As Christmas approaches, towns and villages across Europe come to life with their magical Christmas markets. Quaint wooden chalets spring up, festooned with fairy lights, and selling everything from tasty sweets to wooden gifts and traditional crafts. Imagine sipping a cup of hot gluhwein as you stroll around the stalls, with the irresistible smells of gingerbread, cinnamon sweets and roasted almonds hanging in the air. The only problem is choosing exactly where you’ll take your passengers for this festive feast for the eyes and stomach…

How about Germany, where the Christmas market tradition has its long-established roots? There’s Rudesheim, Cologne, Frankfurt, Trier, or the beautiful town of Cochem on the Mosell. From Dusseldorf to Dresden there’s a market to suit every taste. You could even stay in the Black Forest, at a hotel with its own schnapps distillery! 

In Belgium, what could be better than chocolate-box pretty Bruges, with a combined excursion to the markets in the seaside resort of Ostend, Antwerp and Liege. In France, you could pick Lille, Arras or Amiens to name just a few. Or Holland has fantastic fayres at Valkenburg and Maastricht.

For something a little bit different, why not take in the Italian traditions, visiting markets at Trento and Merano, a full day in historic and stunning Verona, and a leisurely lake cruise.

Or unspoilt Prague, city of a hundred spires? Old Town and Wenceslas Squares are ideal locations for a sea of stalls serving up local crafts and tasty traditional fayre.

Try a taste of the continent here in the UK, in one of our historic towns or cities, from breathtaking Bath to brilliant Birmingham, where Victoria Square and New Street are overflowing with stalls for you to browse. In fact there’s so much more to England’s second city than meets the eye. Don't miss the fabulous Jewellery Quarter, or spice up your lives and head to the famous Balti Triangle for the most mouthwatering curry this side of India. Then head west to our home city of Bath, where you can browse inspired gift ideas in hundreds of wooden chalet stalls in the shadow of the ancient Abbey and Roman baths. Then wrap up and head across Salisbury plain for the mysterious stone circle of Stonehenge, or how about Longleat House, Elizabethan home of Lord Bath, filled with fairytale characters and Christmas decorations dating back to Victorian times? From the quaint cathedral cities of Durham, York and Winchester to the metropolis of Manchester, the Christmas list really is endless.