caprisun1978

My husband and I are planning a 10-day Christmas trip. We normally travel during the summer months, but have decided to get away during the holidays. We have traveled all over the United States and the Caribbean, but this will be our first trip to Europe, thus we need lots of direction. We were set on Ireland, but are quiet hesitant now due to prospect of inclement weather. We would like to travel somewhere warmer.

We are up for anything, we just want an unforgettable experience! All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

jkbritt

Fly to London, see the Christmas decorations, Eurostar to Paris, do same, fly home from CDG.

november_moon

Seeing the Christmas markets in Germany would be fun. Not really warmer, but fun.

pauljagman

You might want to try a Christmas Market river cruise. There are a number of curise companies that offer this. Usually the quaint German towns on the Danube are the main attraction. Check out Globus, Viking, Uniworld, Tauck etc. They are usually all inclusive meaning bed, meals and excursions are included.

janisj

"<i>We were set on Ireland, but are quiet hesitant now due to prospect of inclement weather. </i>"

You can't avoid inclement weather (or the very short days) anywhere in Europe in December. I personally wouldn't choose Ireland myself -- because The parts I like the most (the west/SW coasts) are rural and not at their best in the winter. I'm not a huge Dublin fan.

But any major city or city pair would work for Christmas. London/Paris, Paris/Amsterdam, London or Paris/Rome, etc.

If London is in your plans -- you will do better if you aren't in the city Dec 24, 25, 26. Before Christmas and after Christmas are fun/festive but ON Christmas Day the city closes up <B>tight</B>. No public transport at all, tourist attractions are closed, and few restaurants are ope and most that serve put on really expensive special menus. Most tourist attractions remain closed on the 26th (Boxing Day) though shops and transport are open for business. For frequent London visitors this wouldn't be such a problem since they don't have to hit sites/attractions and just walking around a completely quiet city is fun. But for first timers -- losing 2.5 days of sightseeing would be a problem.

For me, 5 days before Christmas in London and 5 days on/after Christmas in Paris would be a fantastic trip. But they will NOT be warm.

nytraveler

In December you can get inclement weather in most of europe. You best of chance of somewhat warmer weather (but you can still get rain) are southern Spain or Sicily. As soon as you get north of that you can run into winter (and Ireland has much milder winters than areas near the Alps or the central European plain).

If you're looking for beach weather - you wont find it in europe.

tengohambre

As noted, you won't find very warm weather. Look at Rome, Madrid or Barcelona, perhaps, but rain also can be an issue.

If you want Xmas vacation, big city, and sun: look to Buenos Aires or Rio,
Good luck.