TOP 10 Christmas markets

If you want to feel the festive spirit in Europe, now’s the perfect time to take your pick of the Christmas markets. Here’s 10 of this year’s best shopping breaks . . .

1 BRUGES

Two nights from £213pp With its medieval buildings and quaint cobbled streets, the fairytale setting of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is sure to get you into the seasonal spirit. Bruges’s wonderful chocolate shops are a great excuse to stock up on prezzies as well as treating yourself. Take a turn round the ice rink then stop off for waffles with hot chocolate while enjoying the street entertainment and fairground attractions. THE DEAL: Two nights’ B&B with Superbreak starts at £213pp, staying at the three-star Hans Memling Hotel just a short walk from the market place. This includes return flights departing from Heathrow on December 10. superbreak.com, 0800 042 0288

2 RHINELAND TO HEIDELBURG CRUISE

Four nights from £549pp Charming Rudesheim in the Rhine Valley is the first port of call on this Saga mini-cruise for overfifties. It’s famed for its wine taverns, so a glass of gluhwein is in order as you browse the stalls lining the chocolate-box Old Quarter and Drosselgasse lane. The medieval town enthusiastically embraces the season, boasting Europe’s biggest Nativity scene on its market square. MS Johannes Brahms then sails on to Heidelberg on the River Neckar. At this university town shop till you drop not only at the140-plus stalls in the Old City but also the Hauptstrasse, Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street. THE DEAL: Book by October 29 and save up to £100pp on the fournight Festive Markets Cruise, now from £549pp for December 5 departure. Fare includes four breakfasts, three lunches and four dinners, Captain’s dinner and drinks reception along with entertainment and activities on board, travel insurance, UK travel service, and return flights from UK. travel.saga. co.uk/cruises, 0800 656 9919

3 BERLIN Four days from £349pp

With around 60 Christmas markets – each with their own theme, the German capital will be filled with the aroma of mulled wine, grilled sausages and spicy gingebread biscuits. There’s plenty of winter entertainment too –

1 Chocs and ice in beautiful Bruges 2 Charming Rudesheim is start point for Rhineland cruise