The best Christmas shopping cities in Europe.

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Due to the bastardization of the "German" Christmas market throughout the United Kingdom, it is easy to dismiss them as naff, but if it is done in an elegant and traditional way, it is in Munich. The city celebrates Christmas to the fullest, with a Christmas tram, a Christmas shopping store, a tree lit with 3,000 candles, Bavarian chants and a nativity path. Apart from all that, the architecture, the warming of the winter food and drink and the alpine atmosphere (the mountain resorts are only 1-2 hours by car to the south) are enough to guarantee a festive raid.
Hotel Riverside Alfama, in the labyrinth of the old town, has eight bright and simple rooms (from £ 98 per night in December). In a large old building in the Arty Bairro Alto, the Independente is part hostel, partly hotel, with clean bedrooms and a popular restaurant. 14 € bedrooms with breakfast.
BEST PURCHASES
Vintage and antiques. Thanks to the colossal Grande Braderie flea market, which attracts 2.5 million vintage enthusiasts every September, Lille is flooded with thrift stores. The booksellers in the inner courtyard of the Vieille Bourse (Tuesdays and Sundays in the afternoon) will have gifts to impress the intellectuals. A bottle of genièvre, the local fire water, juniper infusion, is perfect for any average decadent ratio. Buy wine for the Christmas table at Les Chais du Savor (Ramponneau Square) and thin waffles filled with vanilla vanilla cream (27 rue Esquermoise) for someone you love so much that you can resist mocking them on the way home. Stock up on delights and cheeses from the Wazemmes market, southwest of the center Tuesday, Thursday and, particularly, sun.