Cities around the globe are celebrating the holiday season in their own unique styles.
Nice. Rejoice in the season Russian-style, without the snow and the cold, as Place Masséna is transformed into a wintry wonderland, with a forest of 750 pine trees, an ice skating rink, an ice sculpture, and 60 chalets selling the hand-made wares of French and Russian artisans.
Vienna. The famed Boys Choir lets loose on New Year’s Eve.
Las Vegas. Sway to Christmas tunes at the Bellagio fountains, indulge in late-night, last-minute shopping, and take a peak as the $8.5 billion City Center complex continues to unveil its many public spaces.
Sydney. Welcome in the New Year before everyone else, and in your shorts. The Harbor of Lights flotilla features 55 illuminated vessels, including tall ships and commercial charters, bedecked and bedazzling in holiday lights.
Sydney's Harbor of Lights Festival (photo courtesy City of Sydney)
Washington, D.C. Catch a performance of everybody’s favorite, “A Christmas Carol,” at Ford’s Theater.
Rome. Create your own nativity scene tour — they’re all over the Eternal City these days — then cap it with the life-sized one in St. Peter’s Square, which as of 2007 has substituted a depiction of Joseph’s carpentry shop in Nazareth for the traditional manger.
Philadelphia. The Comcast Experience presents its new holiday presentation on the world’s largest LED screen, located in the lobby of America’s tallest building west of New York and east of Chicago. . . and it’s all in 3-D.
Rio de Janiero. Dig out some white togs and head to Copacabana Beach to witness what’s billed as the world’s largest fireworks display as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Then, revel in the fact that you’re celebrating in 80-degreee temps by heading toward the ocean to offer your own special devotions to Iemanja, patron deity of the waters.
Santa Fe. Stroll down famous Canyon Road on Christmas Eve, when it’s decorated with farolitos (small, sand-filled bags with votive candles) and luminarios (bonfires).
Tokyo. The Japanese love shopping, of course, but the main holiday here is New Year’s Eve and Day, a time for slurping noodles and breathing in incense with millions (yes, millions) of others at Meiji Jingu Shrine.
New York City. Go window-shopping, literally. From Cartier, tied in a big red ribbon, to Lord & Taylor’s Victoriana animatronics, nobody does holiday windows like the Big Apple. Don’t forget Barney’s for a decidedly cutting-edge take (this year the inspiration is Saturday Night Live), and Tiffany & Co. for artistry in miniature.
Salt Lake City. New Year’s Eve starts early here, on December 29. Hosted in several downtown venues, EVE is a three-day indoor/outdoor extravaganza with live entertainment and performing arts, winter sports, activities for kids
London. Skate in the shadow of kings. Ice skating rinks are seemingly everywhere in Londontown, but to really lose your head (while keeping your balance), try the one at Hampton Court Palace, once home to Henry VIII.
Montreux and Lausanne. Taste, sip and spend your way around 100+ stands, decorated like mini-chalets, on the western shores of Switzerland’s Lake Geneva during the annual Christmas Markets. Now through Christmas Eve, local vendors offer crafts, gifts, roasted chestnuts and white wines from the Lavaux vineyards. After shopping, stick around for midnight fireworks.
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