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Opening Times
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About us
The Christmas season officially begins with Plymouth’s spectacular Christmas Lights Switch-On, sponsored by Morgan Sindall Construction. This year’s event takes place on Thursday 13 November on the Piazza in Plymouth City Centre.
The Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Kathy Watkin, will be joined on stage by Santa and special guests to lead the countdown to light up the city centre with colour and Christmas cheer.
Jump to: Stage Programme | Festivites across the city centre | Access Information
Stage Programme
Get ready for a number of performances from local schools, bands and performing arts groups before the big switch on
4pm - Prince Rock Primary School
4.20pm - Yealmpstone Farm Primary School
4.45pm - The Groovement Project
5.10pm - Pauline Quirke Academy
5.35pm - Italia Conti
6pm - Rock Choir
6.25pm - Countdown and Christmas Lights Switch On
6.40pm - The Sound
Festivities across the City Centre
Drake Circus and The Barcode will join the celebrations with festive fun starting from 3.30pm. Enjoy Elf-a-Oke singalong fun, be amazed by the Merry Magician with seasonal tricks, and soak up the Christmas cheer.
At 4pm, magical snow flurries will fall at the Old Town Street entrance, leading up to the big Drake Circus Christmas Light Switch-On at 5pm, followed by further festive entertainment. Look out for Scrooge who'll be attempting to dampen any Christmas fun around Old Town Square - but don't let him!
From Thursday 13 November, the Christmas late-night shopping period begins. Many city centre shops will remain open until 9pm every Thursday, running through until 18 December.
Access Information
If you have any questions relating to access please contact the dedicated access email address: Eventaccess@plymouth.gov.uk
Jump to: Busy times | Chill out area | Accessible viewing area | Ground condition | Information points | Blue Badge Parking | Public toilets | How to get here
We feel the busiest times for the city centre lights switch on will be between 5.45pm and 6.45pm, the Christmas lights will be switched on between 6.25pm and 6.35pm.
As it will be very busy around the main stage if you are looking for an area away from the main event we recommend heading to the Civic Square (opposite the Civic Centre) where you will find quieter areas with benches.
This will be available on the Piazza by House of Fraser.
The event area is paved and flat, some routes to the event will be sloped.
There will be many stewards across the event around the Piazza, who will always be very happy to help. They will be wearing white high viz tabards so please ask them if you have any questions.
The closest Public toilets are at the sundial on Armada Way:
There are 3 Disabled toilets (2 include baby changing facilities) you will need a RADAR key for access.
There are also a number of Male and Female public toilets located here (please note you will need to go down a number of steps) there is a charge of 20p for access.
Please click here for full details on Blue badge parking
Bus
Plymouth Citybus is the main local bus service provider for Plymouth. You can find out which bus you need to catch, where to catch it from and what time it leaves using the journey planner on the Traveline South West website.
Car
Travelling by car to Plymouth is easily accessible from most locations within the UK.
Most driving routes will bring you onto the M5, which eventually merges to become the A38 bringing you directly to Plymouth. If you cross the Tamar Bridge towards Saltash then you've gone too far.
We recommend you use Google Maps to plan the quickest route for you.
There is plenty of parking available in Plymouth. Whether it's in the car parks or street parking, both will require a small fee in the city.
There are over 50 car parks and more than 5,200 parking spaces in Plymouth. 19 of these car parks are situated in and around the city centre, varying from short term and long term stays. There are spaces in each car park for disabled badge holders. Standard charges apply.
Coach
If you're travelling from within the South West the Stagecoach Falcon service connects Plymouth with Exeter, Taunton, Bristol Airport and Bristol City Centre. National Express operates daily coach services to Plymouth from departure points across the UK. For coach tickets and pricing visit their coach website.
National Express also offers holidays by coach on their Holidays by National Express website, where you can add hotels and attractions to your coach travel and book your next trip to Plymouth in one package.
FlixBus operates a coach service between Plymouth and London, five days a week with additional services running during the summer months.
Train
Plymouth Station is located an approximate 10 minute walk from the city centre, there are also frequent buses which stop outside the station who will bring you to Royal Parade.
Plymouth is easily accessible by train with a wide range of services running from a variety of locations within England. Although some services may require a change or two.
Travelling from London takes around 3 hours with Great Western Railway, if you're coming from the north, the trip from Manchester can take 5 hours 15 minutes.
We recommend using GWR.com to search for the fastest and best route for your journey, and book in advance for the best price.
Walking
The Christmas lights will be switched on at the Piazza, Royal Parade. Walk towards the middle of Royal Parade and cross at the pedestrian crossing if you need to.
Road closures
There are no planned road closures with the Christmas Lights Switch On.
