London for New Year's Eve — Perfect Weather, Mamma Mia and a Countdown We Hadn't Planned
Five days in London over New Year's: Big Bus, Afternoon Tea at Café Royal, Mamma Mia! The Party — and what actually happens when you try to find a good spot for fireworks in London at midnight.
Carina had something planned. A surprise trip to London over New Year's Eve — five nights, everything booked in advance, not a single detail shared with me. We flew out of Hamburg to London Stansted on December 29th and back on January 3rd.
Arrival and the First Night
Arrive in the evening, be hungry, order a delivery service — that was our first mistake. The food was terrible: wildly overpriced, barely edible, half of it ended up in the bin. The next morning was better.
The Hotel — Motel One London Tower Hill
Anyone who knows Motel One knows what they're getting: solid standards, clean, functional, no surprises. What the Tower Hill location has going for it is the position — Tower Bridge is within walking distance and the tube connections are excellent.
The breakfast wasn't a classic English. No beans, no bacon — cold cuts and rolls. If you want the Full English, you'll need to leave the building.
The Oyster Card — Carina's Groundwork
Carina had sorted an Oyster Card in advance and topped it up — enough to cover almost the entire stay. Tube, bus, Overground — everything runs on it, and with enough credit you can get anywhere in the city.
Order online before you travel
The Visitor Oyster Card can be ordered directly from the official TfL Visitor Shop online and gets delivered to your home — you arrive in London with credit already loaded, no queuing at the airport.
How the billing works
Tap your card on the yellow reader when boarding, tap again when you exit. The fare is automatically deducted. The daily cap makes it particularly useful: for Zones 1 and 2 it's currently £8.90 per day — no matter how many journeys you make, you won't be charged more than that in a single day.
What happens when your credit runs out
On the bus, one final journey on zero credit is still possible — the negative amount is collected next time you top up. On the Tube you need sufficient credit to pass through the barriers.
What to do with the card when you get home
The Oyster Card doesn't expire — just top it up on your next London trip. If you want the remaining credit back: up to £10 can be refunded at Tube station ticket machines. Over £10 needs to be requested by phone or online via TfL. The £7 card fee for Visitor Oyster Cards purchased after September 2022 is non-refundable.
Day 1 — Tower Bridge, Big Bus and Afternoon Tea
Clear blue sky. December sun over London. What everyone says: London is grey and rainy. What we had: five days of full sunshine. Untypical, several people told us.
Tower Bridge
The first stop — the hotel is practically in sight of it.
Big Bus Tours — London from the Upper Deck
Carina had booked a day with Big Bus Tours — hop-on-hop-off: one ticket, board and alight as many times as you like, different routes through the city, open upper deck in good weather. There are several operators in London, we rode with Big Bus. The concept works well when you want to cover a lot of ground in a short time.
The buses pass, among other things:
- Tower of London and Tower Bridge
- St Paul's Cathedral
- Tate Modern and Millennium Bridge
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- Trafalgar Square and Whitehall
- Buckingham Palace
- Hyde Park and Marble Arch
- Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street
- Covent Garden
- Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge
Buckingham Palace and the King's Guard
We spent time at Buckingham Palace for the King's Guard Sentry Patrol — at set times the guard marches, very formal, very British. With sunshine it felt even more ceremonial.
Afterwards we walked through the centre — Piccadilly Circus, through the shops, through the packed streets. London is remarkably crowded; it's hard to distinguish tourists from locals. One thing that stood out as a first-time visitor: almost every restaurant seemed to be run by Indians — genuinely surprising, and it makes the city feel very cosmopolitan.
Afternoon Tea at Hotel Café Royal
Hotel Café Royal sits directly on Regent Street, a few steps from Piccadilly Circus — 68 Regent Street, London W1B 4DY. The Traditional Afternoon Tea is served daily from 12:00 to 17:30 in the Café Royal Grill: a listed room with gilded walls, mirrors, an ornate ceiling and live piano. Oscar Wilde was a regular.
What you get per person:
- Amuse-bouche — for example smoked salmon with chive crème fraîche and keta caviar
- Savoury sandwiches — cucumber with cream cheese, Cacklebean egg with mayonnaise, smoked trout with horseradish, poached chicken with tarragon mayonnaise
- Scones — with preserves and clotted cream
- Patisserie — rhubarb yoghurt mousse, strawberry tart, chocolate brownie with pecan praline, raspberry choux
- Tea selection — Silver Needle, Japanese Sencha, Café Royal 1865 Breakfast Blend, Earl Grey, Lemon & Ginger and more
That's Carina, by the way — isn't she lovely?
Price: £85 per person, £170 for two — roughly €200, before service charge.
