Fulham Palace's Christmas fair is Sat 5 and Sun 6 Dec, 11am to 4pm, £5 adults, £3 children. Twilight fair Fri 4 Dec, £10; Santa's Winter Garden from 20 Nov.
Fulham Palace, the former home of the Bishops of London by Putney Bridge, stays free to visit through the winter, with the museum open from 10.30am to 5pm and the botanic garden from 7am to 6pm. This Christmas it is busier than usual. The walled garden becomes Santa’s Winter Garden, a ticketed snow trail, from 20 November to 23 December, the palace holds an adults-only Christmas fair at twilight on Friday 4 December, and the family Christmas fair follows on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December. Father Christmas in the historic library has not been dated for 2026 yet, and the palace’s general Christmas page still shows last year’s dates. This page sets out what is confirmed and what is not.
The quick answer
Entry to the house and garden is free, but book a free timed ticket for the museum. Santa’s Winter Garden: 20 November to 23 December, children from £38. Christmas fair at twilight: Friday 4 December, 5.30pm to 8.30pm, £10, adults only. Family Christmas fair: Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 11am to 4pm, £5 adults, £3 children, £15 for a family of four. Father Christmas dates for 2026 have not been published.
Updated 3 October: the palace has published the 2026 family fair, two weeks later than last year’s.
Updated 8 October: tickets for both fairs are on sale online through Fever, with no booking fees. Father Christmas in the library is still not dated.
Fulham Palace Christmas 2026: dates and tickets
Every Christmas event at the palace that has a 2026 date, in order, from the palace’s event pages and the booking pages they link to, all read on 8 October:
| Event | Date | Time | Price | Book through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa's Winter Garden | Fri 20 Nov to Wed 23 Dec | Timed slots | Children £38 to £67, adults £20 to £38, plus £5.50 per order | Santa's Winter Garden (See Tickets) |
| Christmas fair at twilight (18+) | Fri 4 Dec | 5.30pm to 8.30pm | £10, Patrons free | Fever, linked from the palace |
| Family Christmas fair | Sat 5 and Sun 6 Dec | 11am to 4pm | £5 adult, £3 child, £15 family of four; Friends and Patrons free | Fever, linked from the palace |
| Father Christmas in the library | Not yet announced | Not yet announced | £30 in 2025 | Not on sale |
The palace’s “Join now” buttons on both fair pages go to Fever, which shows no booking fees and prices that match the palace’s own. Friend and Patron tickets are £0 on Fever, but the member card is checked at the gate, and Fever’s note says anyone who cannot show one will have to buy a ticket on site. That note is also the only sign that tickets can be bought at the gate on the day; the palace does not say how many it holds back, so book ahead for a set day.
Winter opening times
From the palace’s opening times page, checked on 25 September 2026:
| Area | Open |
|---|---|
| Museum and historic rooms | 10.30am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) |
| Café | 9.30am to 5pm |
| Shop | 10.30am to 5pm |
| Botanic garden | 7am to 6pm |
| Walled garden | 10.15am to 4.15pm |
The palace’s FAQs describe the site as open “dawn to dusk”, so on winter afternoons go by the light rather than the 6pm on the table. The palace has not published opening hours for Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day. Its closures list is short-notice, rooms close for private events, and the site can shut in high winds, so the palace itself advises checking the free museum ticketing page a week before you go.
Two things to know this winter. The walled garden is given over to Santa’s Winter Garden from 20 November, and whether it stays open to ordinary visitors in the day is not stated. And the palace can switch the whole site to ticketed entry for a big event, as it did for Apple Day on 4 October, so check before a December visit.
Santa’s Winter Garden, 20 November to 23 December
The biggest Christmas event at the palace this year is run by Intuitive Festive Events, not the palace. The organiser’s site promises a trail through the walled gardens with film-style snow effects, ending in a private visit with Santa.
- Children £38 to £67, adults £20 to £38, depending on the date and time (Super Off-Peak, Off-Peak and Standard), plus a £5.50 booking fee per order.
- Allow 90 minutes to 2 hours. It is mostly outdoors and goes ahead in rain.
- Babies under 12 months go free but get no Santa visit or gift.
- Up to four children and ten adults per booking.
The palace’s listing says the Trust cannot answer questions about tickets or access, so ask the organiser. Our Santa’s grotto page compares it with the London Christmas Village on Shepherd’s Bush Green.
