My Top 5 Christmas Destinations

Except for one year, I have spent every Christmas with family, at a home. I really would not have it any other way…but I can dream of visiting other locales at Christmas time.  Imagine Christmas in Europe, or  Christmas in New York City!  I have never even seen Rockefeller Center at Christmas time! Isn’t that a quintessential Christmas sight? Although I don’t want to spend Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, away from home, these are places I simply must resolve to visit at Christmas time.

I love London. Being an Anglophile (a person who admires England and all things English!) I have been in London many times, even in the winter, and London in the snow is something out of a storybook. Someday I must go and see it at Christmas time. Look at beautiful Bond Street, a shopping mecca, between Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus. The store windows are full of Christmas decorations, and obviously, Bond Street is a Christmas light show on its own. London is first on my “Must see at Christmas time” list.

Second on my list is Munich, or Munchen, Germany. I fell in love with the romance of Munich so very long ago, on my very first trip to Europe when my husband and I were traveling prior to children. Munich was the first city we went to. It is incredibly charming, even magical. Like all tourists, I fell completely in love with the Glockenspiel on the Marienplatz (a city square). Even on that first trip (and we’ve been back a few times) I thought it would be gorgeous at Christmas, after all, Germany gave us the Christmas Tree!

I have never been to Prague, but I have wanted to go there for a very long time. The photos I have seen of Prague show the “city of cathedrals”, a beautiful, old, Eastern European city. I’m thinking…..Christmas Market cruise. I could see the 4th on my list on the same cruise, I believe….Salzburg, Austria’s Christmas Market. I have been to Salzburg, and to its Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s baroque architecture and narrow cobbled streets take one back in time. Christmas or no Christmas, Salzburg is worth many visits.

And number five is our own New York City, and Rockefeller Center’s tree and skating rink. There is really no excuse for me! I cannot believe I have not been to these locations at Christmas time, and I vow to start my plans to do it. Why not see all the European destinations during one trip? What an excellent idea! I will begin to plan!

Do you dream of traveling or seeing other places during the Holidays? I’d love to hear about your list!