Chill out this Christmas in a winter wonderland

If the excitement of the festive season quickly turned into exhaustion after preparing a summer Yuletide feast for the extended family, here’s an idea: go away. Chill out this Christmas in a winter wonderland.

Now is the perfect time to start saving and creating a bucket list of places to visit. Big cities like New York create a festive buzz, while countries such as Switzerland offer a mix of traditions, history and nature.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

In the four weeks leading up to Christmas, Austria welcomes many markets that add a sense of fun to the holiday, such as ice-skating at the Viennese Dream Christmas Market. Hallstatt is a tiny Austrian village where you can stand 350m high on the World Heritage Skywalk to enjoy views of the lake and mountains (hallstatt.net). Vienna’s snow globe museum and store (viennasnowglobe.at) has been a family-run operation since 1900 when Erwin Perzy invented the first snow globe with “snow” made from ground rice.

In Austria’s picture-perfect city Innsbruck, visit the six Christmas markets and indulge in a Tyrolean specialty such as kiachl — a freshly baked doughnut served with sweet or savoury toppings. Check out handcrafted tree ornaments and regional traditions like Krampus parades based on demon-like creatures of alpine folklore while listening to live music from brass bands. The festive spirit continues into the evening with medieval streets filled with twinkling lights (innsbruck.info). Find out more at austria.info

https://thewest.com.au/travel/travel-tips/chill-out-this-christmas-in-a-winter-wonderland-ng-b881067098z