10 Things to do in December
Each month we select 10 major events all around Europe - and the places to stay that go with them...
Browse this month's selection, look for hotel availability and book online.
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1) Christmas Concert - Gothenburg - Sweden
15 - 21 Dec 2007
The annual Yuletide concert at the Gothenburg Opera House gets everyone into the Christmas spirit with traditional seasonal songs. Added delights include glögg and gingerbread biscuits, as well as Father Christmas himself, who kindly takes time out from his busy schedule for further surprises. (Not Wednesday and Thursday) |
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2) Sporting Stars on Skis in La Plagne, France
16 - 21 Dec 2007
Over the Christmas period, French sporting stars from such diverse disciplines as football, athletics and martial arts take on the up-and-coming athletes in these snow-related sports.
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3) Burning The Clocks
21 Dec 2007
The annual Burning The Clocks event in Brighton includes a children's lantern parade through the city centre and finishes with a firework display on the beach next to Madeira Drive. Many of the paper lanterns are burnt too. |
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4) The Magic of Christmas
14 - 23 Dec 2007
Tap-dancing reindeers and a disco igloo are two of many attractions at Birmingham NEC's Magic of Christmas show. Fairy Petal leads children to Father Christmas and the Magical Village, while parents can stock up on Christmas goodies. |
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5) Light and Sound Christmas Spectacle in Madrid
23 Dec 2007
Titled ˇFeliz Navidad Madrid! (Merry Christmas Madrid!), the Light and Sound Christmas Spectacle in Plaza de Cibeles is a dramatic show of pyrotechnics, music and images. The illuminated buildings of the square provide an impressive backdrop to the action. |
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6) A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in Cambridge
24 Dec 2007
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel was first given on Christmas Eve 1918 and has been broadcast worldwide since 1928. No Christmas is complete without the dulcet tones of Once In Royal David's City.
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7) Harrods Christmas Grotto
3 Nov - 24 Dec 2007
International contemporary art fair Artissima brings about 200 emerging galleries from around the world to Turin Lingotto. The event offers paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, videos, photographs and performances. |
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8) Christmas Star International Regatta in Nice
27 - 30 Dec 2007
This international regatta in the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) is the most important in France. Organised by the Water Club of Nice, the event has been taking place for more than 40 years and welcomes 30 to 40 crews from all over the world.
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9) Tivoli Christmas Season
15 Nov - 30 Dec 2007
Copenhagen knows how to celebrate Christmas in style. Each year its most treasured attraction, Tivoli Gardens, is transformed into a winter wonderland with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, and the sale of gallons of delicious hot glögg (mulled wine spiced with raisins and almonds). The numerous Yuletide events held here should get any Scrooge into the festive spirit. |
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10) Street Theatre Festival
22 Dec - 31 Dec 2007
This is a Christmas event with a difference. Rather than the ubiquitous "if you've seen one you've seen them all" Christmas markets that swamp France in December, Deauville hosts a Street Theatre Festival, known as Noël au Balcon.
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