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 town40 weekends
Winter sunBlue skies when home is grey11 weekends
Food and drinkCities worth the trip for the table alone46 weekends
By trainWeekends you can reach without flying20 weekends
Romantic weekendsCandlelight, views and long dinners23 weekends
Beaches and coastSand, sea air and harbour lunches17 weekends
Castles and historyFortresses, ruins and Roman stones21 weekends
Wine weekendsVineyards, cellars and the regions behind the bottle19 weekendsSwitzerland48-hour guide
Two squares of wooden chalets linked by old-town lanes, a cathedral tree dressed by Johann Wanner, a fairytale forest for children and Rhine views, with verified 2026 dates.
Germany48-hour guide
More than 230 stalls from the half-timbered Römerberg to the river Main, a 26-metre tree, hot apple wine and Bethmännchen, with verified 2026 dates and a two-day plan.
Germany48-hour guide
A flying Santa over the Rathausmarkt, white tents on the Alster, a canal-side market on the Fleetinsel and St. Pauli's cheeky late-night alternative, plus a two-day plan.
Spain48-hour guide
Two days of winter sun on the Costa del Sol: a Moorish fortress, a castle with the best view in town, Picasso's birthplace, a 19th-century market and a seafront promenade.
Germany48-hour guide
Gendarmenmarkt's craft tents, a palace market in Charlottenburg, skating round the Neptune Fountain, a Nordic market in an old brewery and a medieval one in Friedrichshain, with a two-day plan.
Belgium48-hour guide
More than 150 chalets from Sint-Baafsplein to the Korenmarkt, a big wheel by the Graslei, skating under the Stadshal and a city that stays open into January, plus a two-day plan.
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.
