There are possibly more alpine lodges in London than there are in the actual Alps, with every hospitality owner in the capital transforming their garden into a ski lodge of some sort for the festive season. So it’s refreshing to see the new Winters of the World attraction is taking the concept a step further this Christmas.
The pop-up in Finsbury Square takes visitors to five different winter destinations around the world, and all in one night. Given the rise in interest in Japanese skiing, it’s fun that the pop-up is attempting to recreate some of their snow culture with “lantern-lit” streets, and other destinations recreated in the heart of the Square Mile include Switzerland, the French Alps, Bavaria, and North America.
Seasonal food and drink will celebrate the culinary cultures of each destination, and there are plenty of cute wintery areas to relax in before you get to the games, which include competitive team-based curling, retro video games and live music and late-night entertainment from DJs and magicians.
It’s all with the intention of inviting guests “to explore the magic of the season as it’s celebrated across the globe” via snow-dusted cabins, alpine bars and “glowing forest clearings.”
Corporate Christmas packages are available as well as weekend experiences geared more towards groups of families and friends. Packages are named after mountains like Rushmore and Fuji and start from £110 per person, with food, drink and curling.
Winters of the World is new from Chris Scriven and Will Goy who also run the annual summer Bowls Club pop-up in Finsbury Square. That event makes the most of the longer summer evenings with late-night lawn games in celebration of quintessential British lawn game culture. We called Bowls Club the “best event in the Square Mile” this summer, and this autumn it was nominated for Best Team Experience in our inaugural Toast the City awards, the Square Mile’s first cultural awards ceremony.
The pop-up runs until 12 December; for more information go to wintersoftheworld.com