Wish it could be Christmas every day? Well, you can enjoy the Big Day twice in one year now, thanks to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
The city was crowned one of Europe’s Christmas Capitals for 2025, and it’s going all out this year to live up to the title. Vilnius is already home to Europe’s most underrated Christmas market, and on December 13, it will take the festive spirit up several notches by hosting a city-wide ‘Christmas Before Christmas’.
You might not actually be able to jump on Father Christmas’s sleigh, but Vilnius has the next best thing: a gingerbread-shaped bus. Though unfortunately not edible, passengers will be transported throughout the city’s winter wonderland, with sights to marvel including the gravity-defying Christmas tree, blinged up by rows of fairy lights. Later services will also come complete with an on-board choir belting out all the Christmas classics.
To really cement the feeling of being in an alternate reality where Christmas reigns supreme, you can bid goodbye to normal cash in Vilnius and instead swap it for a special Christmas currency. Various outlets dotted throughout the city accept the festive money, including the dining venue at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, where you can purchase the signature hot chocolate, and Paupio Market. At the market, you can blow it all on another sugary high: oven-baked apple caramelised in maple syrup and dusted with cinnamon.
Visitors can also impart some of the joy of festive Vilnius to loved ones at home via the city’s free Christmas card postal service to anywhere in the world. As you’re ticking off your list, there’s a strong chance you’ll be serenaded, as a 200-strong choir will be performing. On top of that, there’ll be walking tours featuring Vilnius legends, a festive train, an ice-skating rink and a carousel. Plus, don’t miss the free screening of the classic film It’s A Wonderful Life at Skalvija Cinema.
The real aim of ‘Christmas Before Christmas’, though, is to make you feel like a kid again. Eglė Girdzijauskaitė, Head of Communications at Go Vilnius, explained: ‘We want tourists and residents alike to feel like a child who has woken up on Christmas morning, whether it’s arriving on a specially themed Christmas train, spending special Christmas currency across the city, sending a Christmas card for free, or joining in with a seasonal sing-a-long. Vilnius will turn into a winter wonderland, bringing back a childlike sense of joy and discovery, and it will all be happening two weeks before the actual day.’ Amen to that!
Did you see that this iconic London hotel is officially the most Christmassy hotel in Europe?
Plus, this is Europe’s best Christmas market to visit this year.
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