Christmas fair at twilight, Friday 4 December
The palace’s event page lists an adults-only evening on Friday 4 December 2026 from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, sponsored by Strutt and Parker. Tickets are £10 and free for Patrons, with a glass of prosecco included. There are more than 60 independent makers, live music in the chaplain’s garden marquee, food traders on the main drive, the drawing room café turned into a bar, and the garden stall selling wreaths and preserves made by the gardeners and volunteers.
The palace calls the evening a “preview” of its annual Christmas fair, which follows the next day.
The family Christmas fair, 5 and 6 December
The fair’s event page, updated by the palace on 2 October, gives Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026, 11am to 4pm. Prices are £5 for adults, £3 for children and £15 for a family of two adults and two children. Strutt and Parker sponsor it, as they do the twilight evening.
What the palace lists for the weekend:
- A market of independent makers and small businesses through the historic rooms, the marquee and the main drive, plus the garden stall’s wreaths, decorations and preserves and the museum shop.
- Christmas crafts and badge making in the marquee for younger visitors.
- A new Christmas tree showcase trail: local businesses decorate trees around the palace and visitors vote for a winner.
- Local choirs singing carols in the Tudor courtyard.
- Food traders, mulled wine from the sponsor, and drinks in the courtyard and the drawing room café.
- A gift grotto tombola, with all proceeds to Fulham Palace Trust.
Service dogs are welcome. Last year’s fair ran on 22 and 23 November at the same prices, so this year’s is two weeks later.
Father Christmas in the library: not yet dated
The palace’s Christmas page still describes 2025, with weekdays and no year (“Saturday 22 and 23 Sunday November, 6 Saturday and 7 Sunday December”). Those are last year’s dates, and the Father Christmas event page still shows the 2025 visit as ended. In 2025 it cost £30, including entry to the fair: children made a keepsake, met Father Christmas in the library, got a photo and a gift, and left through a secret bookcase door. If the palace repeats the pattern, the visits would sit on the fair weekend, but it has not said so.
Fulham Palace Christmas: questions
When is the Fulham Palace Christmas fair in 2026? Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026, 11am to 4pm. The adults-only twilight preview is the evening before, Friday 4 December, 5.30pm to 8.30pm.
How much is the Fulham Palace Christmas fair? £5 an adult, £3 a child, or £15 for two adults and two children. The twilight evening is £10 with a glass of prosecco. Both are booked through Fever with no booking fee.
Is Fulham Palace free at Christmas? The house museum and gardens are free to visit, with a free timed ticket for the museum. The Christmas fairs and Santa’s Winter Garden are ticketed.
When is Father Christmas at Fulham Palace in 2026? Not announced as of 8 October. The palace’s Father Christmas page still shows the 2025 visit, which cost £30 and included fair entry for two adults and a child. Bookings for that could not be changed after 10 November last year.
Can I take a buggy into the Christmas fair? Buggies and prams stay in marked parking spaces outside the palace, and no food or drink is allowed in the historic rooms. Only assistance dogs are allowed on site.
Getting there
Fulham Palace is on Bishop’s Avenue, SW6 6EA. The nearest station is Putney Bridge on the District line, which has no lift. The palace’s getting here page warns that construction work closes Willow Bank, a stretch of the Thames Path and the underpass until 2027. From the station, follow the signed diversion via Ranelagh Gardens, Fulham High Street and Gonville Street, then cross Putney Bridge Approach at the lights and walk through Bishop’s Park. There is no general parking on site; there are metered bays on Bishop’s Avenue and one Blue Badge bay in the gated car park. Dogs are not allowed, except assistance dogs.
Still to be confirmed
The dates and price of Father Christmas in the library, and the palace’s opening hours over Christmas and New Year. We will check again in mid-October. For everything else on locally, see our Christmas shows, Hammersmith Winter Festival and North End Road Christmas Market pages, and Christmas travel for the trains.
Sources: Fulham Palace opening times; Fulham Palace FAQs; Christmas fair at twilight 2026 and Christmas fair 2026 (both rechecked 3 and 8 October 2026), and their Fever booking pages (family fair, twilight), read 8 October 2026; Santa’s Winter Garden listing and organiser’s site; Christmas at Fulham Palace; Getting here. All checked 25 September 2026.
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