SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE, FINLAND
When too much Santa is never enough, rug up and head north to Finland.The jolly man in the red suit is this neighborhood’s most famous resident, and round these parts, they milk him for all he’s worth.
BETHLEHEM
With today’s emphasis on present grabbing and overindulging, it’s hard to deny that the real meaning of Christmas often seems forgotten.For a refresher, nothing compares to a pilgrimage to Jesus’ birthplace.
New York City
Ice skating beneath the giant tree at Rockefeller Center, horse and carriage ride through Central Park, lurking around 34th street hoping to witness a miracle: There’s no shortage of ways to make your New York City Christmas magical.
Rome, Italy
The streets around town will be festively alight, but the city home to the seat of Catholicism is an excellent option for folks seeking a more sacrosanct Christmas experience.
Prague, Czech Republic
The city’s Gothic architecture provides the perfect backdrop for savoring sugary pastries and ham, warming up on mulled wine, and indulging major shopping.
Cologne, Germany
Nothing embodies old-world yuletide charm like the Christmas market, and nobody takes Christmas markets more seriously than the Germans, with Cologne’s drawing four million visitors each winter.
DUBLIN, IRELAND
If present buying makes you think of heaving department stores, maybe you should experience the magical Christkindlesmarkt, in Nuremberg’s Hauptmarkt.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
All those famed chocolate-box attractions — mountains, snow, cobbled streets — make Switzerland extra-appealing come Christmas. Zurich wins our vote for its oodles of Christmas markets, guided Christmas-themed city strolls, and the enchanting all-singing Christmas tree that comes alive on Werdmuhleplatz.
Vienna, Austria
Vienna practically sparkles with holiday spirit during the Christmas season (the twinkling lights covering every building certainly don’t hurt). The city is known for its markets, with the Viennese Christmas Market at City Hall stealing the show every year.
