Most Christmas Attractions

With the New Year and Christ­mas hol­i­days approach­ing, we have pre­pared for you a selec­tion of most of the most fes­tive places on earth. From the Cal­i­for­nia coast to snowy moun­tain towns, these are the 10 most Christ­mas attrac­tions on the plan­et.

Lapland, Finland

Local leg­end says that San­ta’s home­town is in Rovanie­mi, Lap­land. Wor­ried that his secret was final­ly out, San­ta’s elves decid­ed to build a vil­lage where Christ­mas lovers could vis­it and meet Mr. Claus face to face. Here, vis­i­tors can vis­it San­ta’s main post office, as well as the Christ­mas Muse­um, which details many of the world’s dif­fer­ent Christ­mas tra­di­tions. Near­by is San­ta’s Park and a mag­i­cal cave.

Rotenburg. Germany

Step back in time and expe­ri­ence the medieval atmos­phere of this charm­ing place where Christ­mas lasts almost all year. The Rothen­burg der Tauber on the Roman­tic Road in Bavaria opens its annu­al Christ­mas Mar­ket in Novem­ber, where vis­i­tors can shop, sam­ple tra­di­tion­al cui­sine, or sim­ply stroll along the cob­bled streets tak­ing in the sights. Read more about Christ­mas in Ger­many in a sep­a­rate arti­cle on Life­Globe.

Solvang. California

Every year, this Dan­ish-born Cal­i­for­nia town cel­e­brates a month-long win­ter fes­ti­val ded­i­cat­ed to Christ­mas. Come to the annu­al Christ­mas Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and stroll around the city twin­kling in beau­ti­ful bright lights. Sip a cup of hot cocoa while enjoy­ing the fes­tive musi­cians play­ing all over the place. Check out the Nativ­i­ty The­atri­cal Show as well as many oth­er fun shows.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville

For an all-inclu­sive hol­i­day expe­ri­ence, book your­self a week­end at the Gay­lord Opry­land and expe­ri­ence their annu­al Christ­mas cel­e­bra­tion tra­di­tion. This pop­u­lar hotel has been named the most Christ­mas in the coun­try, includ­ing in the list of the top ten places in the world to spend this hol­i­day. From the mil­lions of gar­lands adorn­ing this old coun­try retreat to excit­ing car­riage rides, the­ater shows and great food, you’re sure to find what you’ve been wait­ing for all your life this Christ­mas.

Old city of Quebec. Canada

Each year, Que­bec City under­goes a fes­tive makeover to become a true Christ­mas city, cap­tur­ing the hearts of even the most noto­ri­ous fun-haters. To con­tin­ue talk­ing about unusu­al hol­i­day events, take a walk along the Jacques-Carti­er Val­ley, go ski­ing in the Abra­ham Plains, take part in the Geo­Ral­ly geo­caching, or enjoy one of the many hol­i­day con­certs and shows that take place every night in Decem­ber. There are so many excit­ing events going on here to make Que­bec an unfor­get­table hol­i­day won­der­land. Que­bec hosts one of the best Christ­mas fes­ti­vals in the world, about which we also have a sep­a­rate selec­tion.

Bethlehem

Regard­less of your faith, you can’t deny Beth­le­hem as one of the top Christ­mas attrac­tions. Being the sub­ject of many hol­i­day songs and sto­ries, this small town real­ly cap­tures the spir­it of the hol­i­day, with lots of Christ­mas mar­kets and con­certs.

Tivoli Gardens. Copenhagen

Tivoli Gar­dens in Den­mark is a beau­ti­ful place through­out the year, but it nev­er shines more bright­ly than dur­ing the hol­i­days. From meet­ing San­ta Claus at the Pan­tomime The­ater to sleigh rides and strolls along the Christ­mas mar­ket, Copen­hagen­ers have been fol­low­ing the Tivoli tra­di­tion for gen­er­a­tions. Vin­tage roller­coast­ers, ice sculp­tures and plen­ty of food and drink options make this a great choice for your win­ter get­away.

Woodstock. Vermont

If the sight of snow and the scent of Ver­mont firs aren’t enough to entice you to Wood­stock this Christ­mas, what about a parade of 50 hors­es in hol­i­day cos­tumes? Decem­ber at Wood­stock means it’s week­end time and a cel­e­bra­to­ry fes­ti­val based on a 19th cen­tu­ry Nor­we­gian tra­di­tion.

Salzburg. Austria

Every year the city of Salzburg opens its Christ­mas mar­ket. Here, eager hol­i­day goers can sing Christ­mas car­ols in the city’s Cathe­dral Square, feast on fresh­ly baked apples and warmed mulled wine, and even see a real live rein­deer. The mar­ket is espe­cial­ly famous for the huge amount of hand­i­crafts for sale. In addi­tion, the sights of Salzburg will please any tourist, at any time of the year.

Krakow. Poland

Krakow has an inter­est­ing array of unique hol­i­day tra­di­tions. Start­ing from the end of Novem­ber and through­out Decem­ber, the city has a Christ­mas mar­ket on the city square Rynek Glowny, where you can watch and par­tic­i­pate in folk dances, lis­ten to tra­di­tion­al, cen­turies-old Pol­ish hymns and enjoy tra­di­tion­al food. You will sure­ly enjoy the local tra­di­tions, and the sights of Krakow are espe­cial­ly good at this time of the year.

Fur­ther, read also about the best Christ­mas mar­kets in Europe in a sep­a­rate selec­tion.