An Advent journey · a quest in two cities

Glühwein Quest

London · 21 to 28 November  ✦  Vienna · 28 November to 1 December · 2026
✦

Seven nights in London in the season of lights, then three in Vienna for the markets, the Punsch and the opera. The page begins inside Fortnum & Mason and turns Viennese on the morning we fly, as we do.

EWR → LHR · Sat 21LHR → VIE · Sat 28VIE → EWR · Tue 1 Dec
Chapter the first

London, in the season of lights

Saturday 21 November to Saturday 28 November · seven nights · the week Fortnum's clock chimes in Christmas

181 PICCADILLY · THE CLOCK STRIKES, AND MR FORTNUM AND MR MASON BOW
Frontispiece · inside Fortnum's, the week before Advent

We land at twenty past nine on the Saturday night with the lights already on: Carnaby since the 4th, Regent Street since the 5th, Covent Garden since the 12th, Winter Wonderland open two days before us, and the Old Vic's A Christmas Carol in its tenth season. London is at full glow the whole week, and the shops are dressed.

EWR
Newark · New York
Sat 21 Nov · 9:25 AM
LHR
London · Heathrow
Sat 21 Nov · 9:20 PM
United UA 1226 h 55Boeing 787-9Economy · seat 53JBooked
Sat 21arrival

Into the lights Flight day

Land 9:20 PM. The Elizabeth line or a cab to the hotel, and one warm glass somewhere within a walk of the door before bed.

Sun 22the West End

Doughnuts, Covent Garden, Carnaby Proposed

Breakfast at Donutelier on Charing Cross Road, the bells and baubles in the Market Building, the tree in the West Piazza, then Seven Dials up to Carnaby's lights and Regent Street at dusk. Dinner at Dishoom Carnaby, round the corner on Kingly Street.

Mon 23Piccadilly

Fortnum's, and the Old Vic To book · 7 PM

Fortnum's from ten: the clock, the hampers, the tea counter and the Christmas floors, then tea in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Burlington Arcade and Jermyn Street after. The evening at the Old Vic, A Christmas Carol at 7, the last preview night.

Tue 24the river, then Kew

Westminster, the Southbank, Christmas at Kew To book · off-peak night

Big Ben and the Abbey, the Southbank Winter Market along the Queen's Walk, then out to Kew for the light trail, timed from 4:20 PM. Nov 24 is an off-peak date, £29.50 each; Kew is closed on the 23rd and 28th.

Wed 25the City

Borough, the bridge, Spitalfields Proposed

Borough Market for lunch, Tower Bridge, Winter by the River at London Bridge City, Spitalfields' stalls in the afternoon. A pub with a fire to end it.

Thu 26Hyde Park

The shopping, then Winter Wonderland To book · timed entry

Liberty, Hamleys and the Oxford Street windows in the day; Winter Wonderland by a booked arrival hour, last entry 9:30 PM. Dinner at Dishoom Covent Garden, the first of them, on Upper St Martin's Lane.

Fri 27the last day

Harrods, Knightsbridge, and the bags Proposed

The Harrods windows and Knightsbridge in the morning, the last of the shopping, back early to pack. The Trafalgar Square tree is lit on Dec 3, after we have gone, so we see it standing dark.

Sat 28departure

To Vienna Morning flight · to book

A morning departure from Heathrow, to land with the afternoon free for the first Punsch and Meinl before it closes at six.

BLEND

Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly

Mon–Sat 10–20 · Sun 11:30–18 · hours to confirm for the season

The Christmas shop, the hampers, the tea counter under the eau de nil tins, the clock whose two gentlemen bow to each other on the hour, and tea upstairs. The first of the shopping, and most of it.

Open

Also in the basket

the rest of the London shopping

Liberty under its timbers, Burlington Arcade and Jermyn Street, Hamleys, the windows at Harrods and Selfridges, Covent Garden's Market Building, the Southbank chalets for the small things.

The Royal ArmsBy appointment to His Majesty King Charles III · grocers and tea merchants · Fortnum & Mason plc London
The arms of Queen CamillaBy appointment to Her Majesty Queen Camilla · grocers and provision merchants · Fortnum & Mason plc London
The Old Vic · since 1818

A Christmas Carol, the Old Vic

Nov 12 – Jan 9 · 7 PM Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat · matinees Tue, Thu, Sat · no Sundays

Jack Thorne's Dickens, the tenth season, with the mince pies handed round before the lights go down. Our Monday is the last preview; Wednesday and Friday are the other evenings.

