Christmas looks completely different depending on where you wake up on 25 December. A new round-up of festive escapes makes the case for four very different cities and one very different archipelago: snowy Bavaria, a neon-lit Korean capital, an Australian city in mid-summer, and a scatter of Indian Ocean islands.
If you want the classic version, Munich delivers. The Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz runs in front of the neo-Gothic New Town Hall, with stalls selling ornaments, woodcraft and sweets while Advent music plays from the Rathaus balcony. Nearby, the Kripperlmarkt keeps alive the city's centuries-old nativity tradition, and the English Garden hosts its own market. Warm up in a beer hall like Augustiner, Munich's oldest brewery, and save time for the Munich Residence and Nymphenburg Palace, which are especially atmospheric with frost on the grounds.
Seoul swaps mulled wine for hotpot. December there is genuinely cold, but the city compensates with light displays along Cheonggyecheon Stream — arguably the best winter walk in town — plus seasonal markets around Gwanghwamun and City Hall. Department store facades in Myeongdong go all-out, and the café scenes in Seongsu, Ikseon-dong and Hannam are built for escaping the sub-zero evenings. Cap it with a view from N Seoul Tower and Korean barbecue.
Melbourne flips the season entirely: it's summer, with long evenings and outdoor festivities across Federation Square, the Southbank waterfront and rooftop bars. Christmas Eve means Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, a local tradition drawing thousands. Music fans get a packed summer lineup — Harry Styles and Guns N' Roses in the city, plus regional festivals like Meredith and Beyond the Valley over New Year. The NGV Triennial 2026 opens 13 December if you want a culture fix.
And for those done with winter altogether, the Maldives offers beach barbecues, overwater villas and reef time. Resorts such as JOALI run full festive programmes with decor, dinners and New Year celebrations under the stars. Days are spent snorkelling, spotting whale sharks and manta rays, kayaking the lagoons, or cruising at sunset on a traditional dhoni — with optional trips to local islands for a look at life beyond the resort walls.
Why it matters: your ideal Christmas trip depends on whether you want the season amplified or swapped out. This quartet covers both ends — Munich and Seoul lean into winter atmosphere, Melbourne ignores it, and the Maldives deletes it. Practical sorts can fly all four with Singapore Airlines, which makes multi-stop planning straightforward if you can't decide.
