Three trips worth taking, picked every Friday, plus a 48-hour plan for every city worth the journey.
30 October – 1 November
28 Oct – 1 Nov
Northern Ireland
Derry Halloween: often called Europe's biggest Halloween festival.
28 Oct – 1 Nov
Lucca Comics & Games: Europe's biggest comics and cosplay festival takes over the walled town.
28 Oct – 1 Nov
Salon du Chocolat: the world's biggest chocolate show, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Full write-up on FridayPast weekends
Christmas marketsMulled wine, carols and lights in the old town49 weekends
Winter sunBlue skies when home is grey13 weekends
Food and drinkCities worth the trip for the table alone57 weekends
By trainWeekends you can reach without flying20 weekends
Romantic weekendsCandlelight, views and long dinners23 weekends
Beaches and coastSand, sea air and harbour lunches18 weekends
Castles and historyFortresses, ruins and Roman stones22 weekends
Wine weekendsVineyards, cellars and the regions behind the bottle19 weekendsSpain48-hour guide
Two days in Valencia: a Gothic silk exchange, a Modernista market, nine kilometres of riverbed gardens, Calatrava's white city, the beach and sunset over the Albufera.
Switzerland48-hour guide
More than 170 chalets line Lake Geneva, Santa flies over the quays each evening and a cogwheel train climbs to his house in the mountains. A two-day plan with Chillon and Lavaux.
Germany48-hour guide
About 90 wooden stalls on the Hauptmarkt and in front of the cathedral in Germany's oldest city, with a Roman gate, Moselle wine and direct trains from Luxembourg.
Lithuania48-hour guide
A themed tree that draws crowds every year, wooden huts on Cathedral Square, an ice rink on Town Hall Square and a Baroque old town to wander, plus a two-day plan.
Poland48-hour guide
Hundreds of stalls by the Golden Gate, a talking moose, an Advent calendar the size of a building and the Long Market lit up, plus a two-day plan for Gdańsk.
Slovakia48-hour guide
Two Old Town squares of wooden stalls, lokše and hot punch, a castle on the hill and a market that runs into January, an hour from Vienna.
Closures, new rules and openings that change a weekend plan.
In the order they open.
Bristol Christmas Market
New reels every weekday: 48-hour routes, food worth the trip and what’s on this weekend.
