Europe in December - Italy / Germany / UK / Spain?

Linda, there are folks who are perfectly fine with winter travel, especially on trips to major cities where there are all sorts of indoor activities. The UK might have something of an advantage there since the common language would open up the theatre to you.

I am not one of those happy-in-the-cold-and-dark people. I just want to hibernate in the winter, and Europe is an expensive place to hibernate. So I would be looking at Spain (maximum amount of time possible in Andalucia, then Barcelona; Madrid will be colder) or perhaps Italy (Sicily's worth at least two weeks; add the also-warm Malta and Rome/Florence).

I love looking at crafts, so I'd enjoy that part of the Christmas market experience. But Germany in December: I would be a most unhappy traveler. Someone here commented within the last year that the Christmas markets tend to be somewhat similar. That struck me as likely to be the case, and I think it argues for not planning an entire month-long trip around the markets. (I do adore Berlin and could easily spend another week there. But I wouldn't want to do it in December.)

So I think you need to have a family discussion about how folks feel about spending a lot of time outdoors in cold, wet weather. I don't know where you live, but perhaps you experience real winters now. If so, do any of you get lethargic in November and only begin to revive in March, like I do? That would be a warning sign.

You should also look at some detailed day-by-day temperatures for likely cities you might visit in each of your target areas. Wunderground.com has historical temps displayed in day-by-day monthly graphs. I think you'll have to be satisfied with monthly averages for precipitation.

There are now lots of options for budget flights within Europe, though I'm sure frequencies are somewhat reduced in the winter. You could consider splitting your time, perhaps devoting 5 to 7 days to areas of Germany with Christmas markets, then flying to Spain or Italy. Check market timing, though, to be sure that most are open at the beginning of December. Just price out a multi-city transatkantic flights into one city and out of another rather than a standard round-trip.

A general rule of thumb that applies to the way I travel: The more time I spend in a country, the greater the percentage of my time is spent outdoors, because I have time to see the charming, often less touristy, smaller cities. In those places the best museum in town will probably fill only 60 to 90 minutes, then you'll be outdoors looking at the streetscape. Taking London as an example, a place like the British Museum can keep you indoors for days. And then there's the V&A...

I think many folks would suggest that you city-hop rather than confine yourself to just one country. There's great transportation between London and Paris, just for starters.

We did Germany in 2015. I was all prepared for snow and cold - complete with a warm coat and cuddle duds plus layers. It snowed when we landed in Munich big happy flakes, but the rest of the time it was actually quite mild. I only needed the cuddle duds once. The sun didn't get all that high during the day, but for me the magic of Christmas is in the lights, so the Christmas Markets at night was a wondrous thing. We did our sightseeing during the day (if the market was open we wandered through), ate dinner, and then sometimes got dessert at the Christmas Market. Nutella Crepes, yes please! Some of the Christmas markets did have the same things, but we also hit some really unique ones, big ones, and small ones. It was interesting to see each places take on them. We went to the following:

Munich
Dinkelsbühl (tiny one at night)
Nördlingen
Nürnberg (We did this mid week)
Rothenburg OdT
Stuttgart (All the roofs of the stands are decorated)
Esslingen (A medieval one!)
Tübingen (Chocolate Festival - don't visit on the last day it was list salmon swimming upstream)
Schorndorf (This was a genealogical visit - the Christmas Market was an added bonus)
Worms
Michelstadt
Miltenberg
We planned on doing Frankfurt, but it was pouring rain and we were kind of ready to go home.

I would love to do Christmas time in Germany again. It was so magical. I can't help with Spain, Italy, or the UK as I have never been there.

A month in Italy and Spain !!

Day
1. ARRIVE Milan (3N)
2. Milan
3. Milan / Lake Como or Bergamo
4. Train to Venice (3N)
5. Venice
6. Venice
7. Train to Florence (5N)
8. Florence
9. Florence / Pisa+Lucca
10. Florence
11. Florence / Siena
12. Train to Rome (4N)
13. Rome
14. Rome
15. Rome
16. Fly to Madrid (5N)
17. Madrid
18. Madrid / Toledo
19. Madrid
20. Madrid / Segovia
21. Train to Seville (4N)
22. Seville
23. Seville / Cordoba-Mezquita
24. Seville
25. Train to Granada (2N)
26. Granada / Alhambra
27. Fly to Barcelona (4N)
28. Barcelona
29. Barcelona
30. Barcelona
31. DEPART Barcelona

We spent some very enjoyable January time in Germany and Italy (Florence, Rome, Siena) a number of years ago. Both countries are full of the sorts of things you are looking for and have more than adequate transportation systems for getting around.

