Looking for recs on a good city to spend the week before Christmas

Look at this thread. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/vienna-or-prague-during-christmas-week-dec-18-27.

Budapest is the most beautiful capital city in Europe.
The short days mean longer evenings of magical lights. https://youtu.be/1T6eyV4avUg?si=YDQZAMy4t4n7ZtWO https://youtu.be/qGa9sqKvTbM?si=DoO6LleyacvXymaT https://youtu.be/Phfn_KfKO4Q?si=87X0c3ZxiZC_xvx0
Best Christmas Market in Europe award for 4 years https://dailynewshungary.com/congratulations-this-hungarian-christmas-fair-is-europes-most-beautiful/
Maybe the most economical capital city in Europe as much as a third less than most of Western Europe.
Glorious hotels in historic monuments. https://youtu.be/RfXUQo1LiSo?si=dQnQmS6S_kJU-orq https://youtu.be/5dFB53KmS8Y?si=iAYDKlE0fw7LMoh4
Excellent and Michelin star restaurants at reasonable prices.
Outstanding local wines,
ice skating in the park, https://youtu.be/hRNg4ZNKj2g?si=cgfKmj65Jxtjw0ef
river cruises, https://youtu.be/G9X3a7uQQM0?si=4cd8k1JC0rLdFC4L
museums,
theater, https://youtu.be/oZy_fTDzPKs?si=qA0ZF8Tvg3ZAnHd3
opera, https://youtu.be/lZUR-GJLAgY?si=oibAP0i_aipjAAnt
concerts,
romance.
A discount airline hub, so pack light and the rest of Europe is 60 to 120 minutes a $50 away.
The weather is fairly moderate for Europe: https://weatherspark.com/m/84771/12/Average-Weather-in-December-in-Budapest-Hungary
And Baking Classes https://cookinghungary.com/baking-pastry-class/

Still time to plan.

It’s getting very late to plan for this year. Watch some videos of the cities and see which appeals. Market season is PEAK time for hotels. People book months in advance.

Strasbourg doesn’t have ice skating, sledding or carriage rides. You might consider Innsbruck if you’re looking for snow.

I would look at Austria, specifically Salzburg region.

I'll be in Zurich at that time. You might look at Baden-Baden or Innsbruck. Maybe St Anton or Davos, or Copenhagen. The major issue now is going to be finding a room. Most places are booked. Other than right in the Alps you can't count on snow.

Another consideration is how many hours of daylight, personally I wouldn't choose Lapland as it is too far north to have any daylight at Christmas time. Do you prefer larger or smaller cities? My understanding is Strasbourg will be packed, it's a famous Christmas market destination and Zurich is unlikely to have snow nor is it the most scenic on your list! Another way to look at it would be to research hotels in a shorter list of cities you prefer and see what sort of accommodation you can still book? Sorry, forgot to add that some places only have Christmas markets on certain days, others close before Christmas....

From Prague south to Rome, the difference in hours of daylight on 25 December only varies from about 8 to about 9 in Rome.

Wanting snow is a shot in the dark unless you get up in the mountains some place. We only got snow twice last year and it amounded to about 4 inches each time and was gone in 2 days.

Replying to add this would be for NEXT year in 2025! Sorry for any confusion. I am a big planner and like to make sure i have plenty of time to book exactly what we would like.

Any suggestions where it is more likely to be snowy? Not a must but would like to get some activities in aside from walking around the markets.

Moscow?.... I wouldn't do it now, but I did it for Christmas about 12 years ago. Snow and freeking cold like I have never experienced.

Since it’s 2025 I’ll post a trip report when we return after Christmas that you might find interesting or informative.
We are doing Budapest 5 nights, Vienna 4 nights, Munich 3 nights (Regensburg and Garmish- Partenkirschen day trips as we’ve spent time in Munich before) and Paris 3 nights (one of my favorite cities, hopefully Christmas eve Mass in Notre Dame and a non stop flight home to Seattle).
After a lot of research I’m now wishing it was just Budapest with a flight to Paris but we shall see.

If you love Paris below the tourist surface, then there is a good chance you will enjoy Budapest.