We spent the evening wandering through the city centre.
Day 2 — New Year's Eve
With 24h and 48h Big Bus Tours tickets, a one-way River Cruise with City Cruises is included — a single trip on the Thames that you need to download separately via the Big Bus portal and validate with staff at the pier before boarding. We started at Tower Millennium Pier heading towards Westminster Pier along the Thames. What the bus doesn't show you, the boat does: the skyline in one sweep, from the water.
Afterwards: a relaxed day through the centre, no agenda.
Mamma Mia! The Party
MAMMA MIA! The Party is a dinner show set in a Greek-themed venue inside The O2, North Greenwich (tube: North Greenwich, Jubilee Line) — created by ABBA founder Björn Ulvaeus, with the London production adapted by Sandi Toksvig. You sit at tables, receive a welcome drink, a four-course Greek dinner, and between courses follow the story of the taverna's characters: love, drama, humour, ABBA songs. The performers come to the tables throughout, and the evening ends with a disco section.
The decoration was elaborate, the location well staged, the food genuinely delicious. We had our own section — that's not guaranteed, you may be seated with other guests.
I love musicals, but ABBA isn't my world — and that makes a difference. The food impressed me more than the music that evening.
The show officially ends at 10 pm. If you want to ring in midnight inside, stay for the disco. If you want to see the fireworks, you leave The O2 at 10 pm — plan for that in advance.
We went for the second option.
New Year's Eve in London
The tube was packed. The streets were packed. The popular spots along the Thames so crowded that you join the mass of people and hope to inch closer to the water. It didn't work. We ended up with buildings blocking most of the view — we could see the top half of the London Eye and left it at that.
What London gets right: no private fireworks. The streets are closed, the fireworks are centrally organised, and afterwards the streets are clean. Anyone who's spent New Year's Eve in Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt — sirens, ambulances, fire services in constant action — knows what the difference looks like.
If you want to see the fireworks: be in position early. Realistically from 3 pm. The spots along South Bank, Waterloo Bridge and Victoria Embankment fill up fast.
Day 3 — Fish & Chips at Carnaby Fish Bar
Nobody flies to London and doesn't eat Fish & Chips.
We headed to Carnaby and ordered at Carnaby Fish Bar: one Cod & Chips, one Haddock & Chips — served in a metal basket with paper, a wedge of lemon and tartare sauce.
Cod is milder, more neutral. Haddock has more character and a stronger flavour. Both crisp on the outside, soft and juicy inside, thick chips. Very filling.
Cost: £21 per dish, two Coke Zeros — around £50. London pricing for what was originally working-class food. The quality is there.
Day 4 — Breakfast Above the City and Camden
Duck & Waffle
Carina had reserved in advance — at Duck & Waffle, that's essential. The restaurant is on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower at Bishopsgate, with large windows and views over London.
We ordered the signature dish: Duck & Waffle — £26 per person. A crispy Gressingham Duck Leg Confit, a fried egg and Mustard Maple Syrup on a waffle. Plus ginger shots and juices.
Sweet-savoury, American-influenced — the combination of soft waffle, rich duck, runny yolk and maple-mustard syrup works surprisingly well. Very heavy for a breakfast. I could have eaten a second portion.
We didn't have the ideal table. Duck & Waffle lives on its window seats — mention it when you reserve if you want a direct view over the city.
Cost: £26 per person, plus 15% discretionary service charge. Reservations up to two months in advance, sometimes with card guarantee required.
Camden Stables Market
Originally horse stables, now a sprawling market area in Camden Town near Chalk Farm Road and Camden Lock — brick walls, narrow alleys, vintage shops, streetwear, jewellery, street food from everywhere, neon lights.
What you'll find:
- Vintage clothing, leather jackets, alternative styles, jewellery, accessories
- Street food: dumplings, bao buns, tacos, falafel, desserts
- The photo spot at the colourful umbrellas in the covered passage
- Along the Regent's Canal for a quieter break from the market
Camden is touristy and crowded, but it feels genuinely different from the rest of the city — younger, wilder, less polished.
What We Didn't Get to See
Five days in London goes fast. Two places we didn't get to:
Baker Street — home of Sherlock Holmes, with the famous museum at No. 221b.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter — slightly outside the city, but one of the most visited attractions around London. The original sets, costumes and props from all eight films. Book in advance — tickets sell out quickly.
Verdict
London is expensive and extraordinarily crowded — and on New Year's Eve it's a category of its own. The city itself got us from the first day: the recognition from a thousand films, the weather that just cooperated, Carina's planning that worked every single day.
Would we go back? Yes — with more time, an early spot for New Year's Eve, and a window table at Duck & Waffle.
