Best Places To Go For Christmas

Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Claus and the one place on this list that is at its busiest on 24 and 25 December rather than shut. Santa Claus Village sits on the Arctic Circle and opens every day of the year, so children meet Santa on Christmas Eve itself. Husky and reindeer sleds, snowmobile runs and northern lights hunts fill the rest of the days. Christmas week sells out by autumn.

Best Time: June - August, December - February

Goa runs the most Christmas-heavy fortnight in India and needs no visa or long-haul fare. Midnight mass at the Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral in Old Goa draws crowds from across the country, homes hang paper stars, and bakeries sell bebinca and dodol through December. The beach shacks in the north run late on the 24th and the 31st. Christmas week costs a good deal more than the rest of the year.

Known For : Vienna City Hall Austrian Parliament Building Museums Quartier

Vienna is one of the few big market cities still open on Christmas Day. The Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz runs to 26 December, with shortened hours on the 24th, and the ice rink beside it stays up into January. Add the Schonbrunn and Belvedere markets and a concert at the Musikverein and you have a full week.

Best Time: May to October

49 Vienna Attractions

Known For : Statue of Liberty Times Square Empire State Building

New York does Christmas at full volume and almost nothing closes. The Rockefeller Center tree, the Fifth Avenue store windows, the Radio City show and the rink at Bryant Park all run through 25 December, and Chinatown restaurants stay open when others shut. It is cold, often below freezing, so pack for it.

Best Time: Throughout the year

275 New York City Attractions

Known For : Tower of London British Museum London Eye

London keeps going right up to the 24th and then stops hard. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Southbank market and the Oxford Street lights run through Christmas Eve, but on 25 December the Tube does not run at all, most restaurants shut and museums close. Book a hotel that serves Christmas lunch.

Best Time: April to September

56 London Attractions

Known For : Prague Castle Charles Bridge Old Town Square Prague

Prague keeps its markets running longer than most. The Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square stalls usually stay up into the first week of January, so Christmas Day itself still has mulled wine, a lit tree and a carp stall. Confirm the current dates before booking, as the end date shifts from year to year. Expect crowds and hard frost.

Best Time: April to October

48 Prague Attractions

Known For : Gardens by the Bay Universal Studios Singapore Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is warm, close and easy with children, and Christmas here is a full civic event. The Orchard Road light-up runs from mid-November to early January, Gardens by the Bay puts on its Christmas display, and the malls, Sentosa and the MRT all run normally on 25 December. December is the wet monsoon month, so expect short heavy afternoon showers. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

Best Time: January to November

271 Singapore Attractions

Christmas in Sydney is a summer holiday. Temperatures sit in the high twenties, families take the barbecue to Bondi and Coogee, and the Carols in the Domain concert fills the park a few nights before. Shops shut on 25 December but the beaches and ferries do not. It is peak domestic season, so book early.

Tallinn is the market that outlasts Christmas. The Town Hall Square market runs from 20 November to 6 January, so it is open on both the 25th and New Year's Day, and the medieval old town around it is small enough to walk in an afternoon. It is cold and dark, with roughly six hours of daylight, and cheaper than most of western Europe.

Best Time: June - August

Known For : Castle Hill Budapest Fisherman's Bastion St. Stephen's Basilica

Budapest runs two main markets, at Vorosmarty Square and outside St Stephen's Basilica, and both usually stay open past Christmas Day into the new year. The Basilica market projects a light show onto the church front each evening. The thermal baths at Szechenyi are the obvious cold-weather afternoon. Check current dates before booking.

Best Time: March to October

46 Budapest Attractions

Known For : Cologne Cathedral Lindt Chocolate Museum Cologne Cologne Zoological Garden

Cologne has seven Christmas markets and every one of them closes before Christmas. The main market under the cathedral runs to 23 December, so arriving on the 24th or 25th means an empty square. Come between late November and the 22nd for the mulled wine and the cathedral, or pick a city whose market runs later.

Best Time: May - September

22 Attractions

Known For : Fort Kochi Mattancherry Palace Kumbalangi Integrated Tourism Village

Fort Kochi has a long Christian history and celebrates Christmas without the cost of a flight abroad. Santa Cruz Basilica and St Francis Church hold midnight mass, the streets around Princess Street string up stars and lights, and the Cochin Carnival then runs from 25 December to New Year's Eve. Packages average around Rs 21,000 per person.

Best Time: July to April

62 Kochi Attractions

Known For : Notre Dame de Strasbourg La Petite France Parc de l'Orangerie

Strasbourg calls itself the capital of Christmas and its Christkindelsmarik dates from 1570, which makes it among the oldest in Europe. Stalls fill the squares around the cathedral and the Petite France quarter, and the great tree stands in Place Kleber. Its closing date has moved in recent years, sometimes 24 December and sometimes later, so confirm before booking.

