The 22 best places to go for Christmas in the world in 2026

Best for: an iconic holiday 

Christmas in New York City has been recreated time and again in film and television, and for good reason. The dazzling holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, the Rockefeller Center Tree (lit this year on December 2) and the city’s open-air holiday markets make for a romantic, memorable season you can only really get in the Big Apple. For a few weeks the whole city slows down and soaks up the warmth of the season.

Time Out tip: Don’t just stay in Manhattan over Christmas. Take the subway out to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, where whole streets of houses try to outdo each other with the most over-the-top light displays in the city.

✨ 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 run-up to Christmas. As soon as summer draws to a close, the city comes alive, strung with lights and filled with stomping shoppers. Buy Christmas goodies around Oxford Circus, spend a night at one of the 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, and even the scroogiest Londoner can’t deny it.

Time Out tip: It’s not a London Christmas without A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic. The show is celebrating its tenth year with Giles Terera as Ebenezer Scrooge, running from November 10 to January 9.

✨ Read more: The best Christmas lights in London

Best for: meeting the big man himself

There are few places as festive as Rovaniemi, which, as the capital of Lapland, is also the official hometown of Santa Claus. But Rovaniemi isn’t all about the big man. Once you’re done exploring Santa Claus Village and taking reindeer rides around town, sweat out your worries in a sauna, a properly Finnish Christmas tradition.

Time Out tip: There’s quite literally nowhere more Christmassy than Lapland, so make the most of being in the most festive place on earth and take a reindeer sleigh ride yourself. You can hop on one right in Santa’s village.

❄️ Read about what life is like in the world’s most Christmassy place

Best for: the glögg

Next time you pass the Christmas cards in a supermarket, take a look at the little illustrated houses. Chances are they look a lot like the ones lining the streets of Copenhagen. The Danish capital just gives Christmas, with the windows of its neatly packed streets glowing warm and welcoming. It does get very cold here, but there are plenty of spots across the city selling glögg to fix that, and (whisper it) it’s better than mulled wine. I’d recommend having a gander at all the food in Torvehallerne and grabbing a cup on your way out.

Time Out tip: Copenhagen’s average temperature in December is a mere 3C, so the best way to warm up is by sitting in a sauna. Thankfully, the city has plenty of them. Head to La Banchina, a little waterfront café on Refshaleøen where you can sweat it out in the wood-fired sauna, take a dip in the harbour, then thaw out with a bowl of soup.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Copenhagen

Best for: Christmas markets

Sure, every city centre twinkles with lights and smells of mulled wine throughout December, but few do it quite like Edinburgh. Its Christmas market stretches all the way from East Princes Street Gardens to the Royal Mile, with festive food, fairground rides and plenty of whisky stands for a warming Christmassy bev, and it runs from November 14 right through to January 3. Sticking around for New Year’s? The city’s world-famous Hogmanay celebrations run from December 29 to January 1, with Underworld headlining the Concert in the Gardens on the big night.

Time Out 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 wintry walk.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Edinburgh

Best for: an award-winning Advent

Dubrovnik and the coast might steal the limelight in summer, but come December, Croatia’s capital is the place to be. Zagreb has become one of Europe’s most exciting Christmas destinations, mostly thanks to Advent in Zagreb, a citywide celebration that runs from November 28 to January 7. Markets, live music and twinkling decorations spill across its squares and parks, with the illuminated trees of Zrinjevac park a real highlight and Ban Jelačić Square at the heart of it all. Grab a mulled wine (maybe just the one) before you lace up your skates at one of the city’s ice rinks.

Time Out tip: Once you’ve done the main squares, climb up to the Upper Town and wander along Strossmayer Promenade. The old lantern-lit walkway fills with street food, cosy coffee stands and live bands over Advent, and it has some of the best views over the city’s Christmas lights. Keep walking to the end for a postcard-worthy shot of Zagreb Cathedral.

📍 Discover more of the best winter city breaks in Europe

Best for: the lads!

No, not those kinds of lads. We’re talking about the ‘Yule Lads’, 13 folkloric troublemakers who traditionally leave gifts in the shoes of Iceland’s well-behaved kids. Christmas is also just a rather lovely time to visit Reykjavik, with markets and ice skating around the city and, thanks to its extra-long nights, a great chance of spotting the Northern Lights.

Time Out tip: Reykjavik’s Harpa concert hall is an imposing architectural feat from the outside, but inside, it’s full of Christmas joy. Throughout December, it hosts concerts packed with gorgeous festive music, so if you’re in the Icelandic capital, have a look at the show times.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Reykjavik

Best for: chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate

Turkey, mince pies and panettone might be the festive foods that spring to mind first, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolate. And there’s no better place for it than Bruges. From the rich hot chocolates at the Christmas market (open from November 20 to January 3) to the traditional Yule log, this little city has bags of Christmassy confection to fill your stocking, or to gorge on under the twinkly lights.

Time Out tip: If (for some weird reason) you start craving something savoury, you can get your fill of 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 all out for Chrimbo but isn’t quite so, erm, wintry? Australia’s your best bet. Sydney has all the festive lights and trees of a typical Christmas city, but with average highs of around 25C. Don’t knock a Christmas dinner cooked on a beachside barbecue until you’ve tried it.

Time Out tip: This is one of the only places on the list where you don’t need four layers to step outside, so make the most of it at Carols in the Domain. Every year, a few days before Christmas, thousands of Sydneysiders bring picnics and candles to the park for a huge open-air singalong.

📍 Discover the best things to do in Sydney

Best for: adventurous eaters and Arctic dreamers

For a Christmas that’s almost guaranteed to be white, head to Greenland’s capital. In December, Nuuk is all frozen icicles, powdery snow and glowing orange Christmas stars hung in almost every window, a tradition that brings a bit of light to a time of year when the sun barely makes it over the horizon. All that darkness has an upside, though. On clear nights, there’s a good chance of the northern lights putting on a show above the city. Then there’s the food. Alongside Danish pastries and Christmas cookies, the festive table often features mattak (whale skin with a layer of blubber) and kiviak (little auks fermented whole in sealskin). Both are a real delicacy for locals, if a bit more, er, stomach-testing for the rest of us.

Time Out tip: Browse Nuuk’s December Christmas markets for hand-knitted mittens made from musk ox wool and homemade ceramic cups, then stay on for New Year. Greenlanders celebrate it twice, first at 8pm when midnight hits Denmark, and again at midnight local time.