- christmas
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There is a small Christmas market held in the beautiful setting of the central square. It is straight out of Ruritanian romance and there's a very good chance that there will be snow to add to the atmosphere. Plenty of cosy cafes around the square and the gluhwein was only 60p. We stayed at Casa Luxembourg which was both comfortable and very reasonable.
Piata Mare, Sibiu
Google map: bit.ly/YAVjOW
I first visited the Krakow Christmas Market when I was sixteen with my aunt. It was a lot bigger than I expected, taking up most of the Rynek. For presents, it's perfect! Everything is so unique and majority is handmade. Being outside in the freezing cold with the smells of delicious warm food, sweets and drinks made my Christmas shopping ten times more fun - and a lot cheaper! All the stress of finding the right things fell away thanks to the beauty of the city and the lack of highstreet shops was a breath of fresh air. It's really cheap to get a flight out at this time of year and there are some excellent hostels just off the square. I loved this trip and I am definitely looking to go back again one Christmas soon. I probably spent less on this holiday and all the gifts than I would buying presents in the UK. I can honestly say that the Krakow Christmas market was definitely the highlight of my winter.
Spend Christmas with a difference in Istanbul. It’s business as usual on Christmas day so you can hit the streets for a truly magical experience. Wander through the alleys of the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market, take a trip up the Bosporus to visit the Beylerbeyi Palace, enjoy the serene beauty of the Blue Mosque, indulge in a swanky meal at the restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art Istanbul. If you need something more Christmassy, then you can always pop into the Santa Maria Draperis Church just off the main pedestrianized shopping drag, Istiklal Avenue. Be prepared for some pretty inclement weather (a very warm coat and a sturdy umbrella definitely required) but otherwise you can avoid the Christmas panic and just enjoy amazing cafes and restaurants, local wine and a massive dollop of exotic. My teenage children agreed that it was the best Christmas present ever – along with the new suitcase to meet EasyJet hand-luggage specifications!
Google map: bit.ly/UcDm5K
Last year we shunned the Christmas turkey and made our way to the backwaters of Kerala, where we spent an unusually sunny festive holiday puttering about on a little boat between shockingly white sandbanks and hard-to-reach villages. Christmas morning was amazing: I spent it doling out jelly beans, the only present that I had brought for myself from the UK, into the sticky hands of screaming, smiling young children who lined the river banks. They waved madly as we glided past. It was a humbling experience knowing that a handful of easy-to-buy jelly beans could make these kids so ecstatic!
After we had navigated away from the network of shady-green villages, we found ourselves as far removed from a traditional Christmas Day as we had thought possible. We could smell the tangy scent of the salty sea, feel the heavy humidity seeping through our bodies, and the best Christmas present of all, could feel the Indian Ocean lapping small waves against our tiny white-washed wooden boat.
Google map: bit.ly/V6CCuw
Cabo Polonio is, like that Arcade Fire song, a place where 'no cars go'. Down south, in the south of South America, in one of the most underrated regions of Uruguay: ROCHA. Locals have known the place for so long, but somehow, just a few non locals still adventure themselves further east than Punta del Este. Cabo Polonio is a fisherman's town, with just a lighthouse and a few hundred huts. No electricity or running water. just you, the sand dunes, the waves, the sea lions, the beach, the stars and the stories. A true magical place like no other. There are no roads to the town, so you have to travel on 4x4s that take you three or four times a day from route 10 trough the sand dunes.
Cabo Polonio sits in the eastern shore of Uruguay, right in front of the atlantic ocean.
Google map: bit.ly/Uxf9nO
The town divides in two with huge, tackily adorned floats which wait by each church that slowly come to light throughout the evening. The fireworks start before it even gets dark with each side taking turns of roughly an hour each, launching them over the crowd gathered in the square. Spend the night there and you will be lucky not to get hit but that's part of the fun. Stay with a local and you will be fed like a king and have somewhere to hide if the home-made fireworks get too much. Let the family celebrate Christmas in peace and spend the following day relaxing and recuperating on one of the nearby beaches.
Google map: bit.ly/RBdnG9
One of my favourite places in Toronto to go for afternoon tea is the King Edward Hotel. A tradition since 1903, the afternoon tea menu changes depending on the season, and the Nutcracker Tea, offered until the end of December, is not to be missed.
