The best city to escape the cold and explore Christmas markets

The top Christmas markets in the world attract millions of visitors every year. Three million people flock to Germany’s oldest Christmas market, Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, each year – and that number is set to rise this winter.

There is one thing that tends to compete with the longing for cosy Christmas markets and that’s the draw of the winter sun. According to ABTA (The Association of British Travel Agents) almost half (46%) of people surveyed booked or considered taking a winter holiday in 2021.

But it is possible to combine the two by celebrating Christmas in warmer climates.

New research from Sweet Inn has ranked cities by scoring them based on the amount of Christmas markets and the warmest temperatures in November and December, they then gave each destination an average score out of 10.

Dubai came out on top for a sun-filled Christmas celebration. Although the majority of the UAE is Muslim, other religious holidays are recognised in Dubai. It has around 12 major Christmas markets which can be explored in average temperatures of 26 degrees in December. The most unique experience is ‘Bab Al Shams’, where visitors can experience a desert winter wonderland full of 50 stalls, live renditions of carols and a towering 40-foot Christmas tree.

Second to this was Miami, which is another popular destination for winter sun. In December the average top temperature is a warm 24 degrees, but of course, Miami residents still go all out for Christmas. This year, the Florida-based city is hosting a huge Christmas market, brought straight from New York. Urbanspace – the company behind the biggest Christmas markets in NYC – will be opening the hotly anticipated Lincoln Road Christmas Market on the 15th of November.

The top 10 best cities for warmer weather and Christmas markets (and the average score out of 10) were:

UAE, Dubai (10)
USA, Miami (7.87)
Portugal, Porto (7.54)
Spain, Barcelona (7.38)
France, Cannes (7.19)
France, Grimaud (6.70)
Italy, Florence (6.57)
France, Nice (6.15)
Italy, Milan (5.75)
Ireland, Dublin (5.73)

Tenth place in the ranking was Dublin, which spoils its residents and visitors with a huge selection of Christmas markets, making it another of our top picks for festive trips. While Dublin doesn’t have the balmy temperatures of Dubai or Miami in December, its average high temperatures are around nine degrees, so it’s not too cold to enjoy the festivities.

This year Dublin’s Christmas markets include the Dublin Castle Christmas Market (Christmas at the Castle), Mistletown, Swords Castle Christmas Market, Terenure Christmas Festival and Bumper Craft Market, the Guinness Storehouse Winterfest and Dún Laoghaire Christmas Festival.