Temperature in December: 5ºC maximum temperature and 0ºC minimum temperature
Season: Winter
Travel time from UK: about five hours by train via Paris
Time difference: GMT +1
It is to Strasbourg that we owe the Christmas MarketThis is where the first Marché de l'Enfant Jésus took place in the 16th century. The capital of Alsace, once German, where people ate and drank wine, also prides itself on being the capital of Christmas. On its medieval Grande Ile, the entire historic city, with its ridiculously pretty half-timbered houses, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – rosy-cheeked Alsatians glide across an ice rink, next to market stalls selling toys and trinkets, mulled wine and hot sausages. The tradition lives on, though the gifts have been updated – it seems unlikely that they sold scented candles back then, though these pretty houses would have benefited from them after so many servings of sauerkraut (French sauerkraut and the Strasbourg specialty of fermented cabbage and sausage).
If you're not just coming for the Christmas market (which many aren't), December is a good time to eat out in town and elsewhere. Alsatian food and wine (full-bodied reds, potatoes piled high, pork in all its forms, all very Germanic) are fortifying against the cold, and December is the snowiest month in the region.
Advice for sustainable travel: Take the train from London instead of flying and bring your own reusable mug for mulled wines to go and hot chocolates to the market to limit the use of disposable cups.
Where to stay: In a group of half-timbered buildings, arranged in a gallery around a paved courtyard, the Raven's Court is as old and charming as the Christmas market. The top-floor suites overlook medieval rooftops.
