Best Places To Visit In December
Brief Overview
Forget about the summer: December may be the ideal month for travel. There are the traditional holiday flavours, such as the aroma of hot cocoa and freshly fallen snow floating from New York City to Berlin, or salty, sun-kissed delights like St. Barth’s. Fiji and Madagascar are off-season delights that are currently (relatively) affordable. It’s also the perfect moment to learn about Australia’s most improbable success story because the Australian summer is in full swing. Here are the best places to visit in December.
Lapland
What better destination to visit in December than Santa Claus’s actual residence? The northernmost area of Finland, Finnish Lapland, is home to Rovaniemi, which is the epitome of a winter paradise. You can count on plenty of snow because the temperature ranges between -4°C and -11°C most of the time.
You may expect both family-friendly and outdoor-oriented travel experiences. You can do everything from see St. Nick to see the Northern Lights in all their glory, deep in the forest. In Rovaniemi, you may enjoy traditional feasts of reindeer, lingonberries, and leipäjuusto (a deliciously gooey dessert known as “bread cheese”).
Bath, United Kingdom
When it comes to hot springs, Bath in the UK is the best place to go in the freezing month of December. With steam rising from the naturally warm, once-public bathing pools, the Roman Baths, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will seem especially eerie.
Unfortunately, you are unable to dip yourself. The water in the Roman Baths is handled by the same Roman-built pipes, so it hasn’t been filtered or otherwise prepared to be suitable for swimming. That is not to imply that Bath is devoid of spa opportunities; there is a swim-safe Thermal Spa.
Dresden, Germany
Dresden, Saxony is a city that is well-known for being heavily bombed at the close of World War Two and for being somewhat dreary on an overcast day, so it is a pleasant surprise to see its historic core aglow with colour, Christmas cheer, and twinkling lights throughout the month of December.
Striezelmarkt, Dresden’s Christmas market, is the oldest of its kind in Germany and so merits a visit only for its historical significance. The traditional German stollenloaf, mulled wine, and funfair-style carousels are also available, as is the opportunity to try your hand at making the fruit bread.
You won’t nearly freeze your socks off on your wintry holiday, as the average temperature for the month comes in at 2°C, but it will still be frigid. Wrap yourself warm and take in the Baroque architecture of the Old Town, then chill out in Dresden’s artsy Neustadt, and round off your trip with a walking tour of World War II sites.
St Barth's, Caribbean
St Barth’s is perfect in December. The island has some of the best beaches, restaurants, hotels, and villas in the world, so it’s no surprise that many celebrities choose to vacation there. Those who are extremely wealthy, well-known, attractive, and fortunate. It would be your own fault if you suffered from extreme FOMO while staring out the window at the rain and browsing through photos of everyone else smiling broadly through white teeth while lounging on the world’s most stunning beaches and didn’t plan your December vacation here.
Cuba
December in Cuba is the dry season. The perfect way to see Havana on foot or in a vintage open-top automobile.
Havana, with its vibrant culture and love of vintage automobiles, is likely to be on the itineraries of many Cubans. If you’re in Cuba and have some time to kill, I highly recommend venturing out into the country’s various regions and seeing a side of the country that few tourists ever see.
Baracoa is a classic sandy beach town that feels extremely different from Havana’s constant bustle. But, it is also a highly significant spot to visit, as it was one of Christopher Columbus’s initial landing sites in the late 1400s. In addition to Sancti Spiritus, another rainbow-hued hamlet well worth a detour, Trinidad has the colonial, colourful facades of Havana, with less of the commotion.
Zermatt, Swiss Alps
Such a snowy alpine landscape is what holiday fantasies are made of. A charming community in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Matterhorn, complete with horse-drawn sleighs, illuminated trees, and glühwein stands. Also, starting in the first week of December, you’ll have access to snow-guaranteed slopes along a total length of 200 breathtakingly beautiful kilometres. As a result of these factors, Zermatt is often regarded as one of Europe’s premier ski destinations.
New York City
Spending the holidays in the Big Apple is a given. From ice-skating beneath the Rockefeller Center tree to the dramatic window decorations along Fifth Avenue, the entire setting is cinematically joyful. The residents of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn go all out for the holiday season. The houses here are so extravagantly bedecked, there’s an official bus tour of the most outrageous neighbourhoods. Like The Ludlow’s Pigalle cocktail, made with bourbon and ancho chile, while warming up by the fireplace in the lobby.
Dubai, UAE
Dubai is perfect in December! From November to January, temperatures average between 19 and 25 degrees Celsius, and the sun shines nearly every day. For those who enjoy such things, December brings the Rugby Sevens, a film festival, pre-Christmas designer sales, and Christmas trees with more lights and Swarovski crystals than can be counted. But many claim they don’t, visitors to Dubai often return having changed their minds.
Strasbourg, France
The Christmas market is all thanks to the city of Strasbourg. In the 16th century, this site hosted the very first Market of the Baby Christ. The metropolis of the wine- and food-loving, historically German region of Alsace also lays claim to the title of The Capital of Christmas. In its ancient Grande Ile – the complete historic city, with its preposterously lovely half-timbered homes, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site – rosy-cheeked Alsatians glide around an ice rink, besides market stalls selling toys and trinkets, mulled wine and hot sausage. Although though fragrant candles would have been welcome in those lovely homes after so much choucroute, it appears that the custom has been carried on but the gifts have been modernised (French sauerkraut and the Strasbourg speciality, of fermented cabbage and sausage).
The food in the city and beyond is excellent in December, even if you aren’t there for the Christmas market (though many people are). As the snowiest month of the year in Alsace, December is the perfect time to cosy up with a plate of potatoes and a bottle of full-bodied red wine.
Fiji, South Pacific
Fiji is the place to go in December if you want to beat the gloomy weather. Stick your toes in the pristine white sands and you’ll feel like you’ve arrived in Fiji. “No rushes, no concerns” is more than just a motto to the affable residents who decorate their homes with frangipani. Due to the early onset of the rainy season in December, the midday heat is often relieved by brief but steady downpours. A Six Senses, located in the location where Tom Hanks made Cast Away, uses Tesla batteries and prepares its meals with organic, locally foraged ingredients to compete with the opulent, mega-honeymoon facilities that have sprung up in the wake of Cyclone Winston in 2016.
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