Suddenly, you’re inhabiting those Christmas carol of your childhood, right down to sleigh bells in the snow and chestnuts roasting on open fires. And if you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, snow decorates rooftops and muffles streets in a dream-like hush. Anyone brave enough to endure the cold is in for a treat. Kids build snowmen in city parks and Santas ho-ho-ho in hotel lobbies. Across America and Europe, cities come wrapped in ribbons and tinsel like giant holiday presents.
Add plenty of cosy cafes and restaurants, fascinating and well-heated museums, and a thousand shops decked in Christmas finery, and you may find the northern hemisphere a very engaging place to spend a white Christmas. Here are some of my favourite places and things to do during the northern winter: Bright lights of New York New York in winter is cold: there are miniature ice floes on the Hudson River and snow drifts in Central Park.
Still, the city has some of the best Christmas decorations anywhere a superb display of lights giving the city a truly magical atmosphere. Perhaps the most beautiful are those strung up on the Christmas trees lining Park Avenue. Fifth Avenue also puts on a fine show, capping it with a huge illuminated snowflake above the intersection of West 57th Street. Even Bronx Zoo breaks out in illuminated animal sculptures and 12km of tree lighting.
A giant Christmas tree with 30,000 lights stands at the heart of the Rockefeller Center. It’s the lighting of this tree that kicks off the festive season in the Big Apple. You can skate on the famous sunken ice rink right in the heart of the Rockefeller Center, overlooked by the golden statue of Prometheus. Lights twinkle and angels blow trumpets: the quintessential Christmas experience.