![Stalls at Christkindlmarkt, Salzburg, Austria](https://images.suitcasemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10201851/eight-nostalgic-european-christmas-markets_652e6d734c3a9.jpeg)
Salzburg, Austria
Best for: traditional trimmings
Fur-wrapped Fraus hunt down wooden decorations and drinking horns at markets across Austria - a sure sign that the country's Christmas fairs are suitably old-school. In Salzburg, the Christkindlmarkt (17 November - 1 January) in Cathedral Square and Residenze Square keeps things nostalgic. Follow the nutty scent of toasted almonds dancing through the crisp winter air to find a festive market arranged beneath strings of twinkling bulbs, selling hand-knitted socks, sweetly scented incense and intricate tealight lanterns. The Austrian snack of choice? A freshly baked apple. Grab one, then head to the cathedral for 5pm sharp to hear a daily outdoor concert - it might be choral singing one day; traditional wind instruments the next. On Tuesdays, a weekly carol singalong commences at dusk.