From 2:30pm to 5:30pm every day (except December 24, 25 and 26), tea is served at Victoria’s Restaurant in the hotel. The Nutcracker Afternoon tea is CDN $39 per person and offers delicate finger sandwiches, some of which are duck confit and smoked turkey, gorgeous pastries, including the mincemeat crumble tart and finally, my favourite, warm scones served with imported Devonshire cream and homemade strawberry preserves. And of course, there’s the tea. Only in December, you can choose the Nutcracker tea, which is infused with hazelnuts and vanilla or the Gingerbread House tea, a black tea with ginger root, nutmeg, vanilla, licorice, cinnamon and allspice.
Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East
Toronto, Canada
+ 1 416 863 4106
Google map: bit.ly/Sob896
* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti
While in Toronto during the winter months, enjoy one of Canada’s oldest and most popular recreational activities: ice skating.
While there are about 51 outdoor skating rinks in Toronto, the Natrel Rink located at the Harbourfront Centre is a really pretty place to skate. The trees surrounding it are lit, and you get a great view of Lake Ontario. Open until March, the rink offers skate rentals and heated indoor changing rooms with lockers and washrooms. The rink-side restaurant, Lakeside EATS offers hot chocolate and other goodies as well. And back by popular demand, DJ Saturday nights begins in December and runs until the end of February: depending on the DJ, you can skate to Top 40 pop tunes, rock, old school hip hop and Latin, among others.
Admission is free. Skate rentals are CDN $8 for adults and CDN $6 for children.
www.harbourfrontcentre.com/thenatrelrink/
235 Queens Quay West Harbourfront Centre Toronto, Canada
+1 416 973 4000
Google map: bit.ly/TS4of6
* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti
Celebrating Christmas in Grenada, the spice island makes sense. The Christmas market in St Georges the capital is infused with the smell of cloves, allspice and nutmeg. The locals are so enthusiastic about baking Christmas treats that when we visited the shops had sold out of flour. Best of all both Grenada and the smaller island of Carriacou resound to the sound of festive Parang music, a joyful mix of Latin inspired music featuring the cuatro guitars and mandolins and the local shak shak. Locals flock to midnight mass and then enjoy a feast of baked hams, sorrel punch, black cake and spiced rums. All this and some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.
St Georges, Grenada
www.carriacouparangfestival.com
Google map: bit.ly/ueBmSz
This family run four-star hotel offers a three-day Christmas package which is just magical! Kandersteg is the archetypal Swiss village set in a deep valley and blanketed with snow in winter. We stayed in the Ruedihus, a 300-year-old chalet (think Heidi, but bigger and more comfortable) with beautiful antique Swiss furniture and home-made Bircher muesli for breakfast, but had full use of the facilities of the main hotel 10 minutes walk away, including a luxury fitness centre with gym, sauna and heated indoor and outdoor pool. Tea and cake were served every afternoon in the country house-style lounge with open log fire and luxurious sofas. During the seven-course gala dinner on Christmas Eve, hosted by the owner and his family, there was an interlude where we all sang Christmas carols and every guest received a gift from under the Christmas tree. Later, the hotel mini bus transported everyone who wished to the candlelit Christmas Eve service in the tiny village church. On Christmas Day the 'Pelzmartiga' (local men dressed in furs and medieval costumes) roamed the streets, rattling chains and ringing bells to chase away evil spirits. Another gala dinner on Christmas evening rounded off a perfect Swiss Christmas - unforgettable!
www.doldenhorn-ruedihus.ch
CH-3718 Kandersteg
+00 41 33 675 81 81
Delphi, Greece. Climb by bus to this seductive place of the Gods. Pass hills packed with olive trees and look out on the gulf of Ithaca panning out below from this sudden and shocking height. Drink from the fountain that spouts out ice cold nectar from the Delphic hills and alone with Zeus, gently jog the 100 yards in Delphi's still almost perfect ancient stadium. Later in the day have a one/one session with the Oracle. She only tells me things I already know - that Delphi is beautiful at Christmas and that there are so few tourists here you can have this place to yourself.
Google map: bit.ly/tVZIwh
There’s a secret that I’m hesitant to share as the rest of the year Venice is always overflowing with tourists, but at Christmas it’s a real joy. Not crowded, but enough people around to give it a magical Venetian atmosphere. You’ll stumble upon little Christmas markets in the squares, admire the crafted Murano glass tree baubles glistening from shop windows, and relish the beautiful fresh foods near the Rialto. This time of year there are no queues for the Acadamia Gallery or the Saint Mark's Basilica and we’ve even been in the vast council chambers of the Doge’s Palace with just us and the security guard. It’s cold there this time of year – but often with bright blue skies during the day, so a good coat is an essential. Then, by a tick of the Torre dell'Orologio clock, it’s time to ring in the New Year with the annual huge celebration and party in St. Marks Square. A great way to see Venice full of people again.