To book

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Nov 19 – Jan 3 · timed entry · official

The big wheel, the markets and the Bavarian village. Book the arrival hour; prices are lower before 23:59 the day before.

To book

Donutelier, and Dishoom

48–50 Charing Cross Road · Dishoom Carnaby, 22 Kingly St · Dishoom Covent Garden, 12 Upper St Martin's Lane

Roladin's doughnuts on the edge of Covent Garden, open from 8:30, and two Dishooms for two dinners: the bacon naan at breakfast is the other reason to go back.

Open

Christmas at Kew

Nov 13 – Jan 3 · closed Nov 23 and 28 · official

A mile of light through the gardens and the Palm House. Timeslots from 4:20 PM; our Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are off-peak at £29.50.

To book

Covent Garden, Regent Street, Carnaby

Lights on since Nov 12, Nov 5 and Nov 4

The Theatre of Christmas under Covent Garden's glass, the Spirits above Regent Street, Carnaby's own show round the corner. Walk them after dark, from Piccadilly up.

Open

Southbank, Borough, the river markets

Southbank expected Nov 2 – Jan 4 · Borough open all year · to confirm

Chalets along the Queen's Walk under the Eye, mulled wine by the river; a market lunch under Borough's arches; Winter by the River and Spitalfields on the Wednesday.

Dates expected
Saturday 28 November · the crossing

From the Thames to the DanubeVon der Themse zur Donau

A morning flight, two hours and a little. The page changes dress as you scroll through it: eau de nil to crimson, the holly to a stave of music, Fortnum's to Meinl's.

LHR → VIE · A MORNING DEPARTURE · ABOUT TWO HOURS · TO BE BOOKED
The crossing · one morning, two cities
LondonWien
LHR
London · Heathrow
Sat 28 Nov · morning
VIE
Vienna · Schwechat
Sat 28 Nov · early afternoon
Airline to chooseAustrian and British Airways both fly it in the morningTo book
Zweites Kapitel · chapter the second
Frohe Weihnachten

Wien im Advent

Saturday 28 November to Tuesday 1 December · three nights · the first Sunday of Advent among them · Mozart on the stave and Meinl on the Graben

Julius Meinl am Graben · Konditorei · Kaffee · Weihnachten ERSTER ADVENT · 29.XI CHRISTKINDLMARKT AM RATHAUSPLATZ · 13 NOVEMBER TO 26 DECEMBER · STILLE NACHT ON THE STAVE
Frontispiece · Vienna from the Ring, Meinl's shelf above

Every one of the great markets is open the whole of our three days, the Staatsoper plays Ariadne the night we land and Luisa Miller on the Monday, the museums are open daily through the season, and the first Sunday of Advent falls on our Sunday: Mass at the Hofburgkapelle at a quarter past nine, sung by the Vienna Boys' Choir.

Sat 28arrival

Meinl, Stephansplatz, the old markets Proposed

Land early afternoon, the CAT into town. Julius Meinl am Graben first, since it shuts at six on Saturday and all day Sunday: Mozartkugeln, coffee, the Christmas floor. Then the Weihnachtsdorf under the cathedral's roof as dusk comes, Am Hof and the Freyung a few streets north, the first Punsch and the mug kept. Ariadne auf Naxos at the Staatsoper at 7 if we are awake enough.

Sun 29Advent

The Hofburgkapelle, the Rathaus, Spittelberg To book · 9:15 AM

Mass with the Vienna Boys' Choir, €14, on the first Sunday of Advent. Then Café Central, the Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz in daylight and again when the tree is lit, the Eistraum rink beside it. Tafelspitz at Plachutta or the schnitzel at Figlmüller; Spittelberg's lanes in the evening, open till 9:30.

Mon 30museums, Schönbrunn, the opera

The Kunsthistorisches, the Belvedere, then Luisa Miller To book · 7 PM

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is open daily through the season: Bruegel, the Kunstkammer, the café under the dome. The Belvedere for the Kiss, or the Albertina. Schönbrunn's market in the afternoon, Art Advent at the Karlsplatz at dusk, Sachertorte at Demel or Sacher, and Luisa Miller at the Staatsoper at 7.