Best Time: May - September

18 Attractions

Tromso sits well inside the Arctic Circle and spends Christmas in polar night, with no sunrise at all through December. That is the point of coming: it is one of the most reliable places to see the northern lights, and dog sledding and whale watching run alongside. Christmas concerts are held in the Arctic Cathedral. Norway is expensive once you land, and Christmas week is its dearest fortnight.

Best Time: November - March , June - August

Known For : Northern Lights Reykjavik Rainbow Street Reykjavik Hallgrimskirkja

Iceland has thirteen Yule Lads rather than one Santa, arriving one a night from 12 December. Reykjavik's Christmas market at Heidmork and the lights along Laugavegur run through the season, and 23 December, Thorlaksmessa, is the big shopping night. Daylight is about four hours. Iceland is costly for food and tours, so budget well beyond the flight.

Best Time: June to September

50 Reykjavik Attractions

Known For : Main Market Square Krakow St. Florian’s Gate Krakow Barbican

Krakow fills the Main Market Square in front of the Cloth Hall and its market usually runs past Christmas into the first days of January. The szopki, the elaborate model nativity cribs unique to the city, are displayed nearby each December. Wieliczka salt mine is the standard day trip. Check current market dates before booking.

Best Time: May to September

28 Krakow Attractions

Known For : The Colosseum Roman Forum Pantheon Rome

Rome is the faith and heritage option. The Pope's midnight mass in St Peter's Basilica needs free tickets requested well in advance, and the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony on Christmas Day is open to anyone in the square. Piazza Navona holds the city's Christmas market. Most museums and restaurants close on the 25th.

Best Time: April to early-November

56 Rome Attractions

Known For : Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Table Mountain Two Oceans Aquarium

Cape Town at Christmas is high summer, with long evenings and temperatures in the high twenties. The beaches at Camps Bay and Clifton fill up, the Kirstenbosch summer concerts run, and Table Mountain is clearest early in the day. It is peak South African holiday season, so book accommodation and car hire early.

Best Time: October to April

42 Cape Town Attractions

Known For : Burj Khalifa Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo At the Top Burj Khalifa

Dubai is the short-flight winter option, four hours or less from most Indian metros, with December days around 25 degrees. Hotels and malls put up large Christmas displays and the Dubai Shopping Festival opens in late December. Nothing closes on the 25th. Packages average around Rs 46,000 per person.

Best Time: November to April

129 Dubai Attractions

Known For : Eiffel Tower Jardin du Luxembourg Montmartre

Paris strings lights along the Champs-Elysees and runs markets at La Defense and the Tuileries through December, most of them into the last week of the month. The window displays at Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are the free highlight. Museums including the Louvre close on 25 December.

Best Time: April - early October

62 Paris Attractions

Known For : Reichstag Brandenburg Gate Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Berlin has around eighty Christmas markets and, unusually, several stay open after Christmas Day. The Gendarmenmarkt market is the handsome one and the Alexanderplatz market runs to the end of December, so New Year's Eve at the Brandenburg Gate can follow on. Public transport keeps running on the 25th.

Best Time: May to September

35 Berlin Attractions

Known For : Old Town Zurich Lindenhof Bahnhofstrasse

Zurich puts its main Christmas market inside the main railway station, which matters when it is below freezing outside, and the Singing Christmas Tree in Werdmuhleplatz is a choir stand shaped like a tree. Most of the city's markets wind up around 23 December. Day trips run to Lucerne and the Rigi. Switzerland is the priciest stop on this list for food and trains.

Best Time: May to September

39 Zurich Attractions

Known For : Old Town Salzburg Getreidegasse Hohensalzburg Fortress

Salzburg's Christkindlmarkt has run in the cathedral square since the fifteenth century and usually stays open to 26 December. Silent Night was first sung in 1818 at Oberndorf, about twenty kilometres north, and the chapel there holds a service each Christmas Eve. Snow is likely.

Best Time: Throughout the year

36 Salzburg Attractions

Known For : Tivoli Gardens Amalienborg Palace Little Mermaid statue

Tivoli Gardens is the reason to come. The amusement park runs a Christmas season with about a million lights and stays open through Christmas and into the first days of January, and the Nyhavn market sits on the canal a short walk away. Danish Christmas dinner is on the 24th, so restaurants are busiest that evening.

Best Time: May to September

34 Copenhagen Attractions

Known For : Markt Bruges Belfry of Bruges Burg Square

Bruges keeps its Winter Glow market on the Markt and Simon Stevinplein running into the first week of January, with an ice rink in the main square. The medieval centre is small enough to cover on foot in a day and looks its best after dark. Belfry climbs and chocolate shops carry the daytime.

