Holiday vacations are the perfect opportunities to create memories that you can reminisce about for years to come. Why not spend your holiday trips abroad with your family? Maybe it's time to mix it up this year and venture to a nearby town or an out-of-state destination. The months of December and January are also prime times for traveling - mainly to see how the rest of the world celebrates Christmas and New Year.
Different parts of the world celebrates Christmas differently. Whether it's an amusement park's celebratory event, a handmade chocolate tour, or a meet-and-greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus you're after, these are charming places to spend the holidays:
1. Salzburg
Come visit the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and its world-renowned Christmas markets. Have a taste of Mozartkugel, delicious chocolate, pistachio marzipan balls, toasted almonds, and mulled wine. Advent is a special time of the year to visit the world-renowned Christmas markets at Cathedral and Residenz Squares.
Take The Sound of Music tour with Panorama Tours and see where all your favorite movie scenes were filmed - Maria and the children singing Do-Re-Mi in Mirabell Gardens and the wedding of Maria and Captain von Trapp at the church in Mondsee.
2. Cleveland
Ralphie's iconic house in A Christmas Story has been restored as a museum, and now you can go inside (and even stay the night). Leg lamps are available for purchase.
Held the weekend after Thanksgiving each year, WinterFest is an evening of music, dance, and hot chocolate culminates in the lighting of the unique holiday light displays in each quadrant of the square and the Christmas tree in front of Tower City.
The Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol," comes back to Great Lakes Theater, directed by Gerald Freedman and will run through November 25 - December 23.
3. Tallinn
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is one of the coziest places to spend Christmas. The world's first Christmas tree was erected here in 1441. Feel free to stroll cobblestone streets beneath the soft glow of nighttime lanterns. You'll find the city's legendary Christmas market, featuring dozens of huts set up by local vendors.
The town also hosts a Christmas Jazz festival which features multi-week concerts by artists from around the world. Check out Gingerbread Mania where hundreds of artists show off their creations, all of which are made from gingerbread cookies.
4. The Ritz Hotel, London
Christmas at The Ritz Hotel, London, is an enchanting stay brimming with festive cheer, with guests rooms personalised with in-room Yuletide trimmings and menus. On Christmas Day the little ones will receive a visit - gifts included - from Father Christmas. The Christmas Day Luncheon offers a six-course menu, set in the gilded Ritz Restaurant (previously the setting for the spectacular final episode of Downton Abbey).
Walking the chilly streets, awash with bustling last-minute shoppers, wrapped from head-to-toe in your woolly wear, enjoying the spectacular lights of Oxford Street: the Brits love Christmas.
Have an enchanting time abroad.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
