Merry Christmas! To celebrate the most important holiday on the Christian calendar, we thought it would make sense to highlight 12 destinations around the world, along with specific places, that truly embody the Christmas spirit.
12. Quebec City
The old town of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, transforms into a cozy hamlet at Christmas time. Restaurant menus are full of hearty, seasonal fare and hotels offer a superb array of holiday treats and special deals. Best of all, when snow falls gently over the old town, you can feel the Christmas magic.
11. New York City
Christmas is a wonderful time to be in the Big Apple. The shops on Fifth Avenue are decorated with festive flair and the massive tree at Rockefeller Center provides the ideal backdrop for skaters on the most famous outdoor ice rink in the world. Christmas staples in Manhattan include mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and a carriage ride around Central Park, complete with blankets and hot chocolate.
10. Rio de Janeiro
With famous landmark Christ the Redeemer impossible to ignore from any vantage point in the city, Rio is a wonderful place to be on December 25. Copacabana and Ipanema Beach on Christmas day? Why not? As a staunch bastion of Roman Catholicism and more and more, evangelical Christianity, Christmas is a major holiday in Brazil.
Perhaps more than any other country in the world, the Philippines, a devoutly Christian nation, takes Christmas to heart. Midnight mass in Manila is a powerful experience but whether you stay at a posh hotel in Makati City or a beachside villa in the province of Palawan, Christmas in the Philippines will be memorable.
8. London
London, England is a city with perhaps the most fabulous array of midnight mass events in all of Christendom. Westminster Abbey has the most famous mass, with a choir whose collective voice is positively angelic. For many however, the most beautiful music is at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral. St. Paul’s Cathedral hosts a record mass on Christmas Eve, with more than 2,000 people in attendance. Remember to stop by Harrod’s to tackle your gift list.
Discover where to stay in London, anytime of year.
7. Dublin
There is no Christmas experience quite like a distinctly Irish one. Therefore, we had to include Dublin on our list. From traditional Celtic music to shamrocks and holly everywhere, a Christmas ham or goose on the table and candles in almost every window, the Irish know how to make a holiday festive.
6. Strasbourg
A Christmas holiday tucked away in Strasbourg’s old town is positively idyllic. The UNESCO World Heritage historic heart of the city transforms into a veritable Christmas village, complete with quaint shops and the powerful aroma of gingerbread. The Christkindelsm?rik, or Christmas market, is extraordinary, as is mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady.
5. Tbilisi
The capital of Georgia celebrates Christmas with Alilo, a mass in the streets with many inherent customs. A delicious array of native sweets, spirits and foods are all part of the revelry, made all the more memorable with typical carols not heard anywhere outside the country. Whether or not the destination is Tbilisi or another city, Christmas in Eastern Europe, replete with Orthodox traditions, is more than worthwhile.
4. Copenhagen
Denmark takes Christmas to another level, with fervent celebrations that surpass most other nations. Typical of the north of Europe, late December is a very merry and exuberant time, when people eat, drink and party to exhaustion. Julefrokost is the Danish Christmas lunch feast on December 24. Get in on one if you can and enjoy roast duck, goose, local beers, sweets and of course, a lot of snaps. Copenhagen, one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe anytime of year, really shines in December.
3. Cologne
The gorgeous little city in Germany is a popular Christmas destination, with a fabulous yuletide market that comes alive the entire month of December and the solemn presence of the exceptional K?lner Dom. All in all, a great city to feast, shop and observe the holiday.
2. Rome
If you can handle a crowd and enjoy pannetone and torrone, head to Rome over the Christmas holidays. Christmas Eve mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, with the Pope no less, will make every other pale in comparison.
Visit Rome on Christmas Day with the best hotel deals in the city.
Perhaps the only holy experience that can surpass and even dwarf Christmas in the Vatican, is to celebrate and observe where it all began. Bethlehem and Jerusalem sit in the Holy Land and as such, represent the very origin and significance of Christmas. Whether Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant, a trip to Manger Square and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will change you forever. The emotions that well up for visitors to Bethlehem and Jerusalem on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are impossible to approximate anywhere else in the world.
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Responses to this Article
Leave a Reply