Which European city for Christmas?

[Mr_Gimlet]

For various work related reasons, Mrs_G and I are having a holiday over Christmas this year. The wrath of our families is already descending for being away.

We're going to be away for a few weeks, and want a week in Rome and a week in Berlin. The middle two weeks - including a week over Christmas - are pretty open. Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Hamburg, Budapest, Krakow are all possibilities but I need some insight into somewhere that will still be open. Some cities are reportedly pretty quiet. High chance of snow (or frost) a bonus for the Australian Mrs_G. Switzerland is probably going to be too expensive so not Bern or Zurich.

 

[offshore171]

I read earlier that you were considering Seefeld. Just a suggestion, you need to make some decisions soon-I looked at the Seefeld apartment we stayed at in June & it is booked out around Xmas. Booking.com says that they have 111 apartments like this already unavailable on their site (just fed in 20-23rd Dec as random to get an idea)

Agreed, the popular places definitely fill up in the xmas week. We've done this a few times now and usually book by mid year.

For an xmas stay, I wouldn't go with an apartment, as you miss a lot of the traditional Austrian White Xmas experience. I'd definitely recommend staying at one of the hotels with half board.

They put on a huge communal dining experience every evening with a special gala dinner on the 24th. They will likely trot in a brass band and carol singers, and they may even arrange a sleigh ride through the woods for guests.

Try shortlisting a few hotels and contact them through their website "contact us" page and ask for some dates. You can also ask to go on a waitlist, and they'll contact you with an offer if they get a cancellation.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

Wow thanks everyone. We're going to Finland and St Petersburg after Christmas (avoid the Santa kiddiewinks), hence the focus on northern Europe rather than Spain. So we thought this pre-xmas part of the trip should be Christmas-max.

One thing to consider is that Orthodox Christmas is early January in Russia. The cities are very quiet as many go away because of the Orthodox holidays. I made that mistake when I visited Moscow in 2015. The hotel ran out of beer on my third day, no laundry services and a skeleton staff. Your mileage may vary, but I wish I had gone elsewhere. Maybe it would be better between Christmas day and New Year?

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

Thanks for all the extra comments. We have had to rejig a little - St Petersburg has to be in December because of ferries. They don't run Jan-Mar.

Sorry about all the vagueness; I've had to leave my job as it moved and I couldn't relocate. So I am trying to nail down a new job before xmas (so holiday will depend on employer), get a contract (probably a shorter xmas break) or coasting until the new year (very long holiday).

But I am planning hard so I am ready to book as soon as it becomes clear!