Christmastime in Vienna

Winter and Christmastime is one of the loveliest times of year, and Vienna, Austria's romantic capital city - and usually on top of the list of the world's most liveable cities - is one of the most famous Christmastime destinations in Europe. I was in Réunion for Christmas last year, and I spent the holidays hiking and working on my tan on the beach, and the year before was a quiet affair in Salzburg with the pandemic still affecting border closures.

The Christkindlmarkts are in abundance, the lights are brightly lit all throughout the city streets, the punsch is hot and flowing, the golden hours are extra special and the food tastes even yummier and fresher at this time of year.

One of my dearest friends, Ann Cathrin, has lived in Vienna for a few years now. I met Ann Cathrin in Porto back in 2021. She's German, I'm British-Dutch-Canadian, and when we both found out we lived in Austria... well, the rest is history. We don't get to spend that much time together, with Vienna and Salzburg being a four-hour train ride apart, and us both being busy young women and oft-abroad, but we do make it a priority to see each other at least a few times each year.

So when 16 December became available on both our calendars, we immediately planned a Christmassy day in Europe's Christkindlmarkt capital. Here's everything we got up to during our Christmassy day in Vienna:

Wander through the Schlosspark Schönbrunn

It would have been even lovelier with snow, but the walk through the gardens and past the greenhouse was lovely and peaceful just the same.