There's a certain kind of traveller who books a city break not for the museums or the food, but for the moment the lights switch on. If that's you, a new round-up from Condé Nast Traveller UK makes a strong case for timing your next trip to December, when a handful of cities put on displays that dwarf anything you could fit in your living room.
The premise is simple: the decorated tree remains the single most recognisable symbol of the festive season, and a few destinations have turned it into genuine spectacle. Some go for scale — towering firs wrapped in thousands of lights that draw crowds night after night. Others go for glamour, handing the design brief to luxury fashion houses whose creations look more like art installations than anything you'd find at a garden centre. And some rely on setting alone: a traditional tree standing in a centuries-old square beats a bigger one in a shopping mall every time.
The list spans two continents. It naturally includes the two most famous trees in the English-speaking world — New York and London — where the tree-lighting nights are civic events in their own right, complete with crowds, performances and a good month of peak-season buzz afterwards. From there it heads to Europe's medieval towns, where half-timbered facades and cobbled streets give even a modest tree an atmosphere bigger cities can't replicate. And then, for anyone who'd rather skip the frost entirely, there's Brazil, where festive displays turn up on sunny shores and Christmas looks nothing like the woolly-hat version most of us grew up with.
The common thread is that none of these are things you stumble across. The best trees are at their most photogenic for a narrow window — typically early December through early January — and the switch-on nights themselves can pull serious crowds, so a bit of planning pays off. If you're booking around one, aim for the days just after the lighting ceremony: the tree is fully lit, the initial crush has thinned, and hotel rates may be softer than on the big night itself.
Who is this for? Anyone who loves the festive atmosphere but wants more than the local high street can offer. It works equally well as a family trip built around the lights, a couples' city break with evening strolls and mulled drinks, or a warm-weather alternative for those who find the idea of Christmas in a winter coat depressing. Pack layers for the European stops; pack sunglasses for Brazil.
