christmas in europe

I don't know about renting a home but Germany was wonderful during Christmas. The Christmas markets were very nice.

Ditto Germany for Christmas. Absolutely magical.

Germany also pops into my mind first for nostalgia, but I might suggest something that may not be on your list at all and will recommend Madrid. I was there before Christmas last year, and the entire central core of the city was incredibly decorated with the most spectacular lights I’ve ever seen. Every plaza and park had a huge tree display, and lights were strung across all the streets. Plaza Mayor had a Christmas Market that wrapped all the way around the plaza (okay…this part was a little tacky). El Corte Ingles had a very cool mechanical Christmas display on the outside of one of their buildings and lighting timed to Christmas music outside. I was surprised by the festive atmosphere there. Check it out online and see what you think. The only snow you’ll have, however, might be a light dusting on the hill tops pretty far outside of town. As for renting a home...cannot help there. Public transportation is among the best.

While I have not done it, yet, on my "must do" list is a visit to the Alsace for Christmas. The area has designated "7 pays de noel", each with a different theme (lights, stars, creches, trees, mysteries, etc). I've heard from my friends in Germany that it is quite lovely. Plus you are close to Germany, and are able to visit the markets there as well.

http://noel.tourisme-alsace.com/en/

As for renting a house, try gites-de-france. I rented gites and have been very pleased.

There is a whole section on Christmas in Europe under Planning on the Graffiti Wall. Might take a look there for recommendations.

Cordelia, I've lived in Germany for several Christmases now and it is indeed wonderful. The Christmasmarkts are great! Any area would be nice, but you might want to consider the Garmisch area. But, I was in Salzburg, Austria a few years ago right around Christmas, their market was small but nice, and it was really pretty. We drove thru the mountains from Italy, and it was beautiful. You can take a long day trip to Salzburg from Garmisch, or do an overnite if you want, you can also do a day trip to Munich from Garmisch.

We just spent 10 days in Germany over this past christmas and I cannot stress it enough as a recommendation. We poured over books, videos, TV to decide on a place. Our finalists were Tuscany, Cotswolds, Switzerland and Germany. The more that we read about Germany, the more obvious choice that it became. Snow, Markets, origin of many of "our" christmas traditions, excellent public transportation... Absolutely spectacular. Rothenburg alone is a reason to go, but Fussen, Garmische, Salzburg (austria), Nurnberg are all great cities. Munich is a great base to see much of Bavaria. Look it up, I think that you'll love it.