Best Time: June to August

38 Bruges Attractions

Known For : City of David Church of Holy Sepulchre Dome of the Rock

Jerusalem draws Christian pilgrims at Christmas, with services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and processions heading to Bethlehem in the West Bank for midnight mass. Because three faiths hold the old city sacred, the Christmas crowd sits alongside ordinary Jewish and Muslim life. Check your government's current travel advice for the region before booking.

Best Time: May/ October

18 Jerusalem Attractions

Known For : Hong Kong Disneyland Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Tian Tan Buddha

Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 and kept Christmas as a public holiday, so the 25th and 26th are both days off. Harbour-front buildings run light shows through December and the malls compete on displays. Temperatures sit around 18 degrees, the most comfortable month of the year.

Best Time: October to December (Autumn)

337 Hong Kong Attractions

Known For : Senso-ji Temple (Asakusa) Shibuya Tokyo Sky Tree

Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan and is treated as a couples' evening rather than a family one, so shops and trains run normally on the 25th. The winter illuminations at Roppongi, Shibuya and Marunouchi are the draw, and the odd national tradition is fried chicken on Christmas Eve. Packages average around Rs 1,66,000 per person.

Best Time: October to November, March to May

26 Tokyo Attractions

Vilnius puts a large designed Christmas tree in Cathedral Square each year, with a market around it that usually runs into early January. A toy train circles the old town, nativity scenes are projected onto building fronts, and the whole centre is walkable. It is cold and dark, so plan indoor gaps into each day.

Best Time: June - September

Known For : Dresden Old Town Dresden Castle Dresden Cathedral

The Striezelmarkt is Germany's oldest Christmas market, running since 1434, and it closes on 24 December, so a visit has to be before Christmas Eve. It is named after the stollen, the fruit loaf the city is known for, and a giant one is paraded through the streets on the Saturday before Christmas.

Best Time: May to October

22 Dresden Attractions

Known For : Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Old Town Holyrood Palace

Edinburgh's Christmas market on East Princes Street Gardens runs to the first week of January, and the city's real event is Hogmanay, the three-day New Year celebration with a torchlight procession and a street party. If your dates run past the 31st, this is the strongest choice on the list.

Best Time: May to August

22 Edinburgh Attractions

Known For : Kilmainham Gaol Spire of Dublin Guinness Storehouse

Dublin is quiet on Christmas Day itself, when almost everything including public transport stops, and busy on either side. The Grafton Street lights, the Guinness Storehouse and the pubs on the 23rd, known locally as the big night out, carry the trip.

Best Time: May to September

43 Dublin Attractions

Known For : A Culinary Journey: Chocolaterie and the public market Old Town Baie Du Beauport

Quebec City is the closest thing in North America to a European Christmas town, with a walled old quarter, a German-style market in Place Royale and reliable deep snow. It is French-speaking and cold, often below minus fifteen. Sledding on Dufferin Terrace and the ice hotel nearby fill the days.

Best Time: Throughout the year

6 Quebec City Attractions

Known For : Mont-Royal Old Montreal Notre-Dame Basilica

Montreal keeps its Christmas village and lights through December and has an underground city of shops and walkways that matters when it is minus twenty outside. Notre-Dame Basilica holds Christmas services and its Aura light show runs most evenings. Snow is dependable by late December.

Best Time: March to May, September to November

5 Montreal Attractions

Known For : Freedom Trail Boston Museums in Boston Fenway Park

Boston holds a large tree on Boston Common each year, a gift from Nova Scotia since 1971 in thanks for help after the 1917 harbour explosion. The Freedom Trail, the Christmas Revels and the Trinity Church concerts fill a short trip. It is cold and often snowy through late December.

Best Time: April to May, October to November

216 Boston Attractions

Known For : The National Mall Potomac River Capitol Hill and the White House Anacostia River Rock Creek Renwick Gallery

Washington lights the National Christmas Tree near the White House each December, with a smaller tree for every state and territory beside it. The Smithsonian museums are free but closed on 25 December, so plan that day around the monuments and the ice rink at the Sculpture Garden.

Best Time: September to November, March to May

105 Washington Attractions

Inari is a small village in Finnish Lapland, far quieter than Rovaniemi and better placed for northern lights because there is almost no light pollution around it. The Sami cultural centre Siida covers the region's indigenous history, and Lake Inari freezes hard each winter. Choose it for the sky rather than for things to do.

Best Time: June - August, December - February

Known For : National Palace Museum Taipei 101 Chaing Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Christmas is not a public holiday in Taiwan, but neighbouring Banqiao runs Christmasland, a large free light festival that draws several million visitors between November and January. December temperatures sit around 18 degrees, which is mild for the season. Taipei 101 handles the New Year fireworks.

Best Time: September to November

12 Taipei Attractions