European city for Xmas - solo person

mel.b

I'm not getting home to Oz for Christmas this year and have a trip booked to Central America for 17 days over Xmas & New year. However my flights have been stuffed up due to the Mexicana bankruptcy and even though i got my money back, to rebook the flights i am looking at 3 times the cost. With my trip, I have paid the deposit but nothing else.

So now I'm wondering what to do. The other thing that is playing on my mind is the general state of the economy & the upcoming budget and i feel like I should be saving money rather than spending it. However I don't want to be stuck at home in Ireland by myself on Christmas day:( However i'm also thinking how many more times will i get the opportunity to go to Central america?

I'm half toying with the idea of just doing a short 3 - 4 day break somewhere in europe instead and I'm looking for suggestions of good places to go for a single traveller over Xmas. Do most shops/sights/attractions shut up over Xmas day & St Stephens day? One thing I would really like to do is see the Northen lights, but once I start to factor in the price of buying some decent winter gear (somehow after living in ireland for 3 years i still don't even have a waterproof jacket!) that starts to get expensive as well.

So any ideas on places that are good for xmas as a single traveller?

Cheers,
mel.b

sadhbhc15

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as I'm looking to head away over xmas too. Hope you get some decent replies OP!

jos28

Me too ! Looking forward to your replies

Unshelved

I know that in Paris, many restaurants and bars are open on Christmas Day. They don't go overboard on Christmas like we do here - it's more like Easter, with low-key family meals. Even bakeries open on Christmas morning - perish the thought that the French should go without fresh bread! You will need to book a restaurant - because not all open and because families sometimes eat their Christmas meal there instead of at home.

Here's a couple of threads from fodors.com about Christmas in Paris -

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/christmas-in-paris-362030-2.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/christmas-day-in-paris-mob-scene.cfm