Eastern Europe in the Winter

I have been to each, and a few in the dead of winter. All will have things closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas and probably to some degree the day after. I love the region in the winter as that is when the cultural events are alive. Theater, concerts, opera, ballet, etc. The food is hot and hearty and the landscape can be beautiful under a blanket of snow. I would rather be in Budapest in December than Paris. Budapest and Eastern Europe capitalizes on the weather, Paris and London and Rome suffer through it. But just my humble opinion. You are going to get some criticism for having Bucharest on the list, but hey, its a jumping off place for a lot Transylvania which is a good thing, and the city itself is better than its rap.

Thank you so much for the reply! We are not 100 percent set on any of the locations except for Prague and Budapest. Originally, Istanbul was on the list but we are keeping that on the back burner for now...

Do you recommend another two places we should visit? I love festivals and cultural activities. We also want to be somewhere that has a great New Year's celebration. I have been researching and can't seem to find "the place". We are in our mid-twenties so we are looking for a fun place to celebrate! Any suggestions?

I haven't been myself, but I gather from other posts on this forum that Berlin has one of the biggest New Year's celebrations in the world. It might not qualify for you as "Eastern" Europe, if that matters, but it was surrounded by East Germany for a long time, and is relatively close to Prague.

We were in Sorrento, Italy for New Years 2012>2013 and had a great time, with fireworks going off all over the hillsides, but it might not have been "The Place" for a lot of folks. If you're considering Russia, St. Petersburg is a great place, but bring your warm clothes!

I believe Russian Orthodox Christmas is sometime in January.

Sticking to a more compact region can reduce time spent in transit. For instance, Berlin-Prague-Vienna-Budapest are easily connected by train, 3 - 5 hours for each leg; see Rick's big Rail Time & Cost Map. Big cities will have more sites open than will small towns and rural areas, so flying to Istanbul could still make sense (buy visa online before you go), as long as you don't want Christmas decorations. Russia requires a more complicated visa in advance and flying is again the only practical way to get there on a short trip. The most popular destinations usually have more to see and more services, so there's no need to get way off the beaten path on your first trip. Our Eastern Europe co-author, with plenty of experience in the area, says that he "found nothing in Bucharest to recommend it," so I would not choose it on a whim.

Plan to fly a "multi-city" itinerary, into your first/closest destination and home from the furthest point. For additional flights within Europe, see www.skyscanner.com and book well ahead for holiday travel.

@Stan, January 5. We flew to Moscow a few years back to celebrate Orthodox Christmas. Moscow was -10F, the coolest winter since 1943/44. Moscow was under three feet of snow and the river was frozen over. Great wonderful trip.

Moscow, Istanbul, Zurich, Jerusalem are each about $350 round trip out of Budapest....cheaper on Aeroflot.

Yes, you will want an open jaw ticket. Yes, Berlin will give you the best New Year celebration. get a map and do some research considering Berlin, Munich, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Bucharest is a bit of a stretch.

I would consider moving Istanbul to the front burner. The weather will be milder and everything will be open during the Christmas holidays. My guess is that the political situation has put you off. I don't have a crystal ball but things seem to be settling down and even when they were "hot" it really didn't affect tourists. You may also find that Turkish Air has good prices.

You will need to plan carefully for December 24-26 because it's quite likely that most everything will close early on the 24th and not reopen until the 27th. I'd go to the Trip Advisor forums for cities you are considering and ask what it's like then. There are always locals on the forums who can tell you what will be open/closed then.

You are correct, with Bpest at least. Things sort of close at noon on the 24th and are back into full swing generally late on the 26th. I just returned from a Budapest - Istanbul trip. The round trip in the winter should be about $300 - $350. One way slightly more (I will let you make the ethical decision on that one). I have to say while I was glad I saw Istanbul, I would not return; especially in the winter. Still, most love the place.

Any place that is predominately a summer vacation place is a real compromise in the winter. My preference is still to find those places that really shine in the winter and exploit them; and then do great summer places on the shoulder seasons to miss some of the crowd and because I'm not a great fan of heat in un-air-conditioned countries.. In the winter I would do Moscow before I would Istanbul. See the snow on Red Square, go to Orthodox Christmas Mass, go to the Bolshoi, etc.........

I was in Budapest in the winter and loved it. It was glorious to go in the outdoor hot spring baths with the steam rising all around. I was in Prague during the winter too, and despite the weather, I found it overly touristy.

And the fall, winter and spring is the cultural season in most of Central and Eastern Europe. So its the time for plays, concerts, opera, ballet, etc. Each of these cities also have Christmas markets that run from mid to late November until the first of the year.

May I ask where you are flying from?
Norwegian has some very good prices to fly to Scandinavia. I went to Norway, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia and Denmark last November/December. I got super cheap flight to Oslo and back from Copenhagen. It was my first Fall/Winter trip and I loved it! None of these cities were ''dead''. They were all very christmassy and people were out and about and there were plenty of tourists. I know it is expensive...but I have to say that I loved how people in Oslo were out drinking on patios when it was -12 celcius! I just had to join them! I recommend all these places...with maybe Oslo and Copenhagen with a slight advantage because of the Christmas feeling! And Copenhagen is a bit more ''affordable'' than Oslo.

Keep in mind that you need to plan in advance for Moscow since you will need a visa.
If you really want to save time and not have to bother with this visa issue, you can take a ferry from Helsinki to St-Petersburgh. You can only stay 3 days though. I really enjoyed that trip and would recommand it.

Oh and as Alyson said...Prague was SUPER packed with tourists. The most packed of all the places I listed above...if that matters to you.