Foreign Festivities

There’s no place like home for the holidays. Did we say home? We meant

Rome. Or Tokyo. Or Cape Town. Or...

While Christmas normally conjures up images of cosy nights in next to the fire with

loved ones, there’s so much more to December than Eastenders Christmas

Specials and lukewarm mulled wine. Whether that be a glamorous rooftop pool,

an oceanside hotel or an oh-so-instagrammable light display, more people are

swapping home comforts for foreign pastures during the festive period to witness

what the world has to offer.

Cape Town, South Africa

Set the scene: Colloquially dubbed the ‘Mother City’, Cape Town is a

holidaymaker’s paradise with its crystal-clear waters and magnificent landscapes

which, during December (the peak of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer), are at

their most spectacular. If you manage to tear your gaze away from the

breathtaking backdrop of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak, the city is known for

being one of the most multicultural places in the world, with 11 spoken languages

(English as their first) and a rich mix of cultures helping to create a vibrant,

welcoming atmosphere.

Eat here: From budget to blowout, there are a whole host of places to eat in the

Mother City, but if you’re leaning towards the latter (it is Christmas, after all), The

Test Kitchen fits the bill. At TTK (as it’s known among locals), your dinner begins

in the Dark Room for a selection of inventive tapas with innovative twists, before

moving onto the Light Room, where you’ll experience a bold mix of British, Asian

and European dishes in a more formal setting. A sitting here will provide a

different type of Christmas culinary magic – exciting, intimate, and most

importantly, incredibly tasty.

Stay here: The oceanside Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa is the perfect base to

explore Cape Town during Christmas. Dramatically situated above the sea, and

flanked by the Twelve Apostles and Table Mountain, this five-star retreat certainly

knows how to celebrate the festive season. Enjoy eggnog on arrival, live

entertainment and a festive feast on Christmas Eve, as well as a gourmet

Christmas Day lunch with all the trimmings.

Festive highlight: Sure, you’ll have to trade in the snow for some soft white sand,

but the Mother City is packed full of Christmassy activities to give you all the

festive feels. You can find your zen with a sunset yoga class on Clifton Beach on

Christmas Eve, or snuggle up with your loved ones on Boxing Day at a live

outdoor screening of Home Alone at the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical

Gardens.

Rome, Italy

Set the scene: If you’re seeking a more traditional Christmas experience, where

better to go than the home of Catholicism? Rome has been an important centre of

Christianity since the Middle Ages, and with the seat of the Catholic church based

at the Vatican, Christmas here is like no other. The ancient cobbled streets will be

lit with light displays, Christmas markets are found around every corner, and with

traditions centred on family, food, faith and festivities, you won’t feel far from home

in the Eternal City.

Eat here: The ultimate ‘posh’ Roman trattoria, Pierluigi is one of Rome’s most

popular haunts, luring the likes of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton with its great

food and ambience. Occupying one side of a pretty cobbled piazza just 300 yards

from the River Tiber, seafood is unsurprisingly a specialty here, but if you’re

yearning for a true taste of Italy, there’s lots of fresh pasta dishes combining

traditional Italian cooking with innovative twists, which are included in their special

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus.

Stay here: Located between two of Rome’s most picturesque piazzas, Piazza di

Spagna and Piazza del Popolo, Hotel de Russie is one of the city’s most

prestigious luxury hotels. There’s a festive brunch every Saturday and Sunday

during December in their secret garden, where you can tuck into all the traditional

seasonal trimmings, while the award-winning Stravinskij bar makes for a pretty

special Christmas Eve nightcap.

Festive highlight: You won’t have to look far in Rome to find a Christmassy

event, but Midnight Mass at the Pantheon is sure to get you in the spirit. Nearly

2,000 years old, this architectural marvel is the best-preserved Ancient Roman

monument in the world, and on Christmas Eve you can hear much-loved hymns

echo off its Corinthian-domed walls.

Sydney, Australia

Set the scene: If you think there are only 12 days of Christmas, think again. In

Sydney, the holiday season lasts an entire month, with ‘Sydney Christmas’ taking

place from 24th November–25th December. The citywide celebration kicks off with

a street party at Martin Place, involving roller-skaters dressed as baubles, church

choirs and roaming entertainers, and continues with Christmas markets and

nightly concerts.

Eat here: For a less crowded experience, try the Bathers’ Pavilion on Balmoral

Beach. Overlooking Middle Harbour, this restaurant combines beachside elegance

with 1920’s Art Deco soul, serving up a mix of Australian and French cuisine in a

relaxed, trendy atmosphere. Their Christmas Day Brunch consists of a brilliant,

booze-induced buffet, while the restaurant’s wall of glass looking out over the

ocean just might make you wish you were staying longer.

Stay here: A stay in one of the sea-facing suites at the Sofitel Sydney Darling

Harbour Hotel may be a world away from your usual Christmas Eve stopover, but

after taking a dip in the rooftop pool and watching a breathtaking sunset over the

ocean, you’ll soon forget about home. Let’s face it, those Boxing Days at the in-

laws watching recycled episodes of Royal Family were getting pretty monotonous.

Festive highlight: On Christmas Day, Santa hat-wearing crowds descend on the

beloved Bondi Beach for a day of festive merry making. Barbecues are sizzling,

the fir trees are planted across the sand and, in the absence of snow, many try

their hand at building festive sandmen.

Tokyo, Japan

Set the scene: Renowned for its gleaming forest of skyscrapers and futuristic

culture, Tokyo might not be your first port of call for a homely Christmas holiday.

But Japan’s capital still celebrates the festive season, albeit in its own, typically

avant-garde style. Tokyo turns up the voltage each year with its winter

illuminations, where different districts compete with each other to create some

truly spectacular displays from a glistening 14-metre high Christmas tree (the

largest in Japan) to a space-like exhibition of over 190,000 moving lights and

balloons.

Eat here: While it may not quite be the festive feast you’re used to, Sushi Madusa

on the outskirts of the city is a two-Michelin starred sushi joint serving some of

freshest, most authentic sushi Tokyo has to offer, in a suave, contemporary

restaurant. But, be warned – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are huge date

nights in Japan, so booking is essential.

Stay here: Tokyo is widely regarded as one of the most hectic cities in the world,

so a bit of tranquility will be most welcome. Hoshinoya provides just that, and then

some. This 17-floor hotel is one of the city’s most luxurious, with cutting-edge

design and Japanese tradition merging beautifully in every nook and cranny

whether that’s the glass-fronted bathroom which frosts at the touch of a button, or

the hushed, calming ambience. The hotel even boasts indoor and outdoor hot

spring baths connected by a cave-like tunnel, so if you’re craving a restorative

break this Christmas, this is the place to go.

Festive highlight: The 400-metre stretch of Keyakizaka, behind Roppongi Hills,

has become one of the most popular couples’ strolling spots, with over 700,000

LEDs decorating the tree-lined street.