Got a favourite European city for winter? The Guardian wants your tip — and there's £200 on the table

The Guardian Travel is asking readers to nominate their favourite European city for a winter break, and the reward is a practical one: the best tip, picked by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet, wins a £200 voucher for a stay with Coolstays, which lists more than 3,000 properties worldwide. Winning entries will also be published in the Guardian's Travel section and on its website.

The brief is deliberately open. Maybe your pick is a city with a lantern-lit old town and enough cosy cafes to hibernate in for a weekend. Maybe it's the shopping that justifies a pre-Christmas dash, or a place that comes alive with ice rinks, Christmas markets and snowy walks. If you've ever丈sold a friend on a December city trip, you already have your entry.

A few ground rules worth noting before you start drafting. Tips should run to roughly 100 words — tight, so lead with the specific bar, viewpoint or bakery rather than general praise. Photos are welcome but won't sway the judges; it's the writing that counts. The competition is open to UK residents only, for legal reasons, and it closes on Monday 9 November at 10am GMT. Full terms and conditions are on the Guardian's site.

Even if you don't enter, the callout is a handy nudge: winter is arguably Europe's best-value season for city breaks. Flights and hotels dip between the Christmas markets and the spring rush, queues at major museums shrink, and cities like Vienna, Budapest, Tallinn, Seville and Ljubljana all have distinct cold-weather personalities — from thermal baths and mulled wine to almost-empty old squares. Pack layers, book accommodation with character rather than a business hotel, and build in long cafe stops; the cold is part of the appeal, but so is the retreat from it.

For anyone tempted to enter, the winning formula in these reader-tip competitions is usually local knowledge a guidebook missed: the stall that roasts chestnuts by the cathedral, the thermal pool locals actually use, the tram line that doubles as a sightseeing route. Keep it specific, keep it honest, and get it in before the deadline.