Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival is the largest festival of its kind in London, and – after three years – it finally has returned! From 18th – 28th January 2023 over 20 stunning installations are on display all over Canary Wharf to glow up the long dark Winter nights each day from 5pm-10pm.
Over 20 stunning light installations are on display all over Canary Wharf to explore. Some of them have been seen in previous years, others are being displayed for the first time in the UK.
Word waterfall by Julius Popp might be familiar to those who have visited Winter Lights Festival before, while ‘Permafrost – Sleeping Giants’ by Fisheye is completely new. This epic installation is featuring brightly-coloured mammoths.
Another installation to be excited about is ’Floating Earth’ by Luke Jerram. This is the exact same Earth installation that has been on display in Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival is free to visit, and no booking required. Just show up and enjoy.
‘Floating Earth’ by Luke Jerram
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Anima’ By ELISAVA
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Permafrost – Sleeping Giants’ by Fisheye
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Bit.fall’ by Julius Popp
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Crystal Greenhouse’ by Shared Space and Light
Ready for your next adventure? Battersea Light Festival has also returned this year and is absolutely stunning!
London’s original Bubblewrap waffle shop is in Chinatown, and they have launched their cute limited-edition Christmas special combo.
What is Bubble Waffle?
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Bubble waffle was a street snack in Hong Kong, and it got popular in the 1950s. Bubble waffle or egg waffle is an eggy waffle (now egg free option is available) cooked on a special frying pan to form crispy honeycomb shape. It was originally made from leftover ingredients, such as eggs, flour and sugar and was broken into pieces and sold separately without toppings.
What a Waffle!
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Bubble waffle appeared in London in the 2010s and quickly became an Instagram sensation. It was first being sold in markets before the founders opened their first permanent shop in Chinatown.
In fact, the founders started Bubblewrapas a school project. They wanted to invent a dessert completely different from everything had been known so far. They wanted something eccentric, something that is hot and cold, smooth and crunchy at the same time, something that has a unique combination of taste and texture.
So, they created their own secret recipe and – for the first time in London – started selling the Hong Kong-style waffle with gelato, the most different toppings, and sauces.
Bubblewrap x Care Bears Collab – 2022 Autumn
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Bubblewrap have had collaborations with the biggest brands over the years, such as Angry Birds, Peanuts or Care Bears, and they come up with a limited-edition Christmas combo every December.
Feeling Bubbly and Festive
Bubblewrap Christmas Special Combo – AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT DECEMBER 2022
Photo: Courtesy of Bubblewrap
While last year (2021) they had the cutest Rudolph combo, this year they have a festive extravaganza with strawberry cheesecake gelato (they make their very own finger-licking home-made gelato), whipped cream, fresh strawberry, cute festive chocolate decorations and rainbow sprinkles. All wrapped in made-to-order warm bubble waffle.
Rudolph Bubblewrap from 2021
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Christmas special combo is available at their Chinatown location.
The FUJIFILM House of Photography launched their first photography experience within their flagship store in Covent Garden this November. ‘Arctic Adventure’ is a family-friendly pop-up, offering different fun Winter scenes and installations to capture those festive moments.
Once you’re ready with your selfies, you can create personalised gifts, photo books, and cards straight away on the spot.
Holographic stairs lead to the first floor where your ‘Arctic Adventure’ starts. There is a phone stand at each installation, so everyone can easily take their Christmassy selfie even by themselves. Alternatively, a friendly member staff is available to give you a hand if needed.
Jump on a sleigh, wrap in a cozy blanket, and snap a dreamy Christmas card photo in a snowy forest under dim oil lamps.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Do your best festive pose within a beautiful illuminated life-size snow globe or hop in to snap a selfie within a minimalist snow paper Winter scene.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The Winter’s Sun corner is a colourful lightshow that projects your silhouette onto the wall for a dreamy result.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Nearby, there is a mirror wall that looks like cracked ice. Catch some icy moments with reflections before you go for a magical adventure beneath the Northern Lights.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Are you brave enough to step into the Yeti’s den? Well, there’s nothing to worry about, as FUJIFILM’s resident Yeti is a gentle giant. Feel free to sit or lie down on the biggest and furriest pair of feet you have ever seen and snap funny photos.
Practical Info
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Arctic Adventure is open from 15th November 2022 to 15th January 2023
Click here to find FUJIFILM House of Photography festive opening hours.
The experience is FREE | No booking required
Ready for your next adventure? Uzumaki London is the UK’s first anime-themed restaurant and is just a 10-min walk from FUJIFILM House of Photography. Celebrate Christmas with a bowl of hot Naruto Ramen and let your child choose a FREE gift from Santa’s sack (under the age of 12).
December is for tingling our taste buds with festive special seasonal menus and cocktails. Well, there are plenty of places to drink festive cocktails all around in London, but we’re pretty confident, we have found the cutest Christmas cocktail in town.
Chocolate lovers! This one is for you.
The Chocolate Cocktail Club
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The Chocolate Cocktail Club is the only bar in London (and the whole UK), specialised in chocolate cocktails. A must-go destination for chocoholics.
From creamy to nutty to spicy, there are over 20 different chocolate cocktails are on the menu, and most of them comes with a little treat to get your taste buds indulged even more.
