We are two Americans living in London for a few years, and we've been exploring Europe as much as possible. Since we already told the families that we wouldn't be coming back to the States for the holidays, that leaves us free! But free to do what, exactly?

We've already done one Christmas in London/Paris. I'm thinking maybe Vienna? We're not really into skiing, so I think the Alps in general are out. Any suggestions out there for a fun, relaxing, but still cultural/urban holiday destination?

Thanks!
www.changehere.wordpress.com

Istanbul!

My own experience of Christmas in Vienna has been that it's like London without Christmas pudding, pantomimes or decent TV.

Personally, I like British Christmases: but if our Big Sleep's not for you, Vienna's not going to be a great alternative. Not tried it: but Rome doesn't seem to switch off at Xmas in the same way - and, as long as you've got a good umbrella, midwinter's a great time for properly going round those classical remains (like the Forum) which are a unbearable in the summer.

How about Madeira? You know, that Portuguese island in the Atlantic. They have wonderful Christmas lights. I have spent a couple of Christmases there and enjoyed.

http://www.google.fi/images?um=1&hl=...=&oq=&gs_rfai=

We're Australians and have been living in the UK for about 4 years. One Christmas we rented an apartment in London, went to the theatre, a jazz concert, the Ceremony of the Keys, Borough Market to stock up for Christmas Day etc. We had a good time but it was our first winter Christmas ever so everything was a novelty.

Another year we rented an apartment in Strasbourg for a week. Wouldn't recommend it, for me it was just too cold and a lot of things were shut. We did some day trips on the train and the small towns were like ghost towns. We also didn't like the apartment which influenced our opinion of the city. I'm glad we saw the Christmas markets but didn't find them overly interesting.

The best Christmas we've had was in Nice. We got an apartment again for a week, it was a fantastic place, I would have loved to live there. There was a lot to do in the area and we did day trips by train and bus. The town was lively with lots of shops and restaurants. We really enjoyed it and the weather wasn't bad, sunny most days and much warmer than London.

I would definitely recommend Nice for Christmas. There is a trip report on Christmas in Nice on www.slowtrav.com if you do a search. We ended up meeting Roz (the trip report author) and her husband in Nice which was lovely.

Kay

If you are interested in the south of France, here is the website where we found our apartment:

http://www.nicepebbles.com/

Kay

Rome!

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%...Rome_2009.html

Well, it seems as if the sunny Southern Europe reigns supreme! Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll have to post about it when we finally make a decision!

Southern Europe won't be that sunny at Christmas! Not likely to be much better than London, in fact.

I spent a magical Christmas in Salzburg one year - gluhwein, Christmas market, Mozart recitals, chiming Church bells, and the Sound of Music. There was even stuff open on Christmas Day (museums, a few shop, bars and restaurants).