Google map: bit.ly/umO3Wi
If you are in the traditional "white villages" of southern Spain during the Christmas holidays, you can experience many traditions based on religious beliefs. There are "belens" (nativity scenes) set up all over the villages - spot the "caganer" figure with his trousers down squatting in the traditional scene! In the bars, you may see a travelling group of shepherd musicians playing and dancing. On Christmas Eve, families have meals including special treats like turron, and little oil lamps sparkle in the windows of the houses. There are processions through the villages, most noteably on Three Kings day on 6th January when children leave out their shoes for the kings to fill with presents - as they pass by, the kings give out sweets and gifts. Best of all, the weather is warm and pleasant and if you're lucky, you could spend the 25th of December on a sandy beach ...
Google map: bit.ly/uAx09a
Needing to get far away from the traditional family UK Christmas, but eschewing airports, my daughter hit the search engines. On 18th December we two headed south to Marseille, with three tight-knit trains delivering us from Brighton in time for a late fish supper on the port. The next morning we boarded – along with over 2000 Tunisian ex-pats, going home for the holidays – the huge ferry to Tunis. Bad weather delayed us a little, but we got to know our fellow passengers and had warm invitations which ensured we eventually arrived intact in Mahdia, where we had rented a beautiful flat, very cheaply, for three nights. After exploring this unspoiled coastal town – and nearby El Djem - we caught the coast train back north to Tunis. Warm hospitality again met us at the Dar Ed Medina hotel, in the old city, where the fantastic staff ensured that we had a non-Christmas to remember. We’ve often thought gratefully of our kind hosts as their society has been in upheaval this year. But Tunisia is still welcoming independent travellers… get booking!
Travel details: Eurostar and TGV London to Marseille.
Ferry SNCM: www.sncm.fr/
Marseillle-Tunis return. Journey approx 19 hours. Very comfy cabins.
Tunis-Mahdia by train: daily, 4 hours.
Mahdia: Villa Zouila Mahdia, only £25 per night for the beautiful Olivier apartment. Great meals cooked by neighbour on request.
19 avenue Taieb Mhiri, 5100 Mahdia
+32 479 414 910
Tunis: Hotel Dar El Medina www.darelmedina.com/
Atmospheric rooms and a stunning rooftop terrace, in the old walled city.
64, Rue Sidi Ben Arous Tunis 1006, Tunisia
+32 71 563 022
I once spent Christmas in the Jebel Sahro mountains of southern Morocco. We arrived in Marrakesh to be surrounded by the exotic - dust, donkeys, palm trees and hot sun, reminding me more of a Christmas nativity story than anything I'd seen before. On Christmas day we headed south, zigzagging over the High Atlas mountain passes in a very full minibus (snow at the top - White Christmas!!) and down to the hot south, through the oasis town of Ouzerzat with it's flat-roofed (Bethlehem nativity scene) houses of pink and yellow mud, and on to the mountains. That night we stayed in a traditional Berber house in a small village with no streetlights, camping mats placed on traditional brightly coloured Moroccan rugs. We dined in a Berber tent in the courtyard, lit by traditional lamps, watching a bright starlit clear sky in the crisp desert night above the camp fire which kept us warm. We feasted on traditional Moroccan food. Our Muslim Berber hosts had, aware that for most of us this was Christmas Day, prepared a tray of delicious Moroccan pastries, crisp and light yet heavy with syrup and nuts. We ate them washed down with the ubiquitous sweet mint tea which was to become a favourite comfort food throughout our trekking trip. What better way to enjoy this special time of year than through the combination of an exotic trip and a reminder of the season with the traditional 'Christmas nativity' setting?
www.exodus.co.uk/countries/morocco-holidays/jebel-sahro
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/nov/30/jebel-sahro-morocco-walking-holiday
The port of Cochin in Kerala is home to one of India's largest communities of Christians. Untroubled by Akbar the Great and his descendents, southern India took its influences from China, Africa and Europe. Vasco da Gama first arrived in Fort Cochin in 1498 and in 1524 returned to die on Christmas Eve. He was buried in the church of St Francis. This refreshingly unfussy building – the first European church to be built in India – still stands amid the banyan trees and cricket greens of Fort Cochin (unlike Vasco da Gama whose remains were removed to Portugal).
