Europe in December - advice!

Check out Rick Steves' Christmas Special and see what catches your fancy. Personally, I'd love to get invited to a Christmas Eve dinner in France. Not sure how I would pull that off!

-Matt

HI,

I highly recommend Austria, especially Salzburg and Innsbruck for the Christmas Markets. If these don't put you in the Holiday/Christmas spirit, your hopeless :).

While we've been to both many times at other times of the year, it was like seeing them for the first time during our two recent December visits. Simply Wonderful!

Christmas means Central Europe. Germany, Austria, Hungary. Germany has the best reputation for Christmas Markets, Austria for Pomp and Ceremony and Hungary for escaping tourism and celebrating within the culture. Remember that most of Europe closes Christmas Eve about 4pm and only begins to open the evening of the 26th. So what you want to do is plan Christmas Eve and Christmas day for cultural events. In Budapest for instance that would mean the theater, ballet, concerts and even the thermal baths. Never a dull moment. We spend about every other Christmas in Budapest and have spent the holidays in Moscow, London, Paris and Rome and still keep returning to Budapest. http://budapestchristmas.com/ and http://welovebudapest.com/shops.and.services.1/christmas.in.budapest.dos.and.don.ts

I have to second the Salzburg and Innsbruck Christmas markets! Vienna is also good at Christmas time. We have also enjoyed London and Scotland at Christmas time. Theatre, pantos, concerts, markets, ..... Lots to see and do .

For New Years, consider Scotland, especially Edinburgh (IF you can get rooms and tickets to events this late). The Scots call it Hogmanay and it is 'bigger' than Christmas for them. In Edinburgh there are parades, a fire ball/torch walk up to Arthur's Seat, balls, dances, special dinners, concerts, street parties, fair rides, etc. Something for everyone basically. It is on my bucket list! If you can't get rooms/tickets, then check out other Scottish locations like Inverness, etc. There are usually bonfires, or other fire oriented events almost everywhere- it comes from the Viking heritage. Here's the website [http://edinburghshogmanay.com/][1]

New Year's Eve Party at the Brandenburger Tor/Berlin:
http://www.visitberlin.de/en/event/12-31-2015/new-years-eve-party-at-the-brandenburger-tor

Find a connection to Portugal on your arrival day.
Dec 18 - Lisbon (5 nts) ... consider time in Sintra, Coimbra
Dec 23 - Warsaw (5 nts) ... consider time in Krakow utilising high speed train connection
TAP Portugal TP1260 departs Lisbon 09:10
Dec 28 - Paris (4 nts)
germanwings 4U1723 departs Warsaw 09:15 (via Dusseldorf)
Jan 1 - London (4 nts) ... by Eurostar

I spent a New Years Eve in the Cotswolds one year... while it was not a wild party time, it was wonderful to be there during a time when there were not tons of tourists. I think I spent New Years Day at Warwick Castle and wandering around Stratford... it was a really wonderful trip.

We were in Italy in December 2013/January 2014, in Rome the week before Christmas, in Sicily the week of Christmas, and in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast the week after. It was wonderful to be in Rome with weather in the 50's (and some rain a couple of days), rather than in the summer when it's even more crowded and so very, very hot. There was an enormous lit-up Christmas tree outside the Colosseum and "shooting star" decorations hanging over many streets, but the overall atmosphere is definitely different from a German or American "White Christmas" motif. Italians display presepi (elaborate manger scenes, some with a unique theme), and just about everywhere has great presepi to view . . . even at St. Peter's Square.

Italians celebrate Christmas through January 6 (Epiphany, or Three Kings' Day) -- not sure if the Poles or Portuguese do likewise.