30 November 2023 , 17:03
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A beautiful central European city with serious Christmas market pedigree has been named the merriest place to spend a holiday.
Studying festive favourites and peak wintry scenes throughout November and December, including snowfall, light displays, Christmas markets, ice rinks and iconic Christmas movie locations, Prague has has been judged to be atop the holiday cheer checklist, claiming the number one spot for merriest destination according to loveholidays.
Prague is a city that must be visited at least once in a life time - and it's regularly tipped as one of Europe's best Christmas markets. Its centre is filled full of beautiful architecture, cobbled streets and a sense of history that come together to make it a truly enchanting place come the festive season.
The Czechia capital stands out amongst other cities largely for its choice of Christmas markets, featuring six key locations and as the home of one of Europe’s best-loved Christmas markets. Visitors come to explore the toy town beauty of Old Town Square complete with a real-life nativity scene, carol-singing choirs and a huge bedazzled Christmas tree.
Prague is home to a number of jolly Christmas markets (The Image Bank)The Wenceslas Square market is another big attraction for visitors to the city in December, with its craft stalls, food and one-of-a-kind discoveries. While you're there it is certainly worth visiting the city's castle, which is the largest coherent castle complex in the world with an area of almost 70,000 m², and taking a walking tour. Prague played a fascinating part in WWII and played host to the Velvet Revolution against the Soviets three and a half decades ago.
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Combined with an average snowfall of 12.2cm and 8.5 hours of daylight, the city is a starlit wonderland for the most part, especially after its annual tree lighting ceremony takes place in late November.
You can visit Prague over the festive period from just £168 per person, based on an analyses of the price of a five-night trip, including flights and hotel, departing between 10 November 2023 to 31 December 2023 from UK airports.
Ryanair offers the cheapest flights with prices starting from £54 in November. The train takes 13 hours and three changes from London, but goes through some particularly beautiful parts of central Europe. If you fancy extending your trip, an Interrail pass could get you there and then onto several other European countries for around £180. There are also plenty of cheap Airbnbs and hostels in Prague, such as the £17 a night Bar Fontana.
Oslo and Vienna take second and third place in the loveholidays list, with significant snowfall averages of 55.5cm in Oslo and 12.2cm in Vienna. Rounding out the overall top five are Stockholm and New York.
Getting an average of seven hours of daylight and the most snowfall, Oslo is ideal for admiring the season’s twinkling lights, while Vienna offers a rich selection of over 11 main markets to explore. Notably, New York holds a special place in the hearts of festive film enthusiasts with over 400 Christmas movies filmed in the city, including classics like Elf and Home Alone 2.
Iona Wark, senior holiday product manager at loveholidays, said: "As Christmas approaches, a lot of us love getting into the festive spirit, and we find ourselves seeking more of that magic from beyond the UK.
"Short getaways to European cities like Prague, Oslo and Vienna create the perfect setting for your own Christmas fairytale, complete with snow-draped markets and events with added sparkle. Coincidentally, Prague also offers the best-value trip for the season, with a five-night getaway including flights and accommodation costing as little as £168 per person."
The festive rankings
(Includes the cheapest available five day trip cost in November or December)
- Prague, Czechia - £168
- Oslo, Norway - £215
- Vienna, Austria - £200
- Stockholm, Sweden - £344
- New York, USA - £444
- Chicago, USA - £555
- Munich, Germany - £228
- Toronto, Canada - £219
- Salzburg, Austria - £211
- Copenhagen, Denmark - £244
- Helsinki, Finland - £607
- Zurich, Switzerland - £286
- Warsaw, Poland - £262
- Berlin, Germany - £177
You can find out more on loveholidays.com.