European destinations around Christmas?

[Iskaral Pust]

Finally the eurocommie hive mind has some use: what's a fun destination in Europe for a short trip around Christmas or New Year?

I think we'll take a trip home to Ireland around Christmas this year but it would be nice to add on a short trip somewhere else in Europe.

My first thought is Berlin after enjoying trips to Paris, London, Vienna and Venice in recent years. But I'm very open to fun ideas. We like to experience different cultures and I especially like the historical feel of European cities.

Thanks all.

[polishgenius]

Berlin is a great city but if you're talking 'historical' - well, the history is here in spades but almost all of what you can see is less than 100 years old, so it's a very different feel to the other cities you named. It's had a very busy century.

 

 

 

As a Pole I can't not nominate Krakow.



Mind you, if you've got long enough and you come to Berlin, you could make a day-trip to Poznan - it's about three hours on the train - thus combining the Berlin thing with the historicity of an old, old European city (and one less-known than the usual suspects but very cool).

[Tempra]

Christmas time is wonderful in Europe. Here are some cities that I felt did Christmas particularly well:

Dresden
Salzburg
Innsbruck
Strasbourg
Brussels
Rothenburg
Prague
Zermatt (probably not good for a short trip)

[Iskaral Pust]

Thanks, great suggestions already.

I had not even thought of Kraków. Ireland is so westerly, and I'm a child of the Cold War, that my initial thoughts are always biased to the west of the iron curtain. I would actually like to try somewhere quite different.

I realize that Berlin was basically rebuilt but it's still one of the major global capitals. Someone suggested Düsseldorf to me too, although I would have expected a similar situation there (Dresden too).

Tempra - are cities like Salzburg and Innsbruck full with skiers that early? I doubt we'll snowboard on this trip, so not worth dealing with hordes of piste-heads.

I need to take a look at some of these suggestions. Keep them coming, thanks.

[ElizabethB.]

Go to Copenhagen, it's perfect, like a human size dollhouse!

[HexMachina]

Since you also mentioned New Year, I'd like to add that the atmosphere in Edinburgh if you go out on New Years Eve/New Years Day is absolutely fantastic. I went to the street party a couple of years ago. It was extremely crowded but even so, we had a blast, because everyone was just in such high spirits. Fireworks were well worth it too. Maybe it's not the most exciting of suggestions but there it is :)

[lady narcissa]

I was just in Berlin this spring and had an excellent time and would recommend it. Actually Germany in general I would recommend around Christmas - especially before Christmas when the Christmas markets are open. They add a very festive atmosphere. My family and I have gone a couple of times the week before Christmas and all ages have enjoyed visiting at that time. We enjoyed visiting Cologne, Nuremberg, and Munich.

Since you are also going to Ireland, I'll just mention that this past time we flew to Berlin through Dublin from Chicago on Aer Lingus as it had the best schedule at the time for connections and transferring in Dublin was a breeze compared to all the other transfer cities.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Go to Copenhagen, it's perfect, like a human size dollhouse!

I was thinking how nice Fredriksborg Castle would be- http://venturedenmark.com/images/div/tema/culture_background_fredriksborg_castle.jpg

[Magnar of Skagos]

I've always wanted to visit Iceland during Christmas time, though I have a feeling you're looking for something at least somewhat warm haha.

[deleted01]

Belgium and Germany have great Christmas markets, if that's your kind of thing. I believe Leuven in Belgium is particularly nice.

London is nuts most of the time, let alone during Christmas, but if you can brave the people, there are lots of Christmas lights and pretty decorations in shop windows. I think we're heading to Cornwall for Christmas this year, so I'll be checking what's on down there. New year is manic in London too - my SO went once, and couldn't move. But if you get a nice vantage point, it might be fun to watch the festivities.

Firework night in Plymouth is fantastic. They set them off on the seafront, and it's completely free. Gets pretty busy though.

[ants]

I did an Albatross tour across the Christmas period in Austria/Germany which was a lot of fun. Gave you a base in a beautiful village in Austria near the ski slopes, with daily trips you could do (or just enjoy the local area). So visited more than just the single village.

I've been to Vienna between Christmas and New Years and loved that, but you said you'd been there.

I've been to Budapest in early December and that was beautiful. Heaps of history (part of the Roman empire, Hapsburgs, Soviet empire, etc), great landscape, public naturally heated pools which are great in winter (snowing when I did them, brilliant), fantastic food (oh, the goulash!) and great river cruises and day trips if you wish. Lots of museums, including ones on the city's history (from when it was two cities, Buda and Pest), a KGB museum, and so on. Decent public transport, just make sure you always have a valid ticket. Cheaper than other European cities, although not really really cheap (at least when I went, which was before the GFC had hit in full force). In December they already had Christmas markets as well.

[Jo498]

The most famous "Christmas" cities in Germany (with huge Xmas Fairs etc.) are probably Dresden and Nuremberg. They are bound to be crowded, of course.

Both also feel much more "historical" than Berlin. This is not mainly due to the ravages of war but to the fact that Nuremberg was already a wealthy city in the late middle ages when Prussia was a recently christianized backwater. And later in the early 18th century when the Prussian King was drilling soldiers, the Saxon King spent his coffers on making Dresden the "Florence" at the Elbe.

 

But by now almost every German city has a rather elaborate Xmas market and many of them have nice inner cities with an historical feel. If you want a "big" city, though, it's probably only Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich (and all of them might feel provincial compared to London or Paris).