There's nothing warm about Italy in January, and the days there were only marginally longer than in Germany. Nor was Italy cheap by comparison. Most expensive? I'm unsure about Spain but the UK would probably be first with Italy 2nd and Germany 3rd.

As for "traveling around the country" - you will generally find it less expensive to stay put in one place for at least several days (or to stay put in a travel base that permits short day trips) than to plan a trip that circumnavigates the whole country. Within Germany, long-distance train fares can be expensive. 4 adults buying tickets at the counter for Munich - Berlin ticket will total €500 - €600. But a day trip from Munich to Salzburg, to Nuremberg, or to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and back to Munich will cost only about €40 for 4 when you buy group day passes for regional travel (buy on the day of travel at the station.)

So keeping long-distance trips to a minimum within Germany will save you some cash as well as some time. The best prices for any long trips you make within Germany (or from Germany to Italy) are had by nailing down the specific trains you will use well in advance. A SAVER FARE for Munich - Berlin that locks in your travel day and time can be purchased today for December 4 travel for less than €90/4 adults at the DB website. (Obviously, the more of these pre-determined trips you have, the less flexible your vacation time will be. But saver fares do offer huge savings over standard tickets and rail passes, and they're not too inconvenient as long as you only have a couple.)

Another tip for saving € in Germany: Stay in apartments rather than hotels. Smaller cities and towns usually have less expensive apartments with better proximity to the train station than large cities; longer stays are cheaper than shorter ones.

With a full month, you might enjoy time in two countries, using a cheap airline or pre-purchased saver fare to travel between them.

I'd go by what you are truly interested in. What kinds of museums, arts, architecture do you want to see? There's lots in each of those four countries. For Germany, of course we have lots of castles, cathedrals, museums etc., but so do the other countries.

I wouldn't make that bit more daylight you get in Southern Europe your main criteria, nor the weather which can be unpredictable in all of those countries in December. There's probably a chance of rain everywhere, and the temperatures are going to be cold, like down to 0°C. Heavy snow and winter weather is actually more common in January and February though. Everybody always hopes for a white Christmas, but we rarely ever get one.

Take the Christmas markets as an additional bonus but don't make them the main reason for your decision. You won't want to spend a whole month just visiting Christmas markets unless you are a mulled wine addict.

We spent the entire month of December 2011, in Italy. It as wonderful! Sure, it was chilly, but we had little rain and lots of sun. We encountered Pompeii without crowds, delighted in Venice with not cruise ships, and reveled in Rome for Christmas. We even had some days we did not need our overcoats.

I suggest a not-too-fast pace and to pick one country. Take a week in a city around the actual holidays as things slow down considerably. You will find half of the 24th and all of the 25th days to be relaxed and not expect to tour sites, but days to take long walks and enjoy special holiday meals.

With a month, I would pick 4 or 5 locations maximum and spend 5 to 7 nights in each location. You could easily spend such an amount of time in Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and Rome and have a memorable trip steeped in the things you like, not too pressed to rush around but plenty of time to enjoy each location.

You will be glad to have apartments when you travel long like this. Restaurants can get old and everyone needs some space.

Christmas markets really come alive at night, the lights are at their best, most people are out for the evening eating and drinking and the atmosphere is so much better so I wouldn't let the shorter days put you off, quite the opposite really.

Cost wise there's very little between those four countries you mentioned, Spain being the cheaper of the them but there's certainly not a significant disparity that warrants a decision made on cost alone. Obviously the big cities such as London, Berlin etc are typically more expensive than other parts of the country so if you want to keep the costs down consider staying outside of them.

Consider that in the UK many museums have free entry (they're subsidised by the taxpayer so please consider donations to alleviate the pressure on us overtaxed citizens!) and an overseas membership to English Heritage and/or the National Trust will enable you to have free entry to hundreds of historic buildings,castles, palaces, gardens etc which will save you hundreds of £.

December in the UK can be mild, wet, stormy or cold (or all four!). Snow in December is not common apart from more northerly parts of England and of course Scotland.

