Exploring The Christmas Lights In Norwich, 2024

Spending time with kids and giving them a good time doesn’t have to be all theme parks and expensive flights. We’re big fans of free fun too!

To celebrate the start of the Christmas season, we decided to take a walk around Norwich (our closest city) and see all of the Christmas lights in the dark. We arrived in the city just after 3.30pm and night was falling.

We grabbed hot chocolates from the Costa in Chantry Place and then took them for a walk. Apart from our hot chocs, the only cash we spent was £3.50 on parking. Chantry Place has a flat rate Christmas parking offer where parking is £3.50 for the evening if you park in the centre after 3pm.

Where Are The Best Places To See Christmas Lights In Norwich?

We started in Chantry Place, which is really beautifully decorated. There are reindeer flying across the roof, then a huge lit up tree and a sleigh for photos.

Outside of Chantry Place is a light up tunnel of presents to walk through.

From here we went to the Assembly House where there are dozens of trees and igloos on the lawn. The house itself had also been lit, and it reminded us of the Home Alone house.

They’re serving afternoon tea in the igloos on the Assembly House lawn and it looked fabulous, although you would need quite a large party to fill the igloo. It’s definitely on my list of Christmas things to do in Norwich.

Our next stop was to cross the road to the Forum, then to city hall, then down into the market. All were lit so prettily, and there was a Christmas market with stalls outside the forum too.

From here we went to Jarrolds, and on their second floor they’ve opened a lovely Christmas market packed full of unusual gifting ideas and Christmas decorations. Definitely not the most affordable, but it was lovely to walk around and warm up for 20 minutes after we’d spent a lot of time outside.

We then went to Royal Arcade (my favourite, with its ornate victorian-style decorations) before going to the Canopy of Lights, a new feature outside Next.

We used to love the Tunnel of Lights which connected the Next to the Forum. It was a really unique feature that you couldn’t experience anywhere else in the country, and its a real shame to see it go.

The canopy of lights is its replacement, and the boys were very happy with it. They could have spent hours stood underneath watching the lights change. But I don’t think it compares to the Tunnel (bring back the tunnel!)

Finally, we headed back to Chantry Place and home, listening to Christmas music all the way.

It was an incredible start to the holiday season, and all without breaking the bank. If you’re living near Norwich and looking for something fun (and cheap) to do with your kids then this activity comes highly recommended.

WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX? NEVER WANT TO MISS A STORY? HIT SUBSCRIBE BELOW