[Solmyr]

There are many possible destinations you can visit in Europe for New Years Eve and they are all great in their own way. You mention you've visited London, Paris, Venice and Vienna before - which of the 4 did you like the most and why - that would help us selecting a good destination for you.

 

Another thing to consider - depending on your current latitude, some European destinations might not be as enjoyable at this time of year due to the sheer darkness and gloominess of the cities in question. As someone, who fares from the south side of the block, travelling in central or northern Europe during this time of the year can be slightly depressing. Therefore if you end up pondering over several equally appealing destinations and one of them is further south than the others, pick that one.

 

Personal recommendations - I've visited Budapest, Wroclaw(in southern Poland) and most of the Netherlands in wintertime. Of the three Budapest is definitely the winner, although the competition is rather weak with Wroclaw being a rural city and the Netherlands being quite gloomy at this time of year.

[HexMachina]

Belgium and Germany have great Christmas markets, if that's your kind of thing. I believe Leuven in Belgium is particularly nice.
London is nuts most of the time, let alone during Christmas, but if you can brave the people, there are lots of Christmas lights and pretty decorations in shop windows. I think we're heading to Cornwall for Christmas this year, so I'll be checking what's on down there. New year is manic in London too - my SO went once, and couldn't move. But if you get a nice vantage point, it might be fun to watch the festivities.
Firework night in Plymouth is fantastic. They set them off on the seafront, and it's completely free. Gets pretty busy though.

We tried to tackle Hyde Park one night this year. We had to wait 50 minutes in a "sardines"-like queue just to get in. It was nice enough looking around but I'd never want to try that again. It's not as nice during the day, but it's far quieter and probably the best time to go if you want to get a proper look at all of the merchandise on the stalls.
The Christmas window at Harrods is always really nice too, and it's not usually so busy on that street as it is in Oxford Street. We were there the weekend before Christmas and had no trouble taking pictures in front of the window. It's also fairly close toHyde Park so if you wanted to do both in the same day it's easy enough to have a wander along there.
I wasn't there for New Year, but some of the other people on my course at uni stayed and said it was horrendous trying to get moved anywhere. I think you also had to pay for a ticket this year.

[Eyelesbarrow]

Berlin loves its New Year parties. We have been to the big party at Brandenburg Tor - it was fun for a first-timer, but I would not go back. There's just way too many people (well, duh). I'd rather watch the fireworks at Viktoriapark or along the Spree (we watched it last year on one of the bridges in Museum Insel). One thing about Berlin on NY though is that the public transport still works even after midnight. So it's convenient  and cheap to go around the city even if you're stumbling drunk.

 

ETA: Christmas markets - I've never been to the famous ones in Southern Germany (like in Nuremberg) but would love to see it. The ones I have been to in Berlin are the Christmas market in Alt-Rixdorf in Neukölln ( the oldest one in Berlin IIRC, loads of glühwein were had) and the one at Kulturbrauerei in Pberg (more hipsterish, but still with glühwein).  Oh yeah, I've also been to one in Potsdam, which is only 30 min from Berlin city center by train. Berlin is also a good base for exploring other EU cities. Like somebody mentioned, it's only a few hours away from Poland, 2-3 hrs by bus to Dresden and 1.5 hours to Hamburg via ICE train.

[ElizabethB.]

I was thinking how nice Fredriksborg Castle would be- http://venturedenmark.com/images/div/tema/culture_background_fredriksborg_castle.jpg

Adorable...

[Alarich]

I would second Krakow and suggest as possible alternatives Tallinn or Riga: nice destinations during that time, great cities and with a bit of luck you'll have plenty of snow and ice on the Baltic sea. Not too expensive either.

[3CityApache]

I can only echo Polish's suggestions of Kraków and Poznań, as well as add to them my home ThreeCity, meaning Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. They're great in summer, but also in winter they have their charm.

[polishgenius]

I wasn't there for New Year, but some of the other people on my course at uni stayed and said it was horrendous trying to get moved anywhere. I think you also had to pay for a ticket this year.

 

 

Yeah, they charge for tickets now, but it's so manic it's not worth the bother even when it was free. Far better, if you are in London, to get on one of the hills further out - Parliament Hill is where I've done it in the past, Richmond Park and Primrose Hill are other options- and watch from there. That is dependent on good weather though - we only saw the bottom half of the Millennium fireworks coz of clouds.

[King Tyrion I]

Berlin loves its New Year parties. We have been to the big party at Brandenburg Tor - it was fun for a first-timer, but I would not go back. There's just way too many people (well, duh). I'd rather watch the fireworks at Viktoriapark or along the Spree (we watched it last year on one of the bridges in Museum Insel). One thing about Berlin on NY though is that the public transport still works even after midnight. So it's convenient  and cheap to go around the city even if you're stumbling drunk.

 

ETA: Christmas markets - I've never been to the famous ones in Southern Germany (like in Nuremberg) but would love to see it. The ones I have been to in Berlin are the Christmas market in Alt-Rixdorf in Neukölln ( the oldest one in Berlin IIRC, loads of glühwein were had) and the one at Kulturbrauerei in Pberg (more hipsterish, but still with glühwein).  Oh yeah, I've also been to one in Potsdam, which is only 30 min from Berlin city center by train. Berlin is also a good base for exploring other EU cities. Like somebody mentioned, it's only a few hours away from Poland, 2-3 hrs by bus to Dresden and 1.5 hours to Hamburg via ICE train.

 

Well, the Christmas markets at [url=http://www.muenster.de]my place[/url] are also quite nice. Glühwein (spiced wine) is a must! Definitely.

 

If you should decide to hop over drop me a note. ;o)