How Londoners Do January Right
Londoners have a complicated relationship with January. It’s cold, everyone’s broke after Christmas, and the city feels a little flat. But there’s a right way to do it, and it mostly involves embracing the quiet.
Lean into the slow
January isn’t the month for big plans. It’s for long walks, good books, and finally cooking at home. The city gives you permission to slow down.
Make use of the quiet
Everywhere is emptier in January. The galleries, the restaurants, the parks. If there’s somewhere you avoid because it’s usually packed, now’s your chance. We’ve covered a related side of London in beating the January blues.
Small wins
You don’t need to fix your whole life in January. A good coffee, a walk somewhere new, a quiet dinner with friends. In London, the small things carry the month.
January sales worth actually knowing about
Beyond the obvious high street discounts, January is when a lot of London’s better restaurants run set menus at prices you won’t see again until the summer quiet period. It’s worth checking the websites of any restaurants you’ve been meaning to try, since a January offer can make somewhere normally out of budget suddenly reasonable. Museums and theatres often run January promotions too, partly to counter the usual post-Christmas dip in visitor numbers, so it’s a genuinely good month to catch a show or an exhibition you might otherwise put off.
Dry January has also reshaped how the city’s bars operate in the first month of the year. Even traditional pubs now run a proper non-alcoholic menu rather than just offering a lime and soda as an afterthought, and a few venues put on dedicated sober social events. If cutting back for January is part of your plan, it’s easier to stick to in London now than it would have been even five years ago.
Dealing with the weather
January weather in London is mostly grey rather than dramatically cold, which somehow makes it harder to deal with than a proper freeze. Layering with a genuinely waterproof outer layer matters more than heavy insulation, since a light rain that never quite stops is far more common than snow. A decent umbrella that can survive actual wind, rather than a flimsy one from a corner shop, is one of the better small investments for the month.
Free things worth doing
January is arguably the best month to do all the free things in London you keep meaning to get round to. The major museums cost nothing to enter any time of year, but they’re genuinely quiet in January compared with the queues of summer. A walk along the South Bank or through one of the big parks costs nothing either, and there’s something about doing it in the cold with a takeaway coffee that feels distinctly and pleasantly London.
By February the city starts picking up pace again, so January really is a brief window. Treat it as a chance to see London at its calmest rather than something to simply get through before spring arrives.
You might also enjoy our guide to Bottomless Brunch London: The Ultimate Guide if you are still planning your itinerary.
