Anonymous wrote:I’m planning a trip to Europe over the holidays this year. My son is 9 and still believes in Christmas magic but not Santa exactly. I know most Christmas observers spend time with family and restaurants tend to shut down. I’m looking for recommendations for places we could spend Christmas Eve/Day being festive while still having options to be out at restaurants/activities. Im pretty open to any city in Western/Northern Europe.

I would look for lodging in our near Muslim areas and try to find someone Muslim who can talk about Muslim places that will be open and that are multicultural enough that people won’t mind that you’re non-Muslim tourists.

So, really, any place with a lot of residents who were born in Turkey, Morocco or Algeria.

This strategy could also work in Chinese neighborhoods in places with a decent number of Chinese immigrants.

Don't know your budget but in Ireland, you could certainly stay at a luxury hotel that has a Christmas package/program. Usually, there's a nice dinner on Christmas Eve, Santa on Christmas morning, a walk or church option and then a nice lunch with carols, entertainment for kiddos, and maybe a dinner. Then something active on December 26.

You could just pick a city that you’ve always wanted to visit and where it’s a pleasure to simply walk around (in other words, you don’t need the museums, galleries, or other paid attractions to be open to enjoy yourself). Christmas Day is likely to be very quiet in most places. This can be a real benefit in any city that’s usually overrun with tourists.

We spent Christmas Day in Venice several years ago and it was a wonderful experience. It was very quiet, and it was quite magical to feel like we had this beautiful city almost to ourselves. But it wasn’t deserted. There were families out and about together. Many restaurants were closed, but plenty were open. Christmas lights and trees were up. Churches that would usually charge an admission fee to tourists were open for all. In the evening, there were concerts going on in churches, musical venues, and the opera house, and we could hear the music as we walked by.

Walking around Venice on Christmas night is one of my top travel memories. Really magical. And such a treat to see the city without hordes of tourists. I’m sure you could easily replicate this experience in any other usually packed city that you’ve always wanted to visit but worry is too crowded.

With all that said, perhaps this isn’t the kind of Christmas magic that your son is seeking. For that, I agree with a PP that Copenhagen sounds ideal.

Austria is great at Christmas. Vienna for big city, Salzburg for smaller. The Christmas markets are amazing. We had dinner at the oldest restaurant in Europe (St Peter) on Christmas eve in Salzburg and there was a St Nick and a Krampus, it was awesome.