And we haven’t even mentioned their Christmas specials!
Drink It from a Chocolate Reindeer
Photo: Urban Adventurer
They introduced their special Christmas cocktail menu on the 1st December that includes ‘Giggling Gingerbread Man’ containing vanilla ice cream, gingerbread syrup and of course a giggling gingerbread man on the side. ‘Merry Mint To Be’ is another creamy one, containing Baileys and white room. This cocktail has a lovely light green colour and comes with a sweet candy cane.
The absolute showstopper on the menu is the ‘Chocolate Reindeer’. The nice and smooth blend of Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Dark Crème de Cacao, Absolute Vanilla Vodka and Soya Chocolate Milk is literally served in a cute edible chocolate reindeer to crunch after finishing your cocktail.
Practical Info
The Chocolate Cocktail Club’s Christmas menu is available until 29th December.
If you have ever wished you could step into the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel, this festive period is the perfect time to make your childhood dream come true.
The Gingerbread City® by The Museum of Architecture returns from 3rd December 2022 – 2nd January 2023 featuring five different (yummy) miniature cities.
This year over 100 leading architects, engineers, designers, and bakers have created not one, but 5 mini cities across different climate zones: Polar, Continental, Temperate, Dry and Tropical.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The aim is to suggest a new normal in our post-Covid world where life is more sustainable, more convenient, more affordable, and less stressful.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The different climate zones require designers and architects to take local resources and special building methods into account, as well as bring new creative ideas to the table in order to respond to climate crisis.
Gingerbread City Workshops
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The Gingerbread City is not just for the eye. The exhibition is running workshops– including family workshops – that you can book separately.
The workshops are running every day and invite participants to design their own gingerbread house for different climates in order to resonate the exhibition theme.
Adult workshops are available in the evening from 6pm-7:30pm.
Grab a warm hug in a mug this Winter; we’ve found the prettiest and yummiest hot chocolates to try in London. These hot chocolates are not just rich chocolatey heaven, but super Instagrammable too.
EL&N Café is famous for being London’s pinkest and most Instagrammable café. They have multiply locations throughout London from Knightsbridge, to Carnaby Street, to Selfridges.
This Winter they have launched their ‘A Season of Sweetness’ menu with super Instagrammable cakes, such as pink Christmas tree or Santa’s Sleigh cake, and of course decadent hot chocolate creations, served in Santa or Christmas tree shaped mugs.
Chin Chin Labs is Europe’s first liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour, however, in Winter time they serve their signature hot chocolate with torched gooey marshmallow fluff. And the best part is, they have vegan and vegetarian versions too.
The Knot Churros is a real hidden gem with only one location in London. They serve dreamy churros desserts, milkshakes, special hot and cold drinks, all look like they were just stepped out from a fairy tale. They often do collabs with such brands like Disney or Care Bears.
In Winter time they serve limited-edition hot drinks, such as their dreamy ‘Candy Floss Hot Chocolate’, ‘Marshmallow Belgian Hot Chocolate’ or ‘Pink Hot Chocolate’.
Italian Bear Chocolate are using their very own recipes, rooted in Italian cultural heritage. It’s not just about producing all chocolate goodies locally. It’s also about that unique ‘Italian-style’ chocolate experience that they call ‘homely hospitality’.
Their most popular hot chocolate is ‘Triple Hot Chocolate’ which was first introduced in 2015, and is made with three different chocolates: dark, milk and white.
It goes perfectly well with their best-selling chocolate cake that also comes with the same triple melted chocolates on demand.
Dark Sugars brings you the authentic taste of African cocoa. Watch your hot chocolate being made in front of your eyes. They’re using a mixture of dark, milk and white chocolate flakes chopped in front of you to be melted in your choice of milk. They have a wide variety of flavours to choose from, such as chilli or praline, and you can have as much chocolate flakes in your drink as you possibly want.
Hotel Chocolat
Various locations throughout London
Photo: Urban Adventurer
When it comes to hot chocolate, Hotel Chocolat is what often comes to our minds first. And that’s not without reason!
The luxury chocolate brand offer a wide variety of indulging hot chocolate, from salted caramel, to chilli, to hazelnut, to mint. Their velvety decadent drinks contain different percentage of cocoa – from white chocolate 36% to dark chocolate 85% – and they even offer 100% dark cacao hot chocolate.
Just like Dark Sugars, Hotel Chocolat are using real flakes of grated chocolate to be melted into your choice of milk, and you can have the yummiest cocoa whip on the top for no additional cost.
And that’s not all. Hotel Chocolat are kid-friendly: for little hands, they serve half-measure of any hot chocolate.
Venchi Chocolate and Gelato
Various locations throughout London
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Venchi Chocolate and Gelato have an amazing history behind them. Venchi was established in 1878 and soon became “the most elegant chocolate shop in Piedmont”. The brand soon earned international recognition and opened shops in more than 70 countries around the world – including London.
Today Venchi have eight different locations in London, including Covent Garden and Harrods.
They serve amazing hot chocolate creations – including gluten-free and vegan options.
Ready for your next adventure? ‘Room to Breathe’ is a free immersive experience next to Tottenham Court Road Station. It’s a multisensory experience based on science to help busy Londoners, tourists and families calm down and relax throughout the day.
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