There are lots of great places in the world to spend Halloween. Here’s our photo journal with a set of suggestions on how to celebrate a luxury Halloween in London by day and by night.
How to Celebrate a Luxury Halloween in London
Like many working people, we sometimes find ourselves in a foreign city on a holiday, whether we like it or not. In our case, last year we had to be in London for meetings during the week of Halloween. So we decided to find out what Halloween is like in Mayfair, Piccadilly and St. James (sadly, we didn’t have time for a full exploration of all the cool neighborhoods in London – maybe next time).
Here’s our photo journal of one Halloween day and night as we experienced it. The weather was picture-perfect, and – spoiler alert – there’s a lot of fun to be had on this holiday in London.
Halloween Morning in London
Mayfair
For starters, our friends at our favorite hotel in London, the Beaumont in Mayfair, know how to elegantly incorporate a few devilish Jack-o-Lanterns into their decor. So we started the day in a jolly mood. That pumpkin looks like he’s up to no good.
Roaming around on foot on Mayfair turned out to be a great way to start the day. The fountain at the famous Connaught Hotel generates mist and fog every few minutes, setting the exact right tone for Halloween morning.
The Mount Street Deli was all dolled up for the festivities.
Brown Hart Gardens featured a Gothic greeting.
Alongside Berkeley Square, the neon bats were already in flight in the windows of Sexy Fish restaurant, even before the noon hour. Of note, 50 Berkeley Square is said to be “the most haunted house in London.” However, we can report no sightings of apparitions during our explorations.
A bar on Dover Street went with a dancing-skeleton-in-the-tropics theme for the Halloween festivities. Grass skirts and all.
And at the private club Annabel’s on Berkeley Square, at sunrise on Halloween morning the facade was already covered with a truly impressive number of enormous spiders and their webs. More on that later.
Fortnum & Mason
We were happy to see that the iconic British retailer Fortum & Mason is all in when it comes to Halloween.
We confess, as tasty as they might be, we didn’t try the Vampire Ear Wax Pieces. We just weren’t feeling them.
The Royal Academy of Art
Across the street from Fortnum’s, there’s always something cool going on in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of the Arts. This time, seemingly coincidentally, there was a replica of a Victorian haunted house installed in the majestic space. First seen on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, it couldn’t have been more perfect for Halloween day.
It was such a bright shiny day that it didn’t quite feel like a bewitching, spooky holiday. Where was the fog? As the afternoon wore on, though, it started to feel a bit more like Halloween. Rustling leaves, and rattling empty branches – that kind of thing.
It was time to bring on the night.
Halloween Night in London
Sadly, we didn’t dress up and didn’t have a party to go to – we were on a business trip, remember? Even though it was Halloween, it was still a school night for us. So instead of dressing up like Tina Turner or Beyonce, we decided to keep it reasonably low-key. And start the night by going out for tea.
Tea at Claridge’s
Tea at Claridge’s is one of those must-do events when you’re visiting London, and we decided to do it early in the evening on Halloween night. On our way in, we passed a tiny witch who seemed primed for a nocturnal adventure of some type.
The tea salon at Claridge’s was decorated for full-on autumn in all its glory, graced by an enormous floral installation – a tree decorated with tiny orchids and miniature orange and yellow gourds of all shapes and sizes. The sweets had a just a touch of Halloween flair (a chocolate bat or two, to be precise). And the musicians played a round of the classic tune “Witchcraft” as we headed out into the night. It’s a wonderful experience, and if you want more details, check out our full report here.
Afterward, strolling around Mayfair we found a couple of lovely autumnal vignettes at florist shops in the neighborhood.
The row of luxury stores on Carlos Place were all closed for the night, but their flower boxes remained illuminated, casting a bewitching glow.
And the misting fountain at the Connaught Hotel is even dreamier and lovelier at night.
Highgate Cemetery
You could happily spend Halloween evening roaming around on foot. But if you’re up for serious spooky fun in London, one of the most hauntingly beautiful cemeteries in the world is Highgate Cemetery. You can visit during the day, of course. But throughout the month of October, there are spookier and even more atmospheric experiences on offer at night.
The site hosts lectures after dark as part of the “London Month of the Dead” events that are held all over town. There isn’t one on Halloween night this year. But on the following night, All Saint’s Evening, the East Cemetery will be alight with candles placed by families and visitors as dust settles in. If you want to go, you should book your tickets now. Admission is £4 per person, and candles are for sale onsite.
The Tower of London by night
Our vote for the absolute best way to spend the evening, though, is a nighttime tour of the Tower of London. The details are for another post, but trust us: the Ceremony of the Keys and a tour of the site after dark is one of the most moving and unusual experiences you can have in London. Especially on Halloween night.
Meanwhile, back at Annabel’s
Much later in the evening, we checked back to see what had become of all those spiders and webs at Annabel’s. Turns out they were just part of the wild bacchanal planned for members and guests on Halloween night. The Headless Horseman arrived at the same time we did, and the joint seemed to be jumping. If we had gone to a party, this would have been our top choice.
Oxford Street
There was also plenty of action on Oxford Street, where Selfridge’s is open late, and the streets are filled with double-decker buses, cabs and pedestrians long into the night.
A Good Night
When we finally arrived back at our room at the Beaumont, we were greeted with one last treat to mark our first Halloween night in London. An adorable little carrot cake cupcake fragrant with autumn spices. The perfect end to a perfectly elegant and spooky fun day.
How to have a luxury Halloween in London
Those are our suggestions on a simple and playful Halloween day and night in London. What’s on your agenda for the holiday this year?