Like any UK high street, outlets selling tasteless decorations mushroom all over the city from the end of November. In the Yuletide run-up Cochin buzzes with pre-Christmas shopping euphoria. Several times I have been pushed out of the way by sharp-elbowed nuns searching for the perfect Christmas tree bauble along Broadway in Ernakalum's market area. Unlike the UK it's always a festival atmosphere and it is not uncommon to be offered a high-spirited Keralan welcome and cup of tea in the middle of the scrum.
From the 24th December Fort Cochin ratchets up the party with a seven day carnival. Expect fireworks every night (and sometimes in the day), elephants, dancing, games, food, general revelry and more fireworks!
NOTE: I've been based here for 18 months and have only ever heard it referred to as Cochin by the locals. Nobody uses Kochi except in correspondence.
Fort Cochin (also Fort Kochi) and Ernakalum, Kerala, India
Google map: bit.ly/rYaskG
I can honestly say I never thought I would spend Christmas outside of the UK or away from my family, but I was presented with the opportunity to work at a ski resort in Canada over the 2009-2010 winter season and it was too good a chance to pass up. Having never skied before (or even touched a pair of skis), I was a little apprehensive at first but considering I had five months to get good, I can safely say by the end, I could at least call myself an intermediate skier.
As for Christmas at the resort, well, what can I say - it was spectacular. Snow, more snow, Christmas lights, more snow, skiing, Christmas dinner with my friends (during a break between shifts) and even more snow. Of course, having watched Miracle on 34th Street and knowing the charm of a British Santa Claus, my employers had a special job for me and I duly donned the white beard and red hat and spent half the day ho-ho-ho-ing around the resort. Apart from a touch of vertigo when experiencing my first ride back down the chairlift (cue much ho-ho-ho-ing while green in the face and rushing to the staff office to throw up - fortunately the beard came off just in time), my experience as Santa went very well and the children at the resort were exceedingly grateful for my having delivered all their presents the night before.
Anyway, I would recommend Christmas at Panorama to anyone and especially those people who want to get away from it all and work at the resort for a season. I had the most amazing time and would go back in a second, if I happen to have a spare five months one year.
www.skipanorama.com
Organisation who arranged my placement www.ccusa.com
Google map: bit.ly/u537F0
My favourite Christmas was spent in Nature's Valley on the Garden Route in South Africa – a wild and remote area tucked between the Tsitsikamma Mountains and the rolling blue Indian Ocean. In South Africa, Christmas is mainly celebrated on Christmas eve and it's a very laidback, low-key affair. I stayed in a homely, rustic backpackers called Wild Spirit, where dinner was eaten together in a log cabin overlooking the native forest below, followed by a few ice-cold Black Labels round the camp fire. On Christmas day, myself and some of the other guests hiked part of the famous Otter Trail in Tsitsikamma National Park, then drove to Jeffrey's Bay for the surf and parties. Of course, you can always add in the highest bungee in the world! It doesn't get much better than this.
www.natures-valley.com/
www.wildspiritlodge.co.za/
R102 Nature's Valley Road, The Crags 6602, South Africa
+27 44 534 8888
Google map: bit.ly/tLYTvp
We went to Rajasthan for Christmas with the original intention of getting away from traditional festivities. However, our hosts at Fort Chanwa had trimmed up with a tree and there were cheap crackers and party hats to accompany our Indian Gala Dinner. The whole evening had a lovely sense of things as they used to be; a quality that reminded me of childhood Christmases.
On New Year’s Eve the Maharaja threw a party for the locals, and my boyfriend and I dressed in Rajasthani costume - to the great amusement of the Indian guests who were all in the latest designer gear.
At the end of every evening we drank our nightcap around fire baskets on the lawn, and then watched the bright north star from the rooftop before retiring to bed - what could be more Christmassy than that?
www.fortchanwa.com
No. 1 PWD Road, Jodhpur, 342001
+91 291 2432460
Google map: bit.ly/u2MAuZ
The cosmopolitan city of Berlin is a great place to spend Christmas. Wrap up warm and set out in the snow to explore this fantastic city with its mix of ancient and modern history. Call in at the Christmas markets in Potsdamer platz, see the beautiful Sony Centre lit up in blue lights. Try an alternative Christmas dinner – the Berlin classic currywurst (a curried sausage) and a beer then join a million people for the famous New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg gate complete with a fairground, live music and the midnight fireworks - Fröhliche Weihnachten!
www.visitberlin.de
Google map: bit.ly/v1R3C6
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