One of the many depressing things about 2020 was the effect its deep-piled layers of doom and gloom had on Christmas. Think back to it – if you can remember it at all. For here was a stripped-down, under-powered, withered-away version of the world’s favourite winter festival – pinched at the nose, weary around the eyes, shorn of any real enthusiasm.
It wasn’t just the restrictions on getting together on the day itself that made the event such a (if you will pardon the entirely deliberate pun) turkey. It was the dearth of merriment in the build-up. Present shopping was a perfunctory affair, largely conducted online – and where shoes did meet street, it was only as a dash to the limited range of shops available.
November and December certainly didn’t involve that staple of the season, the festive market. The majority were cancelled, lost to a tacit consensus that 2020 wasn’t a year for mulled wine and baked goods, or for chestnuts roasting upon any sort of public open fire.
All of which makes their return in 2021 a reason to be enormously cheerful. For the most part, the coming weeks will see the Christmas market back where we expect to find it – in the main squares of attractive capitals, shimmering in the shadow of gothic churches, the aroma of cinnamon and sugar in the air. But while eastern Europe may be the spiritual home of such matters, the Christmas market can increasingly be enjoyed in cities across the planet.
The list below is far from exhaustive, but each of the 10 selected options will satisfy your craving for snow-sprinkled sparkle. After all, we’re owed a double dose of it.
Madrid
The image of the Christmas market is so tied to some snowy evening in eastern Europe that it is almost impossible to imagine festive hot drinks in the relative warmth of Spain. But Madrid embraces the idea with gusto. The Plaza Mayor, all 16th-century elegance in its colonnaded walkways, revels in sweets, toys and trinkets every December – while the adjacent Plaza de Santa Cruz plays the same card (esmadrid.com). From November 26-December 31.
Madrid might not be the obvious choice for a winter market but it rises to the occasion
Credit: Getty
Beyond the market: A trip in the coming months will coincide with Madrid’s new stage extravaganza, Wah (wahshow.com; from £31.50) – which combines an immersive theatrical show about a world where music is outlawed with food halls and post-production drinks.
How to do it: A three-night stay at the four-star Hotel Emperador costs from £669pp, with flights and transfers, through Kirker Holidays (020 7593 1899; kirkerholidays.com)
Zagreb
Croatia’s capital tends to be the underused travel substitute of this increasingly popular Balkan country – left on the bench while coastal jewels Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar enjoy starring roles. But the weeks before Christmas (adventzagreb.hr) see it earn a starting position, shining inland beyond the Dinaric Alps. There are 20 locations to enjoy across its centre – like the main square Trg Bana Jelacica, and Trg Europe, below the gothic facade of the 12th-century cathedral. The local paprenjaci – peppery gingerbread cookies – are a must. From November 29-January 2.
Beyond the market: Despite the name, the Museum of Broken Relationships is an oddly uplifting experience, diving into the human condition in its discarded love trinkets, tales from failed marriages, and determination to do better next time (brokenships.com; £4.70) .
How to do it: A three-night stay at the five-star Esplanade Hotel, flying from Heathrow on December 9, costs from £389pp with Travelbag (020 3944 7138; travelbag.co.uk)
Brussels
The Belgian capital’s reputation as a hive of grey-suited bureaucracy is rarely accurate, but it shakes off any hint of drabness in the run-up to Christmas, as its Winter Wonders festival (visit.brussels/en/article/winter-wonders) takes over the centre. As ever, focus falls on the Grand-Place, its medieval heart, where stalls are laid out under a colossal tree. From November 26-January 2.
Beyond the market: The Oldmasters Museum (fine-arts-museum.be; £8.50) is surely the planet’s foremost collection of Flemish art, with pieces by van Dyck, Bosch and Rubens.
How to do it: A three-night stay at the Warwick Brussels (a five-star with a rooftop terrace, within walking distance of the Grand-Place), heading out from London St Pancras on December 2, costs from £244pp – with Eurostar (0343 218 6186; eurostar.com)
Krakow
Poland’s second city (krakow.travel) would bridle at the suggestion that Prague is festive shopping at its most delightful. Its main market is no less picturesque, glittering on the vast plaza of Rynek Glowny. Is the twin-towered grandeur of St Mary’s Basilica (or the Unesco-listed wonder of the Cloth Hall, at the square’s heart) any less photogenic than the landmarks in the Czech Republic? Sip a glass of mulled wine and decide for yourself. From November 29-December 26.
Fill your basket with festive treats at Krakow’s Christmas market
Credit: Getty
Beyond the market: Delicious Poland offers a 3½-hour food tour, which pairs delicacies such as nalesniki (pancakes) with Krakow beers – from £52 (deliciouspoland.com).
How to do it: A four-night break to the five-star Balthazar Design Hotel, flying from Edinburgh on December 8, costs from £376pp, with Expedia (020 3788 0445; expedia.co.uk)
Munich
Berlin is all but one enormous Christmas market come December, but its Bavarian rival is no festive Grinch, usually putting down its Oktoberfest steins just in time to reach for cups of hot gluhwein – and in a relaxed environment. One of the pleasures of Munich is that, while its historic and sporting profile suggests a huge metropolis, the reality is a compact city that can be explored on foot. You can easily take in the tinsel-draped trappings of the Christkindlmarkt (muenchen.de) on Marienplatz before ambling the rest of the centre. From November 22-December 24.
