Like Andy Williams has once sung, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Yet unfortunately, this does not apply for every part of the world. There some places which you should definitely stay away from during the Christmas season and rather leave them for another occasion. Here are the top 5 cities in Europe you should absolutely never visit during the Christmas season:

Istanbul

There are thousands of reasons why you should visit Istanbul, but Christmas spirit is definitely not one of them. With 98% of the population being Muslim, Christmas in Istanbul is like any other day of the year. Yes, there are some nice decorations and Christmas trees here and there, but that’s only because of the upcoming New Year’s Eve. On top of that, Istanbul has been a target of many terrorist attacks in the last few years, especially during the busy seasons – making it not only not very Christmassy place, but also a relatively dangerous place during the Christmas days.

Paris

Paris is a dream destination of a millions of people all around the Globe and many of them want to visit it exactly during the Christmas season, but that might not be such a good idea. Why? Unfortunately, just as Istanbul, Paris is another ‘popular’ target of terrorist attacks and, of course, it is especially unsafe during the crowded days. And the best way to stay safe, it is to not visit it at all during the Christmas season!

London

No one can deny that London is one of the cities with highest Christmas spirit not only in Europe, but in the rest of world as well! And that’s exactly why it is so expensive during that time of the year! According to Kiwi.com, if you want to spend Christmas in London, you have to be prepared to spend at least around $477 in one single day!
In addition, London locals are known to celebrate Christmas notoriously as no other population in the world which is the reason why the city virtually shuts down from Christmas Day until New Year’s Day. Not even medical services are fully operating during those days!

Rome

Rome is magic and no one can deny it. However, being in Rome during the Christmas days could be a very challenging experience. Yes, it is beautifully decorated and everything looks so magical especially near the Vatican, but finding good venues to spend the Christmas’ Eve could be a very difficult task since everything is already crowded. And not only that, the public transport is another thing you should definitely not rely on during these days of the year!

Sofia

If you are in search of a twinkling Christmas atmosphere then Sofia is not really a place where you would find it. There are some Christmas decorations and events here and there, but nothing really spectacular. The bright side is that it is relatively cheap and safe compared to other European metropolises.