We will headed to London on 26 Dec for a week to use up some Virgin miles. My husband and I have both been to London several times and while we plan to spend 2 nights there, we are looking to spend a few nights elsewhere that is easy to reach and practical for a short trip.

What is London like the week between Christmas and New Years in terms of seasonal things to do in the city center? Is the countryside a good option at this time of year?

I know that Paris is an easy option but it is not a favorite destination for us. We have also been to Amsterdam several times and are just back from Belgium and the Netherlands. We did like Brussels and only spent one day so that may be an option but looking for any other recommendations.

We prefer to travel by train as we would like to keep costs down. We will likely spend two nights in London at the end of our trip so that we are in easy reach of the airport for the return flight.

If we do decide to fly, our options are many and we will likely head to Germany and spend a few nights in Berlin but really hoping to keep costs and moving around to a minimum.

Thanks for any recommendations.

The British railway system is almost entirely closed on Boxing Day,though London transport runs more or less like a normal Sunday.

The English countryside is as perfect for living in as ever - but, although we don't have the Arctic winters that plague most Americans, and inevitably wipe your transport system out for days, travel around our countryside isn't always reliable if we have the odd day or two of winter (possible almost anytime from early Dec to mid-March, but less improbable from about Dec 20 to Feb 3 than at any other period).

Christmas carols about "bleak midwinter" describe the author's childhood memories of the Little Ice Age (which ended about 1850), and our countryside never really stops being green. But the flurry of pre-Christmas activities stops about Dec 24, so there's little to distract most visitors.

It's a good time, if you can arrange it and it's what you're looking for, for renting a cottage and spending several days with lots of books, bracing walks and log fires. But for anything else, once the last foxhunt has returned to its kennels on Dec 26, that's pretty much it in the countryside till the flowers start coming out in early Feb

London's Xmas street decorations continue to Jan 6, though its shop windows revert to January Sale themes during Dec 24. It's THE busiest time for theatres and concert halls (both in terms of tickets selling fast and the number of events on) and there's the usual round of Christmas markets, temporary ice skating rinks etc.

SE England's heritage towns (Oxford, Winchester etc) are as pretty as ever in midwinter, and I wouldn't really recommend anything in England to most people other than London with possibly a couple of days in some of the nearby towns. Do check, though, that the relevant trains are working between Xmas and New Year. There's billions being spent on upgrading railway lines, and most plans need short periods of temporary closure: closing completely between Christmas and New Year means the fewest number of people inconvenienced.

Have you considered Edinburgh?

Unless you need to stop to rest or there is something special going in London you want to see I would by pass London completely on Dec 26 and go straight to Belgium. Put your London days at the end. I might opt for Brussels followed by Cologne with a return to London on a non-stop flight out of Cologne.

Thank you for the replies so far.

@tarquin, I will look into Edinburgh.

@sandralist, the reason for the trip is to use up expiring miles on Virgin so we are restricted to into and out of London flights. If we were purchasing tickets, it would be another destination entirely.

@flanneruk, thanks for your detailed reply. We have no interest in renting a cottage and relaxing. When we head to Europe, it is to immerse in day to day life and culture and we keep on the move. My husband often speaks fondly of the Cotswolds but it sounds like perhaps that would not be the best choice.

Since it will still cost us about 800 each in taxes to use our tickets, it may be that it is best to let them expire.

I would second Edinburgh as a good choice at that time of year. The weather is better suited to city pursuits than countryside.

There is certainly more than enough to see and do in Edinburgh to keep you busy for most or all of a week.

<<Since it will still cost us about 800 each in taxes to use our tickets, it may be that it is best to let them expire.>>

Can you finagle a way to fly to somewhere else and connect to London? Judging from Virgin's flight list, probably not.

Flights to London are not TAXED at $800, the fuel costs, which are normally part of the ticket, are accounted for separately and included in the "fees and taxes" not covered by your mileage award.

Or check Virgin Australia - maybe it won't separate out the fuel charges . . .

If you decide to spring for the $800 per . . . Then I'd Fly into LHR, immediately fly up to Edinburgh - stay 2 or 3 days, take the train to York for 2 days, train to London for the final couple of days, fly home.

Unless you want to pay sky high hotel rates you'd need to be out of Edinburgh before the 31st (Rates more than double for Hogmanay)

More information on your "taxes" - BA is the worst about this. Evidently Virgin lifted a page from BA's playbook.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/blogs/t...429-2inrj.html

http://classactionsnews.com/consumer...action-lawsuit

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...l-lawsuit.html

We have to fly into Gatwick as that and Manchester are the only options from here in Orlando that are non stop. We would LOVE to head straight to Germany or Austria but the schedules do not work to allow that.

There is almost nothing that would leave from Gatwick and get us somewhere the same day, otherwise this would be an easy decision. We would have to get to Heathrow and then connect out.

Virgin does not make connections easy.

You can fly from LGW to either EDI or GLA

Or if you fly into MAN - easy peasy -- train to York, a couple of nights, train to Edinburgh, fly or train down to London.

Will check that out - thanks!

Virgin flies to Glasgow from Orlando.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/us/en...route-map.html

Hi,

I did understand your flight restrictions. I was thinking you could take the train to Brussels after landing at a London airport.

If you are willing to fly from Gatwick to someplace else, why not fly where you would love to go -- Germany or Austria -- ?

Sorry, kfusto, I just caught up with your later post about the lack of flights out of Gatwick that appeal to you, so scratch my second suggestions.

(If you can fly into Glasgow maybe you can catch a plane to Germany or Austria from there?)

Doesn't Virgien fly anywhere else from the US ? How about flying from Atlanta ? Anything to avoid that criminal fee of $800 into GB.

Will the limited train schedule make this a problem> Schedules are not posted this far in advance for me to check.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued comments.

Service into Glasgow is seasonal and not in effect for our dates. We are limited to London if we want to use miles and go nonstop.

I have read that train schedules are significantly curtailed during this time period.

If we take a flight from another airport to avoid taxes, it will cost us that much and more for the additional leg. Additionally, we would like this to be an easy trip and while weather here is normally fabulous in winter, it is not so in other destinations.

Hmmmm. How about 3 nights in London and then non-stop to Palermo on Ryan Air out of Stanstead? (I just couldn't face Edinburgh in December.)