St Pancras International - the place to be

It seemed that for many years St Pancras, the grand old brick-built Gothic revival railway station next door to King’s Cross (also a railway station for those of you not familiar with London), was a bit forlorn and forgotten, compared to its busy neighbour. But now, as I reported a while back, the station is […]

Marbella - playground of the rich and famous

Along with St Tropez and Monte Carlo, Marbella in Spain has long been one of Europe’s most exclusive holiday resorts attracting the glitterati of the international jet set. It is easy to see why – Marbella has sandy beaches, elegant boutiques, fine restaurants, and a very beautiful Old Town, which dates back to the 16th […]

Dresden Christmas Market - Stollen traditions and fun

Dresden has the oldest Christmas market in Europe, dating back to 1434. The market specialises in traditional crafts, with beautiful items of woodcarving, indigo-printed cloth, pottery, and filigree lace available. As in many German Christmas markets, hot spicy mulled wine and gingerbread are also highly popular with the market goers. You can also get some […]

Nuremberg Christmas Market - sausage, gingerbread and Christ Child antics

The Christmas Market in Nuremberg is one of the most famous Christmas markets in Europe. The setting of the market is beautiful, with almost two hundred stalls crammed into the traditionally cobbled square on the slope beneath the Frauenkirche. Of course there is the ubiquitous Christmas market mulled wine, which goes brilliantly with the gorgeous, […]

Bath and the Cotswold villages at Christmas

What could be more enjoyable in terms of Christmas shopping than to combine one of England’s most elegant cities, with some of its most picturesque villages?
Every Christmas, the beautiful area between the magnificent Bath Abbey and the ancient Roman Baths, is turned into that Christmas shopper’s delight known as Bath Christmas Market, with over a […]

Cave shopping in Valkenburg at Christmas

Visit Valkenburg in the Netherlands for your Christmas shopping, and you will feel like you are in Santa’s Grotto. This is because underneath the city centre is a network of caves where a candlelit market is held at Christmas.
Every year the market has a theme, and for this year it is the Dutch legend […]

Prague at Christmas - a Baroque winter wonderland

Prague, the beautiful and romantic capital of the Czech Republic, hosts a number of cultural events at Christmas, including folk displays, concerts and theatre throughout December. There are a number of family friendly Christmas markets, the biggest of which is held on the busy Old Town Square. The idyllic Baroque cobbled square makes the perfect […]

Tallinn Christmas Market - a romantic break

Tallinn, which is also known by the German and Swedish name of Reval, is the capital and largest city of Estonia, lying on its northern coast, along the Gulf of Finland. The Christmas market in Tallinn has been running every year since 1991, and is held at the beautifully picturesque Raekoja Plats, which is a […]

Copenhagen’s fairytale Christmas market in Tivoli Gardens

Europe’s oldest amusement park, the Tivoli Gardens, hosts Copenhagen’s annual Christmas market. The hundreds of Christmas trees make for a fabulous fairytale setting, with over half a million lights illuminating the stalls and park. The main lake of the park is transformed into an outdoor ice skating rink, and you can hire skates and take […]

Christkindelmarkt in Leeds, England

German Christmas markets are so renowned all over Europe, that they are even making their way to places outside Germany. For example, in Leeds, the up-and-coming metropolis of West Yorkshire, you will find the Christkindelmarkt, running from the 16th November to 20th December, a little piece of Germany in the heart of Leeds city centre, […]