Celebrate the magic of the festive season with the UK’s original light trail, Christmas at Kew

From 14 November 2025, Christmas at Kew returns to Kew Gardens with a showcase of new installations and world premieres which will allow visitors to enjoy London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in an entirely new light. A festive favourite with visitors of all ages since 2013, Christmas at Kew has paved the way for other seasonal light trails across the country, showcasing the best of nature by night and bringing the spectacular surroundings of the Gardens to life after dark. This year’s trail will incorporate a series of innovative new installations alongside seasonal staples including stunning illuminated trees, a festive funfair and the ever-popular Christmas Cathedral.

New installations for 2025

This year’s trail will include eight global premieres, with these newly commissioned installations on display to visitors for the first time anywhere in the world as part of the 2025 event. Amongst these will be Christmas Orchestra, a new piece by Culture Creative, featuring an array of festive music co-ordinated with a collection of lights, and In Bloom by multidisciplinary artist Wilhelmusvlug from the Netherlands, which evokes delicate flower petals dancing through the air.  

The 3km route will this year start from Kew’s iconic Palm House, with a newly created projection show above the Botanical restaurant on Museum Number 1, originally designed by Decimus Burton in the 19^th century to showcase Kew’s Economic Botany Collection, emphasising humanity’s reliance on plants for all aspects of life. The Palm House Pond will be adorned with a magnificent light display of 100 lilies representing the spectacular waterlilies which have become an internationally recognised part of Kew’s record-breaking Living Collection.

Other new highlights include an interactive installation of dancing floors, with giant headphones encouraging visitors to embrace the festive spirit and immerse themselves in some of the season’s most memorable music. The iconic Great Pagoda, designed in the 18^th century by Sir William Chambers and restored in 2018 by Historic Royal Palaces, will also be illuminated for the first time ever as part of Christmas at Kew this year.  Also new for 2025, Mycelium Network will illuminate the ground with vibrant LED lights, representing the incredible interconnectedness of fungal filaments which play a vital role in ecosystems all over the planet, and reflecting Kew’s ongoing scientific research into the millions of species of fungi which underpin all life on Earth.

Festive favourites

This year, the spectacular finale of the Christmas at Kew trail will be a stunning show on Kew’s iconic Temperate House, the world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse. A seasonal favourite with visitors, this music and light show will encapsulate the spirit of the season and the astonishing architecture of this historic glasshouse, which is home to some of the rarest plants on the planet. Seasonal favourites returning again for 2025 include the atmospheric Fire Garden, Christmas Cathedral and Pealight Tree along Holly Walk, dressed by Kew’s expert Tree Gang. Many of Kew’s striking plants and trees will also be highlighted along the route, allowing visitors to soak up the spectacle of nature from a new perspective and bask in vibrant colour as twilight falls. 

Visitors can enjoy delicious street food along the route, with a range of festive delights and winter warmers on offer. The Pavilion Bar & Grill will also be open for indoor food options, offering a special festive menu. 

Sustainability at Christmas at Kew 

As part of our 2021-2030 Sustainability Strategy, every year RBG Kew works closely with our Christmas at Kew event partners and suppliers to design and deliver a beautiful Christmas light trail that is as sustainable as possible. Each year we are making improvements to achieve a lower impact Christmas at Kew for thousands to enjoy. In 2005, Kew Gardens became the first World Heritage Site in the world to achieve ISO 14001 accreditation. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard for environmental management, helping organisations to improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. 

Where possible, all lighting on the trail is LED and we are working hard to transition towards 100% LED lighting for the artworks which form the Christmas at Kew trail over the next couple of years. This year all Christmas at Kew generators are run on renewably sourced biofuel. 

Sandra Botterell, Director of Marketing and Commercial Enterprise at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “There’s no doubt that Christmas at Kew is a firm favourite of the seasonal calendar, and the experience this year promises to be just as enchanting as always. With a freshly designed route and a spectacular selection of new installations for 2025, we’re very excited to be welcoming visitors to Kew Gardens to enjoy the beauty of nature by night once again.”

At Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, Glow Wild celebrates its 13^th year with charming bespoke installations and the one of the world’s largest living Christmas trees. Tickets for Christmas at Kew and Glow Wild are available to purchase now at: www.kew.org

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is dedicated to harnessing the power of plants and fungi to end the extinction crisis and secure a future for all life on Earth. With Kew’s world-leading research, global partnerships and beloved gardens – home to the world’s most diverse collections of plants and fungi – Kew is using its trusted voice to shape policy and practice worldwide. As a charity Kew relies on the critical support of its visitors, not only to sustain the gardens, but to protect global plant and fungal biodiversity for the benefit of our planet and humanity.

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