Number 10: Christmas at Kew, London
Kew Gardens in London hosts a festive light display with illuminated trails, glowing trees, and animated light installations with a botanical theme. TikTok Views 21,500.
Looking collectively at a city level, London’s Christmas lights still dominate the charts with over 59 million views on TikTok for associated videos showing off the twinkling city. Barcelona and Paris round off the top three with nine and over seven million views respectively. In fact, two Spanish cities rank in the top 10 as Madrid completes the list.
Methodology
A seed list of 85 Christmas light displays and 57 European cities were analysed against associated TikTok video views to determine which are the most popular light displays and which are the most popular cities overall to see Christmas lights. All relevant terms were captured e.g., ‘#londonchristmaslights’, ‘#christmaslightslondon’ and ‘#londonxmaslights’ and view counts were totalled to create the ranks.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
