The world's best attractions to visit during Christmas
Christmas may be a time for staying home, but for millions, it’s also peak travel season. According to data from ABTA (The Association of British Travel Agents), over 5 million Brits go overseas during Christmas and New Year, making the festive break one of the busiest times of the year for international travel.
With many of us searching for Christmas getaways or last-minute trips, we have created the ultimate Christmas travel list. We analysed 100 Christmas attractions from around the world and used TripAdvisor data to calculate the total percentage of excellent (five-star) reviews for each attraction.
Take a look below to see what came out on top.
*Data collection focused exclusively on venues with high seasonal popularity during the Christmas period. These included a mix of Christmas landmarks and attractions, grand estates, castles, palaces, botanical gardens, cathedrals, and ice-skating and winter sports venues.
Contents:
- Icekarting Levi, Finland
- Kew Gardens, UK
- Northern Lights Village, Finland
- Biltmore Estate, USA
- Radio City Music Hall, USA
- St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City
- Windsor Castle, UK
- Rideau Canal Skateway, Canada
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, USA
- Santa Claus Holiday Village, Finland
1. Icekarting Levi, Finland
Icekarting Levi is an outdoor motorsports track where visitors can drive go-karts fitted with studded tyres designed specifically for ice. Located in Levi, Finnish Lapland.
The fast-paced activity lets visitors drift, slide, and race around in an Arctic setting. Christmas is an extremely popular time to visit, with heavy snow making it a true winter wonderland. Guests visiting Levi Ski Resort can also partake in other Christmas activities such as exploringthe snow village and seeing Father Christmas, snowmobiling and husky sledging.
2. Kew Gardens, UK
Kew Gardens is a world-famous botanical garden and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in southwest London. Although popular year-round, Christmas is an extra-special time to visit this magical garden.
During the festive season, Kew Gardens transforms into an enchanting dreamland illuminated by twinkling lights. The Christmas Lights Trail is the standout attraction, letting visitors walk through giant light tunnels and witness fantastic laser displays that illuminate the entire garden. Other highlights include fairground rides, visiting Father Christmas, and enjoying the selection of independent street food stalls.
3. Northern Lights Village, Finland
Located in Finnish Lapland, Northern Lights Village is a network of glass-roofed cabins specifically designed for watching the Northern Lights, making for a truly unforgettable experience.
The Christmas season is regarded as one of the best times to visit the Northern Lights Village, as the polar night means that it is dark for around 18 hours a day during winter. Visitors can also enjoy decorating gingerbread houses with Santa’s elves and reindeer sleigh rides.
4. Biltmore Estate, USA
The Biltmore Estate is a historic Gilded Age mansion and tourist attraction located in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. During Christmas, the estate is elaborately decorated with more than 100 Christmas trees, 10,000 ornaments and over 100,000 Christmas lights.
Popular activities at Biltmore Estate around Christmas include wine tasting, horse-and-carriage rides, and chocolate making. In the evening, visitors can enjoy the light of hundreds of candles whilst listening to live musicians performing throughout the historic rooms.
5. Radio City Music Hall, USA
Radio City Music Hall is a historic entertainment venue and indoor theatre located within Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the world's largest indoor theatre and hosts concerts, stage productions, and awards shows.
The iconic venue is home to the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, a beloved New York City tradition that has run continuously since 1933. Situated in the heart of New York, visitors can also see other festive attractions such as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and the holiday lights along Fifth Avenue.
6. St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City
St. Peter's Square is a massive, monumental plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. During Christmas, the square transforms into a major festive hub, with an incredible monumental Christmas tree and a life-sized Nativity scene that has been on display since 1982.
Every year, a massive Christmas tree is gifted to the Vatican by a different European region or country. The festive season kicks off with an official lighting ceremony in mid-December, where the tree is illuminated with thousands of lights, transforming the square into a warm, festive centre of pilgrimage and community.
7. Windsor Castle, UK
Located in Windsor, England, Windsor Castle is the largest occupied castle in the world, having stood for nearly 1,000 years as the primary home of British monarchs.
During the Christmas period, the castle transforms into something out of a fairy tale. In the largest room, St Georges Hall, a 20-foot Christmas tree is decorated with thousands of lights. Throughout Christmas, visitors can see the castle on exclusive extended-hours evening tours available in November and December, as well as the ornate Semi-State Rooms, which are only open during the winter months.
8. Rideau Canal Skateway, Canada
The Rideau Canal Skateway is a large naturally frozen skating rink, located in Ottawa, Canada. It is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's largest natural skating rink, stretching 4.8 miles through the heart of downtown Ottawa.
Using the ice is completely free if you bring your own skates, with on-site rentals available if you need them. Skaters can glide past some of Ottawa’s most iconic landmarks such as the Parliament buildings and Fairmont Château Laurier.
9. Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, USA
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a huge, heavily decorated live evergreen tree erected annually in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Started in 1931 by construction workers building Rockefeller Center, it has grown into a world-famous holiday symbol.
Today's tree is typically a massive Norway spruce, standing up to 80 feet tall, and decorated with over 50,000 multicoloured LED lights. The top is fitted with a custom star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, featuring 70 spikes and roughly 3 million Swarovski crystals.
10. Santa Claus Holiday Village, Finland
The Santa Claus Holiday Village is a resort and complex located within the larger Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, directly on the Arctic Circle. The accommodation comprises cosy individual semi-detached cottages, suites, and glass-roofed options.
Over Christmas, the village offers a true storybook winter wonderland experience. Guests can meet Santa Claus and the elves and enjoy traditional seasonal activities, including reindeer sleigh rides, husky safaris, snowmobiling, and sliding or ice skating at Snowman World.
Looking to book a winter adventure?
If we've inspired you to travel over the festive season, why not consider a cruise? We have plenty of incredible last-minute deals for winter 2026, as well as options for winter 2027 and 2028. Destinations include the Caribbean, North America, the Mediterranean and more. Get in touch today to see how we can help.