Yep, it’ll soon be the time of year again to dig out that Christmas jumper, dust off your baubles, and deep dive into some serious seasonal spirit. To help you make the most of the festivities, here are European destinations that scream ‘Christmas’, as well as some less obvious Santa-approved getaways. Here are our picks for Europe’s best Christmas city breaks.
PARIS
With Gay Paree stubbornly clinging to its status as the romance capital of the world, it can be overlooked as being rather magnifique as a Christmas city break. As you’d expect from the City of Lights, they don’t scrimp on Nöel, with illumination everywhere from its grand boulevards to charming side streets decked out in seasonal splendour – over a million lights alone twinkle along the Champs-Élysées.
Emblematic Tour Eiffel marks the city’s yuletide epicentre, where you can totter around an ice-skating rink, gawp up at hourly light shows and ascend for elevated cityscape vistas. A Christmas market here also means immersing yourself in the seasonal scents of gingerbread macarons, steaming chocolate crêpes and spiced vin chaud, to add a little oh là là to your ho, ho, ho.
Where to stay With its plush snugs, decadent decor and general fin de siècle opulence, L’Hôtel offers a beautifully velvet-lined cocoon for your Christmas getaway. Famous as the lodgings where Oscar Wilde quipped his last zinger – ‘Either this wallpaper goes or I do’ – there’s little doubt the renowned aesthete would have approved of the makeover.
LONDON
Dubbed the man who invented (or at least reinvented) Christmas, London can thank Charles Dickens for making the city synonymous with the season. Tread central London’s cobbled streets lined with Victorian-era dwellings, and it’s all too easy to imagine a penitent Ebenezer leaning out of a window to ask what day it is.
The UK capital takes the holiday seriously, too, hosting a lively schedule of annual shenanigans across the metropolis. Perennial Christmassy traditions include Trafalgar Square’s Christmas tree lighting and carolling together with Christmas markets that pop up all over the city. Landmark department stores compete for the crown of the most dazzling window display, adding to the glorious Christmas crush of last-minute shopping under the dazzling lights of Oxford and Regent Street. Duck into a snug London boozer and you’ll often find Christmas most perfectly distilled, with tinsel-festooned bars, crackling fires and, of course, festive-themed ales.
Where to stay NoMad London is perfectly positioned to put you right in the Christmassy thick of Larndan Tahn. This plushly refurbished former magistrates court sits a bauble throw from Christmassy Covent Garden and just across the river from Southbank’s buzzy yuletide market. Thinking of squeezing in a Christmas show? ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Royal Opera House is also just a jeté away.
MANCHESTER
It’s no secret that Mancunians know how to party, so why not join in with this year’s citywide Christmas revelry. Manchester‘s Christmas markets are among Europe’s biggest and busiest, opening up across the city centre with Exchange Square hosting the main event. Food and drink are really at the fore, with the air perfumed with the smell of sizzling bratwursts, mulled wine and giant Yorkshire puddings.
If you’re planning a round or two of Christmas shopping, the Trafford Centre’s extravagant Rococo and Baroque design provides the perfect setting for a retail winter wonderland. Or get out of the big city for Christmas at Dunham Massey, where you stroll a mile-long trail of dancing lights, xmas-themed sculptures and twinkling star tunnels. Back in town, Bridgewater Hall puts on a Christmas-heavy calendar of music, film and dance, together with Christmas carol sing-alongs. Mad fer it? Christmas in Manchester is sure to shy-ine.
Where to stay Rooms called Snug, Cosy and Comfy certainly deliver on their promise at the King Street Townhouse. Housed in a distinguished Victorian edifice, this boutique beauty does luxe urban bolthole quite like nowhere else in the city. You may not get much use of the seventh-floor infinity pool over the festive months, but a session in the spa’s steam room or sauna will expel any winter chill from yer bones.
VIENNA
Squeeze your eyes tight and imagine a quintessentially Christmassy city and we can guarantee Vienna won’t be far off. A wealth of magnificent Baroque architecture first set the Christmas card-worthy scene for the festive season in the Austrian capital. Adding to this, magical Christmas markets showcase Viennese’s famously sweet tooth with a cornucopia of chocolate-covered fruit, honey-sweetened gingerbread, and sweet fluffy pancakes (Kaiserschmarrn). Their must-try Christmas punch also certainly packs plenty.
