Christmas in England and Europe in general

Not that difficult but yes, on Christmas day in England, things will be quiet as a church mouse. Could you tell us a bit more about what you like to do when you travel? Pace will be slower because of winter weather in some places, avid skiers might be euphoric. As far as cities being better than others, that's a preference call. Where have you thought about going?

Public transport in the UK is virtually non-existent on Christmas day and restricted on Boxing day.

London will be practically shut down but there will be a lot of special concerts and festivities the week before. St Martin in the Fields had holiday concerts which were very moving. Many museums and non-chain restaurants may be shut down during the week between Christmas and New Years. Friends who spent Christmas in Florence during the holidays visiting their daughter during her semester abroad reported the same experience. Very difficult to find a restaurant open for their family on Christmas Day.

Christmas in England sounds lovely, but if you want another option, two weeks before Christmas in 2012 we flew British Airways from the USA to London, then to Rome for a week. Italy was decked out for the holidays (shooting stars, for some reason, on a lot of the street decorations, a really tall evergreen festooned with lights adjacent to the Colosseum, and presepi (manger scenes of all styles and sizes) all around. We took a cheap flight to Sicily and drove around the next week, spending Christmas Eve and Day at the Il Vecchio Frantoio agriturismo (www.ilvecchiofrantoio.net). We finished up in Sorrento, where at midnight on New Year's Day, fireworks were set off all over town, lighting up the hillsides. I think the fireworks were set off by individuals, but so many people had them it looked almost like a coordinated public display! We weren't in huge cities, so there wasn't a Times-Square-In-New-York scene. I understand though that both Edinburgh and Berlin, among others, have huge public gatherings, if you're looking for a big outside party.

If you're in England the whole time, check out a Pantomime show.

http://www.christmasmarkets.com/Italy.html, http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/newyears_2.htm, http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk, http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/experience/what-to-do/whats-on/event-guide/december/holiday-season-in-amsterdam, http://www.visitnorway.com/us/what-to-do/attractions-culture/nature-attractions/let-there-be-northern-lights/when-and-where-to-find-the-northern-lights/.

A variety of things to do and see in Europe or you could try somewhere completely unique and head to Turkey for Christmas.
Istanbul is a fantastic city. http://www.wittistanbul.com/magazine/celebrating-christmas-in-istanbul-pros-and-cons/

Truly depends on your interest and desire to experience other cultures.

We spent New Years Eve 2013 in Paris. Arrived on Dec 27th. We had a wonderful week. Paris was beautiful lively. There were crowds, not as bad as summer but had to think out getting into some of the high attractions. The four of us spent New Years eve in a small restaurant near the Eiffel Tower and I think that was the best New Years Eve in my 57 years! I would do it again in a second. New Years day was quite quiet and had to have dinner in a pub type setting because restaurants were closed. But during the day there were lots of people out and about.

I would go to Paris if I wanted a big city feel. Paris will be festive. You could go to mass at Notre Dame. There are ice rinks set up all over town. If you go a couple days before Christmas you could go to the markets. You can eat at Gare de Lyon at the famous Le Train Bleu. Yes, most places on Christmas will be closed but churches will be open and the above restaurant at the station will be open. Or I would head to a small town in Switzerland. Have snow. Ride a lift. I did Christmas once in Gstaadt and I will always remember singing Silent Night in German holding a candle at the small church in town.

London at Christmas is magical! Everything is so festive, and you can find pop up Christmas markets and festivals all over. There's a massive one put on by the Germans in Hyde Park (WinterWonderland) and there's another on the South Bank. For ice skating, there's a rink at Somerset House, Natural History Museum, and Canary Wharf amongst others I'm sure. If you plan ahead, you can get a free ticket for Christmas services at Westminster Abbey. I did that last year and it was incredibly beautiful. New Years Eve in London is absolutely mental...if you can get close to the river the fireworks are spectacular, but do be aware that the roads all start to close early in the evening and its very crowded due to its very justified popularity.

Your college should have events going on as well; other students will be in your position and you can have fun with your new friends.
Do hang on to your student id...you can get discounts and special offers on many things (shops, museums, theatres, etc.) with it.

We're traveling through London, Paris, and Amsterdam during the weeks leading up to Christmas so I have been researching a lot into holiday traditions and markets.

London - Hyde Park is turned into a Winter Wonderland and shops are decorated for Christmas
Paris - multiple Christmas markets throughout the city and ice skating at City Hall and the Eiffel Tower
Amsterdam - Sinterklaas occurs on 5 Dec

I really wish we could have added on a few more days and traveled to Cologne or Aachen, Germany because Germany is known for going all out at Christmas. Personally if I had a month and enough spending money, I would be spending my time traveling through Germany (Munich and Cologne definitely) then add on Prague and Salzburg.

I'm also looking forward to Christmas in England this year! I have friends (a couple) who live outside of Oxford. So, this year, my 74 year old mother, another friend, and myself are traveling to England for Christmas!! I'm looking forward to attending the Christmas markets, and seeing another Panto (I saw one before during a previous December visit). Still, this will be our first time to truly experience the holidays in England. And, the three of us also decided to take the train to Paris for four nights, allowing us to spend New Year's Eve partying at the base of the Eiffel Tower. This will be my third trip into Paris, so I already have most sites under my belt there.

Would love to hear some other ideas about what to do during the holidays! (Will be in England for 12 days, Paris for 4).

Happy Traveler,
Lisa

For New Year's Eve (and New Year's Day), I'd head to Scotland- especially Edinburgh. It is the BIG winter holiday there. Lots of parades, concerts, street parties, etc. Even a fire march (everyone carries torches- the old fashioned kind with real fire) and there are fire ball twirlers, etc. It goes from city center to Arthur's Seat, I believe. There are also special dinners. Make reservations early- things tend to book up. It's still on my bucket list!!!!!

Prior to Christmas, I'd try to hit some Christmas Markets. There are some decent ones in the UK- London as some small ones, Bath has a large one, Cardiff has a good one with local craftsmen, York and Canterbury have nice ones and Edinburgh has a good one too. Windsor has a small French style one (the rest are more German style). If you head to the continent, Austria (Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck) has excellent ones as dose Budapest and Germany.

Also keep an eye on the various museums websites...many of them will do special Christmas events. For example, Hampton Court does a lovely Tudor Christmas with activities in the Tudor kitchens and costumed lords and ladies gliding about as well as carol singing events in the run up to Christmas Day. Other places will decorate especially for the holiday - the Geffrye Museum did up each of their period rooms with era specific decorations to show how Christmas has been celebrated over the years - 50's space age aluminium trees in the 1950s room and gorgeous greenery and sweetmeats in the 18th century rooms, amongst others.

Oxford as it happens does have a skeleton bus service on Christmas Day, effectively the night bus service run through the day.