The 21 best places to go for Christmas in the world for 2024

Best for: an iconic holiday 

Christmas in New York City has been recreated time and again in film and television for good reason. The sparkling lights in Dyker Heights, the dazzling holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, the incredible Rockefeller Center Tree and all the open-air markets make for a romantic and memorable season that you can only have in the Big Apple. For one moment, the city slows down and enjoys the warmth the season.

💡 Editor’s tip: Don’t just stay in Manhattan during Christmastime. Head to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Lightscape, Dyker Heights Christmas lights (take public transit) and The Bronx Zoo to see its glowing animal display.

✨ Read more: The best Christmas things to do in NYC

Best for: traditional romantics 

I’m biased, because I think London is the best city in the world pretty much all year round (except, possibly, in January), but I bet I can make a real case for it in the lead up to Christmas. When summer draws to a close, the city comes alive, strung with lights and filled with stomping shoppers. Buy Christmas goodies in Oxford Circus, spend a night at one of the many Christmas markets on the South Bank, go for a crisp romantic stroll on Hampstead Heath and pretend to be Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. London was made for Christmas - even the scroogiest of Londoniest can’t deny it.

💡 Editor’s tip: It’s not a London Christmas if you don’t go to see A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic: this year its Life On Mars’s John Simm as Ebenezer Scrooge.

✨ Read more: The best Christmas lights in London

Best for: the glögg

Next time you’re in a supermarket passing by some Christmas cards, take a look at the little illustrated houses – chances are they look a lot like the ones along the streets of Copenhagen. The fact is that the Danish capital just gives Christmas, with the windows of the neatly-packed streets exuding a warm, welcoming glow. It does get super cold here, but to remedy that (and if you’re a drinker) there are plenty of spots in the city selling glögg, and – whisper it – it’s better than mulled wine. I’d recommend having a gander of all the food in  Torvehallerne and grabbing a cup on your way out.

💡 Editor’s tip: What’s the best way to warm up? By sitting in a sauna, of course. Copenhagen’s average temperature in December is a mere 3C, but thankfully the city has a bounty of saunas where you can thaw – check out La Banchina.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Copenhagen

Best for: wannabe Santa elves 

There are few destinations as legendarily Christmassy as Rovaniemi, which, as the capital of Lapland, is also the official hometown of Santa Claus. But Rovaniemi isn’t all about Santa. Once you’re done exploring Santa Claus Village and getting reindeer rides about town, be sure to sweat out your worries with a festive sauna – a Finnish Christmas tradition.

💡 Editor’s tip: There’s quite literally nowhere more Christmassy than Lapland, so to make the most of being in the single most festive place on earth and ride a goddamn reindeer yourself! You can do so in Santa’s village.

Best for: Christmas markets

Sure, each city centre twinkles with lights and exudes wafts of mulled wine throughout December, but few do it as well as Edinburgh. East Princes Street Gardens dazzles every year with a whole host of market stalls, festive food and fairground rides, plus plenty of whisky stands for a warming Christmassy bev. Sticking around for New Year's? The city's Hogmanay celebrations are a world-renowned way to launch 2024. 

💡 Editor’s tip: For gorgeous views of Edinburgh and the chance to have an Alpaca keep you company (no, I’m not joking) pull on your walking boots and head to the Pentlands for a wintery walk.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Edinburgh

Best for: clubbers and beachside chillers

Sure, if you really want to, you can have a perfectly Christmassy time in Phuket. The island has plenty of carol concerts and festive dinners if you so want them. However, it’s an ideal place to get away from all the usual festivities, too. As a largely Buddhist country, Thailand doesn’t really celebrate Christmas – leaving you free to chill out at a beachside bar or go clubbing as if it’s any normal day of the year.

📍 Discover the best things to do and the best places to stay in Phuket

Best for: the lads!

No, not those kinds of lads. We’re talking about the ‘Yule Lads’, 13 folkloric dudes who traditionally leave gifts in boots for Iceland’s well-behaved kids. Christmastime is also just a rather lovely time to visit Reykjavik, with the city boasting markets and ice-skating – as well as, thanks to its extra-long nights, great opportunities for viewing the Northern Lights.

💡 Editor’s tip: Reykjavik’s Harpa is an imposing architectural feat from the outside, but inside, it’s full of Christmas joy. That’s because throughout December there are concerts strumming gorgeous festive music – if you’ll be in the Icelandic capital then, have a look at show times. 

📍 Discover the best things to do in Reykjavik

Best for: religious roller-skaters

Think you’ve got a neat ride when it comes to heading down to church (if that’s your jam, anyway) during the Christmas period? Check out the locals in Caracas. From December 16-24 before 8am, roads are closed in the Venezuelan capital so that churchgoers can roller-skate to mass. It’s also common for rollerbladers to dress up in Santa gear... does it get much cooler than that?

📍 Check out our guides on South America

Best for: chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate

Turkey, mince pies, and pannetone are all the festive foods that might spring to mind at first, but it wouldn't be Christmas without chocolate. And where's the best place to go for that? Well, it has to be Bruges - from the divinely rich hot chocolates on offer at the market to the traditional Yule log, this little city has bags of Christmassy confection to fill those stockings, or to gorg on under the twinkly lights. 

💡 Editor’s tip: If (for some weird reason) you’re beginning to crave something savoury, you can cop some delicious ribs and beer at Ribs ‘n’ Beer!

📍 Discover the best things to do in Bruges

Best for: Christmas dinner on the barbie

Looking for somewhere that goes full-throttle for Chrimbo but isn’t so, erm, wintry? Australia’s likely your best bet. Sydney has all the festive lights, trees and even ice skating of a typical Christmas-celebrating city, but with toasty average temperature highs of 25C. Don’t knock an Xmas dinner cooked on a beachside barbeque until you’ve tried it.

💡 Editor’s tip: as one of the only places in this list where you don’t have to don four layers before stepping outside, why not make the most of it and bask in the sun on a pedal boat? You can do so in Darling Bay from December 2.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Sydney