The European year

December in Europe

14 recurring fixtures, 2 countries at their best and 0 in the quieter shoulder — which is usually where you should be going.

2 of the 14 fixtures in December happen in a destination this atlas holds, and those are the ones drawn. The other 12 are in the list below: a season, a region or a whole country is not a point, and pinning one to a capital to fill the map would be inventing a location. Coastline from Natural Earth, public domain. The full map →

On in December

Market (9) Religious (4) Cultural (1)

Christkindlmarkt

Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck

Market · Austria

Christmas markets and beer festivals

Nationwide

Market · Belgium

Christmas markets

Prague, Brno, Olomouc

Market · Czechia

Christmas markets and Tivoli lights

Copenhagen and Aarhus

Market · Denmark

Christmas market in the Town Hall Square

Tallinn

Market · Estonia

Christmas markets

Nuremberg, Dresden, and every town square

Market · Germany

Vaduz Christmas market

Vaduz

Market · Liechtenstein

Sinterklaas

Nationwide

Religious · Netherlands

Christmas markets and Wigilia

Nationwide

Market · Poland

Christmas markets

Bratislava, Košice

Market · Slovakia

Lucia processions

Churches and schools nationwide

Religious · Sweden

Whirling dervish ceremonies for Rumi

Konya

Religious · Türkiye

Hogmanay

Scotland

Cultural · United Kingdom

Midnight Mass at Christmas

St Peter's Basilica

Religious · Vatican City

At their best in December

Peak season: the weather works, everything is open, and so is everyone else's calendar.

Austria

An imperial capital with a small country attached, most of it vertical.

€85–190 a day

Switzerland

The most expensive country in Europe and the one that most reliably justifies it.

€140–300 a day