Beyond the market: Munich is arguably Germany’s art capital. Together, its Alte and Neue Pinakothek galleries cover the gods of European art from the 14th to 19th centuries, while the Pinakothek der Moderne dissects everything after (pinakothek.de; from £7.50)
How to do it: A three-night trip to the five-star München Palace, leaving Heathrow on December 16, starts at £400pp with British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays)
Budapest
The Hungarian capital is a case of two cities for the price of one – its guardian spirit, the Danube, separating the hilly ex-royal enclave of Buda on the left bank of the river for flatter, busier Pest on the right. It is certainly worth strolling through the castle district of the former, but if you want the full cinnamon-and-cheer market experience, you probably need the latter. In particular, you need the Advent Bazilika (adventbazilika.hu) market, which stations itself on Szent Istvan Ter, in front of the magnificent St Stephen’s Basilica. From November 29-January 2.
Budapest does Christmas fare with flare
Credit: Getty
Beyond the market: All the more dramatic if you can catch it under snow, Memento Park (mementopark.hu; £4.25) preserves some 40 statues – Lenin, Bela Kun et al – from the country’s communist era, as part throwback, part warning against tyranny.
How to do it: A three-night stay at the five-star Corinthia Budapest, flying from Manchester on December 9, starts at £385pp, with Last Minute (0871 277 1070; lastminute.com)
Paris
You might assume that the French capital is far too chic for Christmas markets. Who needs hand-carved fripperies and gingerbread when you have Saint-Germain jewellers and Marais patisseries? But Paris loves a dash of festive schmaltz as much as any city, and indulges it both in the Jardins des Tuileries and in the lap of the re-emerging Notre Dame. The best example, though, may be the pocket of stalls that takes over Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, under the gorgeous gaze of the town hall, with an ice rink to boot as part of the festive fun. From November 19-January 2.
Beyond the market: A short walk away, the Louvre is currently saluting the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution in “Paris-Athens”, an exhibition that charts the birth of the modern Greek state via artworks by Delacroix and Nikolaos Gyzis (louvre.fr; £14.50)
How to do it: A three-night stay at the palatial hotel Le Bristol costs from £2,300pp, with flights, transfers and breakfast, through Scott Dunn (020 8682 5080; scottdunn.com)
Birmingham
You don’t need to cross the Atlantic (or even the Channel) for a dose of whimsical retail therapy. You can simply go to Birmingham, and its Frankfurt Christmas Market (thebfcm.co.uk). Despite the semi-confusing name (as explanation, Birmingham is twinned with Frankfurt, and the event is affiliated with its namesake in the Hesse city), this festive bonanza has grown to become the biggest in Europe outside Germany and Austria – sprawling across Centenary, Chamberlain and Victoria Squares, and New Street. From November 4-December 23.
Beyond the market: If your hunt for presents is likely to involve something pricier than biscuits, the Jewellery Quarter will be keen to oblige (birmingham-jewellery-quarter.net)
How to do it: The Hotel du Vin (0121 794 3005; hotelduvin.com/locations/birmingham) – set up in a former Victorian eye hospital in the Jewellery Quarter – does double rooms from £99
New York
The news that the United States is to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from November 8 brings with it the tantalising prospect of a hop to a city that treats Christmas shopping as a quasi-religion. But while the storefronts of Fifth Avenue will gleam as always, New York (nycgo.com/events/holiday-markets) has also adopted the European-style festive market. The biggest – on Union Square – has some 160 stalls. The prettiest is at Columbus Circus – a twinkling appendix to Central Park in its winter glory. From November 18-December 24.
The Rockefeller Centre is at its most picturesque during the festive season
Credit: Getty
Beyond the market: The Rockefeller Centre is a pivotal part of a Big Apple Christmas. Its yearly ice rink opens to skaters on November 6 (rockefellercenter.com; from £15)
How to do it: A week at Le Méridien New York Central Park, leaving Heathrow on December 4, starts at £1,993pp – with Virgin Holidays (0344 472 9646; virginholidays.co.uk)
Prague
If you were to summon a stereotypical snapshot of a Christmas market, you might think of Prague on a winter’s night. Yet clichés become ingrained for a reason. The Czech capital (prague.eu) is the loveliest of travel touchstones – an enclave whose centre somehow survived the worst of the Second World War (the Red Army took it unopposed in 1945), and still sings with medieval magic. Its focal point, the Staromestske Namesti (Old Town Square), with its famous astrological clock, plays host to its main cluster of festive stalls. From November 27-January 6.
Beyond the market: Museum Kampa (museumkampa.cz), on the far side of the River Vltava, is a superb change of pace – a former watermill full of modern art and sculpture
How to do it: A four-night stay at the five-star Art Deco Imperial, leaving Bristol on December 8, starts at £570pp with easyJet Holidays (0330 551 5151; easyjet.com/holidays)