Tue 1 Dechomeward

To Newark Flight day

UA 9842 at 10:40 AM, operated by Austrian; the CAT from Wien Mitte to the airport by 8. Land Newark at 2:15 PM the same afternoon, with the Kugeln in the bag.

Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz

Nov 13 – Dec 26 · 10–22 daily · confirmed

The great one: the tree before the Rathaus, the lanterns in the park, the Eistraum rink. Punsch in the mug with the year on it; Maroni from the brazier.

Open
Julius Meinl am Graben

Meinl am Graben, Demel, Sacher

Meinl: Mon–Fri 8–19:30 · Sat 9–18 · Sun closed

The Christmas shopping, Vienna's side: Mozartkugeln and coffee at Meinl, the Kohlmarkt's windows, a slice of Sachertorte, Manner wafers for the bag. Saturday afternoon or Monday; never Sunday.

Open
WIENER STAATSOPER

A night at the Staatsoper

Sat Nov 28 · Ariadne auf Naxos · 19:00 — Mon Nov 30 · Luisa Miller · 19:00 · from the house's calendar

Strauss on the night we land, or Verdi on the Monday; nothing is listed for the Sunday. Standing room goes on sale the day of, seats in advance.

To book

The museums

Kunsthistorisches open daily to Jan 4, 10–18, Thu to 21 · Belvedere and Albertina daily · hours to confirm

Bruegel and the Kunstkammer under the dome, Klimt's Kiss at the Upper Belvedere, Dürer's hare at the Albertina. Monday is the museums' day; the Leopold closes on Tuesdays, which we are spared.

Open

Schönbrunn, Stephansplatz, Karlsplatz, Spittelberg

Schönbrunn Nov 6 – Jan 6 · Stephansplatz Nov 6 – Dec 26 · Art Advent Nov 13 – Dec 23 · Spittelberg Nov 13 – Dec 23

The market before the yellow palace; the village under the cathedral; craft under the Karlskirche's dome, food till nine; the Biedermeier lanes behind the MuseumsQuartier where the Viennese go.

Open

The Austrian table

Plachutta Wollzeile · Figlmüller · the stalls

Tafelspitz with its broth and apple horseradish, a schnitzel wider than the plate, Kaiserschmarrn, Maroni, and at the stalls Glühwein, Punsch in its many kinds and Lebkuchen by the heart.

Book Plachutta
HOFBURGKAPELLE

Sunday Mass with the Vienna Boys' Choir

Sun Nov 29 · 9:15 AM · Hofburgkapelle · €14

The first Sunday of Advent, on the published list. Tickets through the Hofmusikkapelle's own site; seats go, so this is the first thing to book.

To book
VIE
Vienna · Schwechat
Tue 1 Dec · 10:40 AM
EWR
Newark · New York
Tue 1 Dec · 2:15 PM
United UA 9842 · operated by Austrian Airlines9 h 35Boeing 777-200Economy · seat 38HBooked

Standing orders · what is booked, and what is not

  • UA 122, Newark to London, Sat 21 NovBooked. The record locator still to be captured from the e-mail.
  • UA 9842, Vienna to Newark, Tue 1 DecBooked, operated by Austrian.
  • The morning flight to Vienna, Sat 28 NovAustrian and British Airways both fly it before noon.
  • London, seven nightsWithin a walk of Piccadilly and the West End's lights.
  • Vienna, three nightsInside the Ring, or at its edge by the Rathaus.
  • Mass at the Hofburgkapelle, Sun 29 Nov, 9:15 AM€14; through the Hofmusikkapelle. Book first.
  • A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic, Mon 23 Nov, 7 PMOr the Wednesday or the Friday.
  • The Staatsoper, Mon 30 Nov: Luisa MillerOr Ariadne auf Naxos on the Saturday we land.
  • Christmas at Kew, Tue 24 NovOff-peak, £29.50; timeslots from 4:20 PM.
  • Winter Wonderland, Thu 26 NovA booked arrival hour; cheaper before 23:59 the day before.
  • Tea at Fortnum's, Plachutta, a DishoomTables, booked ahead for the season.
  • Passports, the UK ETA, the EU's entry rulesVerified at the source, not remembered.