We went to London for Christmas in 2014 for Christmas and my daughter preferred it to the trip we took to NY in Dec of 2016. The closures and lack of public transportation beginning on 24th and going to 26th greatly impacts what you can see and where you can eat on those days. If you go, be sure to look at the store windows prior to Christmas-they've all been taken down by the 26th. All that said, we loved our trip. We went to the Christmas service at Westminster Abbey on the 23rd-you need to reserve at a certain time on the day they open tickets(check their website for info). You could spend some time in London then fly someplace else for part of the time-London is a great hub for flights to other countries. I would love to go to Italy and see the creches that Rick Steves talks about in his Christmas in Europe series.

Public transport options in Italy and Spain are extensive and not something to worry about. Various bus companies pick up where trains leave off, particularly in the south of Spain. Price differences are also getting smaller - that is Italy and Spain are not as cheap as some old stereotypes you may have heard. However, low-season hotel rates could be a benefit. December also averages a bit warmer than January.

We did a German Christmas market trip preceeded by 4 days in london in 2014. We had a blast! No trouble with sight seeing. We live in Colorado and so were prepared for the cold with boots, coats etc. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Seville's average high temperature in December is 62F and the average low is 45F. Rome's 55F/40F. Berlin's 39F/31F (and with an average of 11 rainy days during the month). London's 47F/37F. I don't pay too much attention to averages myself; I want to know how cold it might get fall to spring and how hot it can get in the summer. But those averages give you a general idea. That is not a trivial difference between southern Spain and Berlin.

Berlin may well be the least expensive capital city in western Europe. That goes for both hotels and restaurants. Granted, the overall quality of the restaurants isn't up to Italian standards.

One more vote here for Spain (Andalucia + Barcelona) and/or Italy (Rome and southward). It's easy to find budget flights between the two.

Linda Lee, having traveled last December in Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria here is my 2 cents. Weather, as others have asked, how are you with winter weather? We took waterproof shoes, flannel lined pants, 3 in 1 jackets, gloves and hats. We are from the midwest so we see our share of snow and cold. My wife would wear her hat, gloves, and jacket. I would wear my jacket, sometimes w/o the liner, and sometimes no hat or gloves. We didn't have any snow fall on us nor did we have any rain. You just never know so plan for the worst and hope for the best. We went to see Christmas markets over a 10 night trip (not counting our flights). We would love to have 3 weeks in Europe. While it is true there is some similarity among the Christmas markets, there is also a difference. I would skip Heidelberg. We thought Strasbourg France was fantastic, especially the opening ceremonies. Rothenburg was nice if you have never been to Rothenburg. Yes I know there are other walled German towns that may be better. Nurnberg is also a big city with a Christmas market and other sights to see. We took a city tour when we were in Prague and a friend showed us around Budapest. Vienna was worth the trip. We walked around each of the cities before we went to the Christmas markets. Narrow down your families goals of what they want to accomplish on this trip and go from there. You can decide if you want to stay 3-4 nights or a week in a city and then move on. Our goal was to see a number of different markets so we stayed 1 night or 2 as we traveled. It worked for us.
You could spend a week in London and environs as well as Paris and then a week hopping through Bavaria. So many possibilities. We used the train for the fist time but in hindsight I would prefer a car for some of our trip. However, with a car you will incur huge drop fees leaving it in a country different from your start. Check ViaMichelin.com for travel times and tolls along a planned route.
Good luck!

Oh thank you all so much for your replies! I really appreciate the time you've all taken to write such brilliant advice!!

People have given great advice. I hate the cold and dark German winters but I LOVE Christmas Market season. It really is hard to think of it as being miserable and cold when you're standing under lights with a hot mug of gluhwein in your hand.

Also people seem to consistently overestimate how expensive Germany is. It's the cheapest Western European country to travel in. Christmas market food is good and cheap (7 - 8 bucks gets you a big wurst in a roll with a glass of gluhwein), beer and wine in general are amazingly cheap compared to the USA. And we tend to have cheaper entrance fees to museums and tourist attractions than I've seen anywhere in Europe, and there's usually a discount on offer with some sort of city card or whatever.

If you book a flat with a kitchen, you can go even cheaper, shopping at Aldi or Lidl, I really challenge anyone to call Germany "expensive."

The trains CAN be expensive, at the last minute, but you can get a good value by using a German Rail Pass, and they usually do some offer around Christmas that makes it even cheaper. Or you can get good deals by buying tickets in advance, although some people dislike not having the flexibility, in which case, again, the German Rail Pass. I live here and I still will buy one when people come to visit to do the Christmas Markets.

