Christmas and New Year 2026 in Greenwich, London: Opening Hours, Bins, Transport and NYE

Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. Here's what we could confirm about Christmas and New Year in Greenwich, London and Blackheath, checked on official pages on 1 November 2026. Where something isn't published yet, we say so and link the page to check, and we'll update this guide as details come out.

Bank holidays

England has three bank holidays over the festive period: Christmas Day on Friday 25 December 2026, Boxing Day on Monday 28 December 2026 (a substitute day, because 26 December is a Saturday) and New Year's Day on Friday 1 January 2027. See GOV.UK bank holidays.

Bins, recycling and Christmas trees

Royal Borough of Greenwich: Christmas and New Year 2026 collection changes are not yet published (checked 1 November 2026). They will appear on the council's bank holiday collection dates page, which still shows August's changes. For real trees, the council's recycling directory says a cut-up tree can go in your green top food and garden waste bin, or to the Reuse and Recycling Centre. Dates for any 2026–27 tree collection are not yet published.

Lewisham Council: no Christmas 2026 collection changes are published yet (checked 1 November 2026); check your day on Lewisham's bin collection page. After Christmas you can take a real tree to a council collection point, or cut it into pieces no thicker than 10cm and no longer than 50cm for your garden waste bin. This year's collection points are not yet listed. See Lewisham's A to Z of recycling.

What's open in Greenwich

Greenwich Market is open daily from 10am to 5.30pm, including bank holidays. It closes on Christmas Day and on the first six Mondays of the new year. There are no stalls on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November while the festive lights go up, though the shops stay open. See Greenwich Market's FAQs and our guide to Christmas light switch-ons.

Featured local business

Greenwich Market

Market & Community · Greenwich

Greenwich's historic covered market, trading since 1737: more than 120 shops and stalls selling art, crafts, antiques, vintage and street food, plus a riverside food market by the Cutty Sark.

Royal Museums Greenwich says the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and Cutty Sark are open between Christmas and New Year, 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.15pm). Its Christmas closure days are not yet published (checked 1 November 2026). Cutty Sark closes early, at 4pm, on 10 December. See RMG opening times and Christmas in Greenwich.

Featured local business

Queen's House

Museum & Heritage · Greenwich

Inigo Jones’s white Palladian villa in Greenwich, now a free art gallery with royal portraits, seascapes, the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I and the famous Tulip Stairs.

The Royal Observatory is closed from 2 November 2026 for a major renovation. Read our story on the closure.

At the Old Royal Naval College, the Painted Hall, Chapel and Visitor Centre open daily from 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm), and the grounds from 8am to 11pm. No Christmas closures are listed yet. See ORNC opening times.

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Painted Hall

Museum & Heritage · Greenwich

Sir James Thornhill’s Baroque masterpiece at the Old Royal Naval College: more than 3,700 square metres of painted walls and ceilings, with daily talks and tours included in the ticket.

Greenwich Park opens at 6am for pedestrians (7am for the car parks) and closes at 6pm throughout December, according to the Royal Parks' 2026 opening times.

The Queen's House Ice Rink runs from 18 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 and is closed on Christmas Day. The rink's site gives 11am to 9pm (last session 8pm), while RMG's page says 10am to 9pm, so check before you go: the rink or RMG. More in our ice rink guide.

Council libraries and leisure centres have not published festive hours yet. For pubs and restaurants open on Christmas Day, see Christmas lunch and dinner in Greenwich.

Getting around

National Rail says there are no trains on Christmas Day. Most operators run no service on Saturday 26 December, trains run on Monday 28 December, and some routes finish early on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. See National Rail's Christmas guide.

Southeastern engineering work means no trains at Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Cannon Street on 27 and 28 December and 1, 2 and 3 January; trains through Greenwich run to and from London Bridge instead. On 27 and 28 December Lewisham station and the Bexleyheath line are also closed, with replacement buses including Greenwich to Sidcup, and you can use the DLR between Lewisham and Greenwich at no extra cost. Check Southeastern's festive changes.

TfL hasn't published its Christmas 2026 plans for the DLR or the Jubilee line yet (checked 1 November 2026). Check TfL's major works page nearer the time.

New Year's Eve

The Mayor of London's fireworks on Thursday 31 December are ticket-only: you can't enter the viewing areas without one. Tickets cost £40 or £55, or £20 or £35 for Londoners, with up to four per person. A second batch is still to be announced. See London New Year's Eve 2026.

Royal Greenwich says you must not set off your own fireworks in its parks or open spaces. Last year the Royal Parks closed Greenwich Park at around 6pm on New Year's Eve and said none of its parks is an official viewing area; its 2026 plans are not yet published. See the Royal Parks' 2025 notice.

In Blackheath, O'Neill's Blackheath is open from 12pm to midnight on New Year's Eve with a party night, and The Clarendon Hotel has a New Year's Eve dinner and overnight stay package. See O'Neill's and The Clarendon.

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O'Neill's Blackheath

Restaurant · Blackheath

Irish pub in Blackheath Village with live sport, music, pub food and Guinness, open late Thursday to Saturday, with table booking and order-at-table.

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The Clarendon Hotel

Hotel · Blackheath

An independently owned Georgian hotel in Blackheath Village, offering comfortable rooms, free parking, and the Meridian Restaurant with scenic views toward Royal Greenwich Park.

Health and pharmacies

Order repeat prescriptions early: the NHS says allow five working days. Use the NHS pharmacy finder for opening hours, including local pharmacies such as Blackheath Standard Pharmacy. If you run out of medicine, use 111 online or call 111. In an emergency, call 999. South east London's Christmas pharmacy rota is not yet published.

Where we checked

Bank holidays: gov.uk/bank-holidays, checked 1 November 2026.

Royal Greenwich bank holiday collections: royalgreenwich.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Royal Greenwich Christmas trees: royalgreenwich.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Royal Greenwich fireworks guidance: royalgreenwich.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Lewisham bin collections: lewisham.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Lewisham Christmas trees: lewisham.gov.uk A to Z, checked 1 November 2026.

Greenwich Market hours: greenwichmarket.london/faqs, checked 1 November 2026.

Royal Museums Greenwich: opening times, Christmas in Greenwich and Cutty Sark closures, checked 1 November 2026.

Old Royal Naval College: ornc.org opening times, checked 1 November 2026.

Greenwich Park: Royal Parks FAQs and 2026 opening times, checked 1 November 2026.

Queen's House Ice Rink: thequeenshouseicerink.com and rmg.co.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

National Rail Christmas 2026/27: nationalrail.co.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Southeastern festive changes: nationalrail.co.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

TfL major works and events: tfl.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

London New Year's Eve 2026: london.gov.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

O'Neill's Blackheath New Year's Eve: oneills.co.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

The Clarendon Hotel New Year's Eve: clarendonhotel.com, checked 1 November 2026.

NHS emergency prescriptions: nhs.uk, checked 1 November 2026.

Photos: Old Royal Naval College at night by Matt Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Queen Anne Court at dusk by Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.