An abundance of Christmas lights festoon the city, veering more towards the tastefully timeless than your Disney tie-in. Vienna’s classical musical pedigree comes to the festival fore, too, with churches and concert halls all over the city filling with the strains of native tunesmiths Strauss and Mozart for Christmas. It’s all sure to have you sighing ‘Oh, Vienna…’
Where to stay Some of Austria’s top design talent was tapped at the Altstadt Vienna to reflect and celebrate the surrounding city. Hundreds of artworks, too, add to the boutique hotel’s impeccable artistic credentials. For Vienna-meets-Paris, Hotel Motto offers a beautifully crafted stay together with an onsite bakery that offers you a selection of seasonal treats on the house.
PRAGUE
With its fairytale castles, mediaeval cobbled squares and scattering of Gothic spires, Prague has an undeniable storybook charm even out of the festive season. Add all the accoutrements of Christmas and the Czech capital becomes positively magical. The Old Town Square makes the perfect yuletide setting for the city’s main Christmas Market, where many of the stalls are dedicated to handicrafts, wooden puppets and other children’s toys that could have come straight from Santa’s workshop.
Wash down slabs of spiced ginger cake with Bohemian cinnamon punch while listening to carols in Wenceslas Square and you’re in Yuletide nirvana. Unlike most other city breaks in Europe, you’ve even got a sporting chance of the ultimate Christmas touch – real snow.
Where to stay Set but a block from Old Town Square, staying at the Emblem Hotel puts you right in Prague’s Christmassy heart. And when you’re done soaking up all the seasonal shenanigans, there are lots of snug spots to hole up in such as a well-stocked games room or a smoking lounge with a log fire. For a real treat, book a session in the rooftop bubble tub for views over Prague’s rooftops while you prune.
BERLIN
Berlin might be the hipster mecca of Europe, but it’s not too cool to go all out celebrating Christmas. Of course, the mostly-rebuilt German capital can’t compete with most in terms of the fairytale festive vibe, but there’s still loads to get your xmas buzz on. Dozens of Christmas markets are dotted around Berlin from the gourmet to the glitzy – in fact, Berlin has the most of any city in Europe.
For a yuletide stroll, the tree-lined Ku’damm explodes into a constellation of Christmas lights and giant snowmen. Or head to Potsdamer Platz where the Sony Center transforms into a dazzling wunderland of festive lights and illuminated displays. Alexanderplatz is where you’ll find the annual funfair, though probably best save the sizzling seasonal würst and ‘fire tongue’ festive punch until after the rides.
Where to stay Housed in a neo-baroque building and former home of the telegraph office, Telegraphenamt has all the vintage feel-good ideal for a seasonal stay. Its heart-of-Mitte location puts it within easy strolling of at least a handful of Christmassy hotspots. Plump for a room with ‘city’ in the name and you’re treated to views over the festive surroundings.
BRUGES
Set against meandering canals, gingerbread-house architecture and polished cobblestone squares, Christmas in Bruges is pinch-yourself picturesque. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a more picture-perfect place to spend Yule. Central Square hosts the main market, where a heady mix of steaming hot chocolate and Belgian gingerbread waffles waft on the wintery air.
Festive revellers can follow an illuminated walking trail that loops through most of Bruges’ best bits. Join it at Minnewater Park, where you can ice skate too if you fancy. Feeling brave? An annual Christmas dive led by Santa Claus himself sees dozens of locals take an icy plunge into the canal.
Where to stay A gabled redbrick former notary’s residence, the Notary more than delivers on the promise of its even-for-Bruges eye-pleasing frontage. A series of individually designed suites are as lavish as they are liveable, with some featuring showstoppers like bronze bathtubs, emperor-size beds and working fireplaces for a very merry Christmas indeed.
Rather escape to warmer climes this winter? Check out our guide on where to head for winter sun…