I really think December is a great time to visit the big cities of Germany for your interests, because museums are always warm, the ease of getting around within and inbetween the big cities is phenomenal. And we border some other places worth visiting too. Some ideas:

-Stuttgart-Esslingen-Ludwigsburg all have unique and fantastic markets, plus the Mercedes and Porsche museums, a Bauhaus neighborhood that's famous if you're into architecture, an excellent history museum in an old castle and a tragically underrated art museum (Staatsgallerie).

-From Stuttgart, Strausbourg is 90 minutes away via TGV (book that ticket as far in advance as you can to save money), you can even do Paris in 3 hrs 15 minutes now.

-The Black Forest has a lot of appeal while snowy, with bigger markets in Freiburg and Baden-Baden. Daytrip over the border to Basel, Switzerland for their market, but don't say overnight due to ridiculous costs

-Frankfurt for museums, history (market is OK)

-Berlin for so many amazing museums, over 50 markets, many of them very unique. THE city to visit in Winter IMO. You could easily spend a week there.

-Down to Franconia for Bamberg and Nurenberg's famous market, and the most amazing art museum in Germany

-Munich for more fantastic museums and unique markets, like the one under the Chinese Tower in the English Garden, daytrip to Regensburg and Augsburg, or Ulm for another medieval Christmas market (not as good as Esslingen's though and technically Ulm is better to day trip from Stuttgart)

-Prague. Just go to Prague.

See? You've easily filled up 3 weeks with great sights and markets and even visited a few other countries.

You can read my post on
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/recommendations-for-family-travel-in-december
Let me know if it is interesting for you and if you need more information.

Greetings
Michal from Szczecin, Poland

For many years we went to London (and to Scotland and Austria) the week after Thanksgiving or the first week of December. It was wonderful. One year we had a very light snow one day that made everything very pretty. The wind can be chilling, but as Rick says, there really isn't bad weather- just inappropriate clothing. Take things you can layer and when needed, layer up. Some years the weather was very mild. Basically we found it very similar to weather here in Charlotte, NC at that time of year. As mentioned, many museums are free except for special exhibits. And looking at architecture is always free! England (and Scotland and Wales) has a rich history- from the Picts, Anglo-Saxons, and Romans, to WWI and WWII, and much more. Day trips by train, on your own, are easy. Bath, Cardiff Wales, York, Winchester, Canterbury, Dover, Windsor, and many other places are very easy to reach with plenty of time to explore and get a taste. If you have the whole month, you could even do a few 1 to 3 night visits to some places.

London (and Bath, York, Canterbury, Windsor, and other cities) also has some Christmas markets. They aren't generally as large as the German/Austrian markets, but they are nice (and Bath has a very large market).

Yes, German Christmas markets are nice. Polish events of that type are among others in Cracow and Warsaw. Their squares they are full of life throughout the year as well as in Poznań, Toruń, Rzeszów or Wrocław. You can see the example from Cracow via links in my post on
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/recommendations-for-family-travel-in-december
General descruptions of other cities are on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozna%C5%84
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toru%C5%84
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rzesz%C3%B3w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wroc%C5%82aw
It worth to join the city tour with getting to know province culture and have the opportunity to practice sport sport as in Zakopane in Tatra Mountains - also on
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/recommendations-for-family-travel-in-december

Think carefully about how you will handle the time around Christmas.

Different counties have different customs and even celebrate (and shut the town down) on different dates.

In London, for example, there is no (not some, virtually none) public transport on Christmas Day, meals are much more expensive and only a few places serve on Christmas, and fewer at night, and need to be booked well ahead for most.

my understanding, it seems that the short days make it difficult to
see much.

I keep hearing that, and i keep going to Europe for Christmas. On Christmas day it will not get "dark" until a bit after 6pm and life takes on a new and special character in the evenings during the holidays. The world is lit up, concerts and markets. A beautiful time to see the region. The markets, lights and Christmas festivities in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary are worth the time and its an experience you will never forget.

I keep hearing that, and i keep going to Europe for Christmas. On Christmas day it will not get "dark" until a bit after 6pm

It's dark in the UK well before 6pm. Sunset on Christmas Day is around 3.50 pm in London so by 4.30 it's dark, same with Berlin. Madrid is later with sunset around 5.55 pm whilst Rome is 4:45 pm. Obviously the further north you go the earlier it gets dark and vice versa.