If Christmas is your favorite holiday and you live for the season, then visiting a town that goes all out for the Holidays is a must-do. Some places just do the holidays better. The kind of towns where lights wrap around lamp posts on historic main streets, town squares are filled with carolers, and Christmas markets overflow with handmade ornaments, woolly scarves, and all sorts of tasty local foods.
From Hallmark-style small-town getaways to centuries-old European markets, these 12 Christmas destinations deliver holiday cheer in the best of spirits.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: The Christmas City
Bethlehem has been celebrating Christmas since the night it was founded. Moravian settlers named it after Christ’s birthplace following a Christmas Eve discovery in 1741. Today, the town still takes that legacy seriously. Streets glow beneath Moravian stars, horse-drawn carriages travel over cobblestones, and choirs perform beneath historic buildings draped in evergreen.
Christmas City Village and the Christkindlmarkt at SteelStacks bring mulled cider, handmade ornaments, local crafts, and live music to town each weekend. The scent of roasted nuts and freshly baked pretzels fills the air, and artisans showcase their work in warm wooden stalls lit by candlelight.
Bethlehem’s holiday appeal runs deep. Traditional Nativity displays adorn local churches, and you can also attend candlelit services honoring the town’s roots.
Leavenworth, Washington: A Bavarian Christmas in the Cascades
Leavenworth’s Bavarian-style streets glow with holiday charm, surrounded by snow-covered peaks in Washington’s Cascade Mountains.
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Leavenworth sits in the Cascade Mountains but looks like a small town in Bavaria, with timbered buildings, snowy rooftops, and gingerbread-trimmed shops. When nearly half a million lights switch on for the Christmastown celebration, the entire valley glows against a backdrop of snowy peaks.
Families hop aboard horse-drawn sleighs, meet real reindeer, and join cookie-decorating events with Santa. Carolers and local musicians fill the downtown gazebo with holiday songs. At the same time, bakeries serve strudel, gingerbread, and hot cocoa that warms frozen fingers after a day in the snow.
Even after Christmas, the lights stay up, making it one of the longest-running winter wonderlands in the country. It’s the kind of place where the magic of the season lingers just a little longer.
Branson, Missouri: Ozark Mountain Christmas
Branson is known for family entertainment year-round — and Christmas is when it really shines. The entire Ozark Mountain region becomes a glowing corridor of more than 6.5 million lights that illuminate theaters, parks, and lakeside streets.
At Silver Dollar City’s An Old Time Christmas festival, visitors ride roller coasters past light tunnels and watch a nightly parade featuring Rudolph and friends. The iconic LED tree features millions of dancing bulbs timed to holiday music, creating a show that’s impossible not to smile at.
Across town, drive-through displays like the Trail of Lights draw generations of repeat visitors. It’s festive, colorful, and big on nostalgia — precisely what a holiday getaway should be.
Frankenmuth, Michigan: A Year-Round Holiday Wonderland
Frankenmuth is famous for Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland — the world’s largest Christmas store — which celebrates the holiday 365 days a year. But December turns the whole Bavarian-style town into a winter spectacle.
There are garlands wrapped around storefronts along Main Street. At the same time, carolers perform riverside, and horse-drawn carriages pull families down the street. Check out the Frankenmuth Christmas Experience for parades, musical performances highlighting German traditions, and ice-skating sessions.
Indoors, the scent of warm stollen and soft pretzels fills the air of bakeries. And the Silent Night Memorial Chapel offers a peaceful escape from the cold while honoring the beloved carol that inspired Christmas celebrations worldwide.
Nuremberg, Germany: The Iconic Christmas Market
Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt has been a holiday tradition for centuries, drawing visitors to its glowing streets, handmade gifts, and famous gingerbread.
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Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt is one of the most famous Christmas markets on earth, with a history dating back to the early 1600s. Wooden stalls packed with hand-carved toys, beeswax candles, and the city’s famous gingerbread line the medieval Hauptmarkt square each year.
Before the festivities begin, crowds gather as the Christkind — dressed in gold robes — delivers a prologue from the balcony of the Church of Our Lady, officially opening the season. Mulled wine steams into the cold air, and choirs perform under glowing garlands.
A visit to Nuremberg during the holiday is pure magic for the Christmas enthusiast. It’s like stepping into an old-fashioned fairy tale.
St. Augustine, Florida: A Coastal Christmas in Lights
St. Augustine blends coastal breezes with old-world charm — and the holidays only amplify that glow. During Nights of Lights, more than three million white lights flicker across Spanish Colonial buildings, palm trees, and waterfront pathways from mid-November through early January.
