Christmas short haul holiday

[BeanCounterBabe]

We’re looking to go away for a week or so between 23rd December and 1 January. Felt very down last Christmas (several bereavements over the last few years), and really fancy something different this year.

Copenhagen is looking very possible. Flights from Bristol leaving on Christmas Eve returning New Year’s Day are very reasonable. But us it a bad time to visit hence cheap flights?

Any suggestions for good Christmas holiday destinations? Open to Winter sun or somewhere cold. We’re in Devon so preferably flights from Bristol but flexible. Also would happily travel by rail if not too far away.

I can imagine Copenhagen would be lovely at that time of year. Friends have been just before Christmas and said the markets were lovely and it was all very festive. Looking online it says that the city basically shuts down though between 24th-26th December and again on the 1st January. Not necessarily a showstopper if you are not wanting to do more than enjoy walking around the city etc, and probably similar in a way to how it is here on Christmas Day. It would be worth checking how easy it will be to get meals etc. out, how much hotel facilities will be open and whether you’d potentially be better off somewhere where you can cook for yourselves etc.

Other potential options from Bristol:

• Paris (a surprising amount stays open even on Christmas Day)
• Krakow
• Nice
• Malaga
• Tenerife
• Faro (The Algarve)
• Paphos, Cyprus
• Marrakech

Thanks for the reply. We’re going to Paris this year anyway, considered Marrakesh having been pre DC but looking for somewhere more Christmassy this time. Malaga is a possibility. We were there one October half term on the way to the airport and loved it. Christmas lights were already starting to be put up and I have heard they are amazing.

lots of your suggestions are on my wish list.

You'd struggle to do a week in Copenhagen, it's really small.

I'm going to the Austrian mountains. Whether there is snow or not is unpredictable but it will be very Christmassy anyway.

We were planning a few day trips by train out of the city using Copenhagen as a base.

My last post was supposed to be a reply to TBOM.

Copenhagen is a really lovely city to just walk about and enjoy too. It has a lovely atmosphere, great little cafes, nice shopping.

Can recommend:
Odense - great city about an hour on the train from Copenhagen. Great museum on Hans Christian Andersen and you can visit his childhood home.
Roskilde - 20 mins or so on the train. The ship museum was our favourite!
Malmo - fab train journey about 40 mins. Another great city to wander about!

Madeira. It’s nice and mild in December, but there will also be some rain, and they really push the boat out for Christmas with firework displays and nativity scenes. Every town puts on a nativity, sometimes unintentionally funny I suspect. It’s about a 4.5 hour flight from the UK. It’s always green and lush which is a marvellous corrective to a Northern Hemisphere winter.

I second this. I go most Januarys and it's gorgeous weather... usually low 20s. We stay near Funchal and walk into the town for a bite to eat each evening and it's warm enough to sit out. Can highly recommend the Savoy Palace.

Is it very windy in Madeira like the canaries? I’ve always wondered that.

Stockholm is beautiful at Christmas time. You could spend a few days there and then catch the overnight ferry to Tallinn.

I don’t remember thinking Madeira was very windy.

Another vote for Madeira, we're going again this Xmas.

If I could I'd love to spend Christmas in Krakow and Zakopane.

We spent Christmas in Innsbruck a few years ago and it was magical! Easyjet go from Bristol and have flights during the Christmas week. Plenty to do around there aswell.

@MissyB1 No, it's not usually windy this time of year (Christmas) I second what others have said - it's our go to and you can fly from Bristol) This is their high season so flights will be pricey but it's well worth it. There's loads to do and see and it's usually warm enough to sunbathe (no beaches as it's basically an extinct volcano). Christmas and NY there is magical. Really!

Oooh yes, Madeira is fab, we went just before Christmas a while ago, but they really try and make it fabulous. That's a great suggestion.

Lisbon for a few nights and stay along the coast somewhere?
Barcelona and again stay along the coast
Salzburg is lovely over the Christmas period

Not sure if any of the above fly from Bristol though

Some great suggestions thanks. I’m going to get researching.

We did a "twixtmas" break in Seville (British Airways package) which was lovely. Great weather and the Christmas lights were fabulous. You could (should actually) do a day trip to Cordoba. And Cadiz.

@MissyB1 no, not windy really. There is usually a nice breeze... and that's certainly true this week...am currently in Funchal.

Maybe Lanzarote? It’s amazing for unusual architecture and pretty much guaranteed sunshine.