The best places to spend Christmas

The wilderness Urho Kekkonen National Park, a 90-minute flight from Helsinki, is an actual winter wonderland: traverse the frosty landscape via a reindeer-pulled sled, or go cross-country skiing on the Saariselkä trails.

In this compact Alpine city, a display of 12,000 crystal lights marks the season on November 21. Grab a hot chocolate and explore the galleries on Rämistrasse, check out the Conelli Christmas Circus or listen to a holiday concert in the Romanesque-style Grossmünster church.

Charleston puts its own spin on the holidays—pecans roasting instead of chestnuts, eggnog spiked with bourbon, and choirs singing spirituals at Drayton Hall plantation.

In this Scottish gem known for its widespread arts and theater culture, a holiday light show includes fireworks illuminating the sky from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” around the Sir Walter Scott Monument serve even better than carolers.

Nashville is the most flamboyant ode to the holidays east of the Mississippi; “O Tannenbaum” is sung with a twang as honky-tonks share space with family values.

Christmastime may be damp and foggy, but with the hordes long gone, service is relaxed and friendly, and at night, you may have the moonlit Piazza San Marco all to yourself.

Instead of carols, listen to the haunting sounds of the gamelan gong for a change while you admire the Christmas Eve sunset at the island temple of Tanah Lot.

Good cheer and warm temperatures are typically Key West’s winning attributes, and Christmas is no exception. The trimmed palm trees, done-up historic inns, and four festooned blocks of boats along the historic waterfront only amplify the town’s merriment.

The Windy City embraces yuletide cheer to the max, with a million holiday lights along bustling Magnificent Mile; Christkindlmarket, a huge outdoor German crafts market with beer and fare like sausages to stoke your fire; a towering handmade Christmas tree; and Navy Pier’s Winter WonderFest, a holiday-themed amusement park and indoor skating rink.

An old-fashioned warmth envelops Vienna at Christmas, softening the hard edges of imperial architecture with twinkling decorations and three outdoor Christkindlmarkts. Vendors sell crafts and ornaments, while visitors fuel their shopping with finger food and a glass of spiced mulled wine, or glühwein. The Vienna Boys’ Choir concerts are lengendary.

Lit-up cobblestone streets, 16th- and 17th-century stone houses, and lots and lots of snow make Quebec’s 400-year-old walled city an atmospheric and European-like place to be at Christmas. The local good cheer and great food could make even a skeptic love winter after all.

Winter in the Bavarian capital means a hundred-foot-tall Christmas tree in the Marienplatz, about two dozen Christmas markets (weekdays draw fewer crowds), and mulled wine and gingerbread, served on a tram that crosses the old city.

It may not look a lot like Christmas, but Paraty, a half-day’s drive from Rio, is a hidden gem of a town with astonishingly well-preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, a vibrant cultural scene, and easy access to rainforest and some of the world’s most perfect beaches. Sounds like a holiday to us.

The legend of Santa Claus is strong in the Dutch capital, where 16th- and 17th-century houses are strung with lights in early December. Consider lingering through New Year’s Eve for champagne and fireworks in the Nieuwmarkt or Dam squares.

“Jingle Bells” set to a salsa beat will get you dancing and caroling. Palm trees basking in sunlight and exotic flora in the El Yunque rainforest replace your typical snowcapped pines. Wrap up your Caribbean days with an evening stroll through a 500-year-old Spanish colonial city on the Atlantic.

A tiny stone English village dotted with cheerfully lit Christmas trees would be enough of an allure, but caroling by candlelight inside caves seals this southern town’s place on a list of special yuletide travel destinations.

A Provençal winter is always fairy tale–like: the villages gone silent at summer’s end come back to life; music from medieval churches fills the cobblestoned streets; women crowd around market stalls to sniff out the freshest foie gras.