Visitors can stroll through the historic district’s cobblestone streets, set out on a trolley tour led by guides dressed in festive flair, or see the entire display from the bay on a nighttime boat cruise. The reflections along the water make the scene especially striking after dusk.
Rooted in a tradition of placing candles in windows to welcome travelers, the festival has grown into one of the country’s most beloved holiday light displays. Sweaters and sandals both work here — a rare Christmas perk.
Santa Claus, Indiana: A Playful Christmas Experience
Santa Claus, Indiana, fully embraces its name. The post office receives more than 400,000 letters to Santa each year, and a local group of volunteers makes sure each one gets a reply. It’s one of the most heartfelt holiday traditions in the country.
Throughout December, the Santa Claus Christmas Celebration brings parades, light shows, and holiday-themed rides at Holiday World amusement park. Kids love posing for photos with the town’s massive Santa statue. At the same time, parents browse for ornaments and keepsakes that become yearly reminders of the trip.
There’s a cheerful sense of whimsy here that makes everyone feel like a kid again. If you’re looking for a place where joy is the point, this is it.
Strasbourg, France: The Capital of Christmas
Strasbourg sits where French and German cultures meet — and its holiday celebrations reflect that blend beautifully. The city hosts Europe’s oldest Christmas market, the Christkindelsmärik, which dates back to 1570 and spreads across multiple city squares.
Stalls overflow with handcrafted ornaments, spiced bredele cookies, and warming drinks served in collectible mugs. Each night, the Gothic cathedral’s façade lights up in soft gold, creating one of the most atmospheric backdrops you’ll find anywhere in Europe.
A towering Christmas tree anchors Place Kléber, and side streets feel like secret alleyways of holiday wonder. Strasbourg doesn’t just celebrate Christmas — it proudly claims the title.
North Pole, Alaska: A Real Arctic Holiday
The North Pole post office receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa each year, making it one of Alaska’s most magical holiday stops.
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In North Pole, Alaska, it’s always Christmas — but December is when the town shines brightest. Candy-cane streetlamps brighten the snowy streets, and the Santa Claus House sells ornaments and souvenirs all year long.
Holiday travelers can tour ice sculpture displays, admire light-covered evergreens, and send postcards stamped from the real North Pole post office. Kids love spotting reindeer up close, while adults hope for the bucket-list moment of seeing the Northern Lights overhead.
It’s a little surreal and totally unforgettable experience — a holiday trip that blends festive joy with the natural wonder of Alaska’s winter skies.
McAdenville, North Carolina: Christmas Town USA
McAdenville has turned its holiday celebration into a beloved tradition that has run every year since 1956. This tradition has earned it the official title of Christmas Town USA. Nearly every home participates, lining the streets with glowing decorations that reflect off the town’s central lake.
Visitors take their time walking or driving the two-mile loop, admiring light displays and listening to carolers who perform at churches and community spaces. Kids wave from car windows, grandparents share stories, and neighbors greet visitors like family.
What makes McAdenville special isn’t scale or spectacle — it’s the heart behind it. This is Christmas as a community effort, done with love rather than tourism dollars.
Helen, Georgia: A German Christmas in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Helen brings a taste of Bavaria to the South, with Alpine-style buildings tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains. During the holidays, the Christkindlmarkt fills the center of town with German-inspired crafts, bratwurst, sweet treats, and warm spiced drinks.
Visitors can pick up wooden toys, nutcrackers, and ornaments before catching the Christmas parade, which winds through town, past lit-up shops and breweries. The nearby mountains create an easy escape into cabin country, where fireplaces and hot cocoa are part of the experience.
With a cozy small-town vibe and European flair, Helen makes holiday travel feel both familiar and delightfully new.
Prague, Czech Republic: A Storybook Holiday City
Prague feels like a fairytale year-round, with Gothic towers and cobblestone alleys setting the scene. But winter adds twinkling lights and festive charm as Christmas markets fill Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square with craft stands and seasonal treats.
Visitors warm up with chimney cakes rolled in cinnamon sugar, browse handcrafted glass ornaments, and admire the winter views of Charles Bridge dusted with snow. Music pours from historic churches, where classical holiday concerts ring into the night.
Across the river, Prague Castle glows like something out of a storybook. It’s romantic, atmospheric, and made for wandering — preferably hand-in-hand under the lights.