12 Best Christmas Destinations for International Students

Christmas is a festival that brings people together by heart and strengthens the bonds between nations. The festival in itself is very vibrant, there are houses decorated with Christmas trees, and snowmen made outside of the houses, and the whole city is filled with excitement. As Christmas brings so much joy and laughter with itself, many people wish to celebrate it at their homes, while some people enjoy celebrating it outside. In such a case, it is obvious for us to wonder and think of finding the best Christmas destinations for international students.

As International students are away from their homes, they might feel nostalgic for the happy and vibrant energy of their homes. While planning to celebrate Christmas at home may be boring, International students must go outdoors to have a different Christmas experience outside of their city. 

International students have a world full of opportunities to explore different cities and get to know about the different Christmas traditions. However, it can be exhausting at times to decide which cities or destinations are a good deal to travel to on Christmas. So here we have come up with the best Christmas destinations for international students to visit during your Christmas Holidays.  

Best Christmas Destinations for International Students in the USA

Now that Christmas is almost here, international students living in the USA must pack their bags and travel to some of the most bucket-listed places to travel during the Christmas season. The USA hosts a number of places that provide good vibes, good energy, good culture, good entertainment and good food. Here we have listed 4 ideal places to visit in the USA for your Christmas Holidays. The best Christmas destinations for international students in the USA are given below. All these places provide a different vibe and energy, so choose your favourite location as per your holiday mood!

McAdenville, North Carolina, USA

This small town in North Carolina, USA is often called the “Christmas Town”. This is because every single house and building in this town gets decorated with Christmas lights. The roads, the trees and the streets get converted with colourful fairy lights which makes strolling in the town a dreamy experience. The town also hosts an annual tree lighting ceremony which takes place at the Yule Log Parade. 

New York City, USA

Haven’t you ever wondered why most of the Christmas movies were associated with New York City (NYC)? Several Christmas shows such as the Rockettes Christmas show and the Nutcracker show are being organised throughout the city. The markets get designed on the Christmas theme, and since New York City is a walking city, you get to leverage the view from each of the sites.

Christmas is a huge celebration in New York City. There is a years-long tradition of decorating the biggest Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center in New York City. This year, an 82 feet tall Norway Spruce Christmas Tree has been brought up at the Rockefeller centre. The tree was hoisted with the help of cranes.

Washington DC, USA

Washington DC follows the years-long Christmas tradition of mounting a large National Christmas Tree in front of the White House. The bigger tree is surrounded by other smaller trees which indicates the states that combine to make the United States of America. The whole city is decorated with Christmas lights and other Christmas trees. However, this one National Christmas tree is decorated so beautifully that apart from the visitors, even the locals do not want to miss the opportunity of glancing at this tree.  

Hawaii, USA

If you are not a winter person, then you must definitely plan your Christmas Vacations in Hawaii. The people in Hawaii have transformed the cold winter festival of Christmas into a hot, sandy and beachy one. People here have swapped snowmen with sandmen and the Christmas pine trees with palm trees. Unlike the red hoods, people wear beach shorts and Hawaiian shirts.

Best Christmas Destinations for International Students in Canada

Toronto, Canada

Apart from the Christmas market and the city being covered under the lights, Toronto is special for its unique Christmas traditions and events which makes it amazing to spend the Christmas Holidays in Toronto. There are events in Toronto such as the Wonderland Winterfest and the Window Wonderland that keep the enthusiasm high for the season. To add to the excitement, the infrastructure at the place is well-lit. Some must-visit places in Toronto during the Christmas holidays are Nathan Phillips Square, the Riverdale Farm, the Junction, the Casa Loma, the Allan Garden Conservatory and many more.

Banff, Alberta, Canada

Banff is a resort town within the Banff National park that is a part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains Park. The town looks like a daydream as it sits in the lap of snow-covered mountains. The snow glistens as the day passes and the Christmas lights reflecting from it at night add to the beauty of the town. Christmas celebrations at Banff are probably the best in Canada. The whole city of Banff welcomes Christmas with light shows, Christmas sleighs, Santa’s workshops, and a large number of winter Christmas sports. 

Apart from this, the Banff National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So, you can definitely have a good time exploring this absolutely magical town located in the heart of the Banff National Park even after the celebrations of Christmas are over. 

Winnipeg – The Christmas Capital of Canada

The city got its name as the Christmas Capital of Canada because the city almost always has the “White Christmas”. This means that the city is covered in snow almost every year during the Christmas season and this makes the Christmas decorations look even more beautiful and very relatable to the ones shown in the movies. 

Montreal, Canada

The city of Montreal is famous for being in a festive mood throughout the year, while the celebrations just get bigger on Christmas. From decorations, celebrations and different activities, the city actually comes out as a La La Land with lots of dancing, sports and music going live in the city during the Christmas holiday season. 

There are many best Christmas destinations for international students in Montreal city. However, some of the must-visit places in the city are the Jacques Cartier Square, the Nutcracker market and Old Montreal. But do not forget to take part in the following activities: see the interactive lights show at the Luminotherapie, take a walk downtown with Santa in the Santa Clause Parade called the “Defile du Pere Noel”, go ice-skating at the Parc La Fontaine, and see the night lights at the Mont-Royal. 

Best Christmas Destinations for International Students in the UK

Edinburgh

Christmas celebrations in Edinburgh are longer than in any other place. The Christmas festivities at Edinburgh begin mid-November and stretch till the last week of January. You can expect rain showers during the month of December in Edinburgh. The temperature varies from 1.6 C to 6.0 C. You can also go sightseeing to treat your eyes as Christmas celebrations are very beautiful in this place. Keep the following popular locations in mind while strolling down the streets of Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle, the Saint Giles Cathedral, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden. 

The Lincoln

Lincoln hosts Europe’s biggest German-style Christmas market. It is believed to be the oldest market of its kind in Europe. The market is famous for its food, its market, its local produce and its famous buildings like Lincoln’s Castle. Also, lavish your experience with the Winter Wonderland Christmas Walk in the Springfields which will give you an experience like no other. 

The unique fairy tale of love, the Cinderella story, is performed by professional drama artists at Belvoir Castle. And if you are a fan of all those fairy tale stories which we all have been listening to since our early childhood days, then there are many more such shows in the city which you can enjoy with your family and friends during your Christmas holidays. These are the Rapunzel show by the Polka Dot Pantomimes, the Christmas Story at the Rand Farm Park, meet the special Santa at the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, Sleeping Beauty at the Grimsby Auditorium, Aladdin by the Polka Dot Pantomimes, etc.

The Bath

The city has many wonderful experiences to offer. Of Course, the market, the food and the Christmas celebrations are at their best. But you have other options as well to get that adrenaline rush. The city leaves no stone unturned when it comes to serving the interests of its visitors. The tourists can go for a Hot Air balloon ride, for a fun-filled water sport activity and you can try making your very own Glass Bauble from the molten glass. 

Mousehole

Mousehole is widely famous for its Harbour Lights which switch on in early December and continue to illuminate the whole Mousehole village till early January. Other fun activities to do at Mousehole are – Cruising, and visiting the Mouse bird Hospital, and Photo Gallery and you can also go for the Mousehole Heritage Walks. 

FAQs

We hope, by reading our blog: best Christmas destinations for international students, you have travelled across these places in your mind as we did. Also, we hope that you enjoyed reading this article as much as we loved creating it. We will come up with more such interesting articles, till then keep posted with Leverage Edu. 

You can also tell us about your ideas and the topics you want to hear about next by writing to us at Leverage Edu at [email protected] or by calling 1800 572 000.