Where would you go in December?
 

It sounds like you really aren't interested in going to the UK again -- but a country house hotel in the countryside either Christmas Eve through Boxing Day or a few days over the New years holiday. You could combine it with a few day city break in London or York or almost anywhere

I'd go to Morocco, Egypt, the Canaries or Cape Verdi Islands

Amsterdam is open over Christmas and New Year. The museums I mean, and pretty much everything else too.

You could embrace the season and head north, cold,yes, dark, yes, dog sledding, possibly, saunas certainly, and a good chance of aurora.

Otherwise south as bilbo suggests, or maybe Madeira or the Azores.

It's not a resort type of place but Prague's Christmas market extends into January, there is a lot to do, and the city itself is gorgeous in wintery weather.

We spent a week in Antwerp and Amsterdam this past holiday season - arriving after Christmas and staying over New Year's. Antwerp's markets were open and things were pretty festive. There's also a big fireworks show on NYE. It was a little chilly, but we just dressed for it.

Have a look at southern Andalusia - Cadiz, Tarifa, etc., or Gibraltar. There are white villages, Roman ruins, beaches for sunning or windsurfing, ferries to Morocco... Pretty reliable sunshine, open roads, oranges on the trees.

Pictures from February but could have been earlier - not much difference.

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I went to Provence at that same time of year. It was wonderful.

I've always found Salzburg a good place to spend Christmas.

I'm working on a trip for the same time period and also wondering where to spend Christmas Day. It's between Switzerland and northern Italy at the moment.

If you decide on Rome consider Naples afterwards. Near to Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Amalfi Coast will be very quiet, but the drive would still be spectacular.

I begin with this opening line so often, but I think it has merit.

We lived in Austria for many years. Those Christmas/Ski Break holidays not spent at home or in Paris/Prague/Budapest/Warsaw/Munich/Salzburg were spent in the South. That is, Croatia and Italy.

Happy Travel Planning!

I agree with both Rome & Naples (Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum). I spent time in both just before & over Christmas, cool & pleasant, after arriving from a couple of December weeks in Malta where it was really quite nice, light jacket weather. For something completely different go to Malta.

Fourfortravel - any specific suggestions for Northern Italy? A bit worried about places (smaller towns) completely shutting down.

Yes, why not head up north and experience the artic winter in the north of Sweden? Stay at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, with dog sledding, reindeer sleigh excursions, snowmobile rides and the Northern lights. For inspiration visit icehotel.com

Combine the ice hotel with a tour of the underground iron-ore mine in Kiruna. It is the largest mine of its kind in the world.

Ice Hotel and Sami in northern Sweden
 

I second the Ice Hotel in northern Sweden. It would be a unique winter experience. You could stay one night in the actual ice hotel and the other nights in warm accommodations. https://www.icehotel.com/icehotel-original
There's also eco tourism at a Sami Village https://nutti.se/

but in December, it is just night time, all day. Better to go in February or March

I'm afraid I can not be of much help. The post Christmas/pre New Years break we spent in Italy was divided between a friend's house in Trieste and a couple of days in Venice. Our friends knew what would be open or closed and we could plan accordingly.

Thanks anyway forfortravel; I think we've got a few ideas now.

I will always love Christmas in Paris or London. My other choices would be Florence, Rome, and San Sebastián.

There was a thread on here recently about Christmas markets open after Christmas, as there are quite a few dotted around. That might be helpful for you. To this I would also add Brussels, which has a market (Winter Wonders) that is open until 6 January.

Lavandula

The Christmas markets in Alto Adige/Südtirol are all open until January 6th. Bolzano/Bozen and Bressanone/Brixen both have markets, as do other towns in the area. This is the trilingual part of Italy; Italian, German, and Ladino are all official languages.

St Johann Pongeau Austria —Krampus Fest
 

Around St Nicholas Day in early December this small village has 2 nights of festivities with Krampuses. People dress up and accompany Saint Nicholas to visit the kids and leave treat in their shoes. They shut the town roads down and have a parade one night for kids one night for adults. The costumes are amazing. It is in a village in the Swiss Alps and so magical. There is a large sports lodge in town. We don’t ski but took a bus to the mountaintop with the skiers and had lunch in the lodge. The gondola ride up was so scenic. And with the snow, the trip was magical. Add on a day and heading north about 30 miles to a small village called HALLIEN. You can take the train. This is where the composer Gruber has his museum. He wrote Silent Night for the church next door. During the day we visited their salt mine which was a ton of fun. We then went to Vienna for a few more days. Loved this trip!

I agree with shelemm about going to Provence in December! We spent several weeks in Provence in December 2022, and had a wonderful time. We visited many villages; restaurants were open; the market in L'Isle Sur la Sorgue was open, on a much smaller scale, of course, but we weren't fighting the crowds. The villages weren't crowded at all so it was very enjoyable for walking around and enjoying the quiet ambiance. Marseilles was a lot of fun and quite lively as was Aix en Provence. The weather was warm enough on some days that we were able to dine outdoors.

If you wish, you can click on my name to read my trip report titled "Provence in December". With photos, to give you an idea of what the villages are like in December.

I second Prague - it's a magical, beautiful fairytale city and the Christmas markets in both Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square typically go through January.

Otherwise, Strasbourg in France is also lovely - and while the Strasbourg market might not still be up when you're there, it's a great base to explore the other fairytale villages nearby - and I believe nearby Colmar and Saverne will still have markets/decorations up.

We spent December 2023 in Sevilla and highly recommend it! The weather was beautiful- sunny and 60s. The city is very festive with lots of wonderful restaurants, shops, the amazing Cathedral and stunning Alcazar!

I wrote a trip report with lots of pictures:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...lucia-1720008/