The eye-watering cost of parking near London's Christmas markets revealed
Do yourself a favour and take the tube, parking will cost more than the experience!
New analysis reveals visitors to some of the UK’s most popular Christmas markets could pay more to park their cars than to enjoy the mulled wine and festive treats.
Leicester Square Christmas Market has been crowned the most expensive festive market to park near this December, with drivers paying an average of £56.55 for eight hours – the highest cost in the UK.
The study, commissioned by WDW Bingo, analysed average parking prices for an eight-hour stay within a ten-minute walk of major Christmas markets, using data from QPark and JustPark.
It comes as interest in festive days out surges, with 3.4 million Google searches for “Christmas market” in the UK in the past month alone.
London unsurprisingly tops the list. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park takes second place, with parking costing drivers an average of £52.
Outside the capital, Edinburgh Christmas Market is the most expensive, ranking third at £28.10, followed by York St Nicholas Fair at £26.10. Manchester Christmas Market, one of the UK’s largest and longest-running, rounds out the top five at £25.45.
At the other end of the scale, festive-goers heading to Bristol or Cardiff will find some of the cheapest parking, at £12.67 and £13 respectively.
Below is the full ranking of the UK’s most expensive Christmas markets to park near, according to the study.
UK’s most expensive Christmas markets to park near
1. Leicester Square Christmas Market - £56.55
2. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland - £52
3. Edinburgh Christmas Market - £28.10
4. York Christmas Market - £26.10
5. Manchester Christmas Market - £25.45